Gophers men's basketball beats Arkansas-Pine Bluff 86-67 as depth takes shape

You could make a case that third-year coach Ben Johnson has nine players who could start for the Gophers men's basketball team this season.

Nine players are getting double-figure minutes. Johnson can throw different rotations at opponents. Big or small. Fast or slow.

Juggling lineups made it tough for the Gophers to find rhythm at times Tuesday night, but strength in numbers eventually wore down Arkansas-Pine Bluff in an 86-67 victory at Williams Arena.

The Gophers (4-1) saw a 21-point lead shrink to 61-53 midway through the second half. The Barn turned from lively to concerned, reminiscent of last week's 70-68 loss against Missouri, when the Gophers blew a 20-point second-half advantage. But this time they ended the game on a 25-14 run.

"Our bench came up big," said Johnson, who got 31 points from reserves. "Especially in that second half. They brought some life. They brought some competitive spirit. It's nice to go to those guys and they can pick us up."

Dawson Garcia had a team-high 19 points and nine rebounds for the Gophers, who finished with 11 three-pointers but shot 3-for-14 from long distance in the second half.

Instead of relying on jump shots, the Gophers got their go-to guy going inside and found success in transition late in the game.

Garcia converted the three-point play after muscling in a layup plus the foul at the 10-minute mark to get the U's lead back to double figures. Back-to-back dunks from Joshua Ola-Joseph, who finished with 12 points, stretched the lead to 15 points with just under six minutes to play.

After being held scoreless from the field for the final six minutes in a tough loss against Missouri, the Gophers have finished strong in their past two victories against USC Upstate and Pine Bluff, including making their last five field-goal attempts Tuesday.

"Having different types of lineups we can bring in there and bringing different energy is all about picking each other up," Garcia said. "I feel like we did a good job of that down the stretch."

Starting point guard Elijah Hawkins sat for several minutes in the first half, but after returning connected twice in transition with teammates for dunks, including on an alley-oop to Ola-Joseph. Hawkins was one of five players with four assists for the Gophers, who had 24 assists in the game.

Johnson's starting lineup isn't necessarily his best scoring unit, but it's his best defensive group. On Tuesday, Braeden Carrington held Kylen Milton to eight points after the latter entered the game ranked fifth in the nation averaging 23.8 points. Pine Bluff's Rashad Williams had only six of his 26 points on 2-for-7 shooting in the second half.

In the first half, the Gophers exchanged baskets early until Johnson utilized his depth. Coming off the bench were arguably the team's two most talented young players, sophomore forward Pharrel Payne and freshman guard Cam Christie, who combined for seven points during a 10-0 run.

Christie, who shot 2-for-12 from the field in two games after his 18-point debut on Nov. 10, ended his slump with 14 points.

"The sky isn't falling," Christie said. "I remained confident knowing I'm a good basketball player. Each game is only going to make me better."

Payne had six points and five rebounds in 10 minutes while nursing a foot injury. Johnson said the minutes restriction was "nothing major."

"We've been limiting him in practice," Johnson said. "I don't want to go above 20 minutes with him … but the energy he's been giving us off the bench is good."