Surge cancels purge

INDIANAPOLIS - As fans left their seats -- some heartbroken, others happily surprised -- a smiling Lawrence Westbrook stood on the Conseco Fieldhouse floor. At Chandler High School in Arizona, he'd led the nation with 40 points per game.

And he was pleased that those scoring instincts were revealed when the Gophers needed him most -- when Northwestern led by 16 points and starting center Spencer Tollackson was out because of an ankle injury.

Westbrook responded by scoring 11 of his game-high 17 points after halftime as he led the Gophers to a 55-52 victory over Northwestern in the first round of the Big Ten Conference tournament Thursday at Conseco Fieldhouse.

Westbrook hit a three-pointer to cut the Northwestern lead to 34-21 at halftime, then sparked a 21-8 run to start the second half. His three-pointer with 12:28 left tied the score at 42.

"I just wanted to give a boost to my team," said Westbrook, who made six of 12 shots. "We were kind of flat, but we picked it up defensively. ... I didn't think about it. I just shot, and they were falling for me tonight.''

Minnesota fed off the Westbrook-led surge and avoided what would have been an embarrassing tourney exit -- and potential season-ender -- before beating Northwestern (8-22), the Big Ten's worst team.

Coinciding with Minnesota's offensive push was a defensive effort that was nonexistent in the first half, holding Northwestern to 27.3 percent shooting in the second half after it hit 65 percent in the first half. Minnesota (19-12) rebooted its defense and threw zones, a full-court press and hand-in-the-face pressure that held Wildcats leading scorer Kevin Coble scoreless in the second half after he had 13 in the first half.

But after Westbrook's three-pointer, the Gophers went as silent as Coble. They went scoreless for 7 minutes, 28 seconds, failing to get on the board until the five-minute mark, when Lawrence McKenzie's two free throws cut the Wildcats' lead to 47-44.

A jumper by Dan Coleman, followed by his steal and dunk, gave the Gophers a 48-47 lead with 4:12 left. After the two teams traded the lead back and forth, Coleman gave the Gophers the lead for good, 53-52, with a layup at the 1:36 mark. He then helped smother Northwestern's Sterling Williams, who coughed up the ball to Coleman.

He followed up with two free throws to end the game and topped off one of his best all-around efforts of the season -- he had 16 points, six rebounds and three steals.

In the jovial locker room following the game, the Gophers spoke highly of Westbrook's performance.

"Man, he played great; I just told him that," McKenzie said. "If he keeps playing aggressive like that he can do that all the time."

Tubby Smith has been looking for more players to step up in close games, and Westbrook filled that void.

"I thought that second half was typical of what he brings to our team," Smith said. "The aggressive play, attacking the basket, pushing the ball up the court and playing at a pace that we need to play at."

If Minnesota repeats Thursday's mistakes against Indiana today, it'll pay for it. And depending on how Tollackson's sprained left ankle feels today -- X-rays were negative -- the Gophers could go into the game without one of their top post players.

Westbrook, however, said he believes Minnesota has the confidence and poise to emerge victorious.

"If we do come out [flat], we're just going to do the same thing we did: pick up the defensive intensity, and we're not scared at all," he said. "And we're just going to come out and get an upset."