Minus Amir Coffey, Gophers hold off LIU Brooklyn 76-66

With a 14-point halftime lead Wednesday night, the Gophers men's basketball team looked as if it would be able to overcome the loss of Amir Coffey without much trouble against Long Island University Brooklyn.

The Gophers, though, were outscored 12-0 to start the second half — and they needed a combined 40 points from guards Nate Mason and Dupree McBrayer for a 76-66 victory against the Blackbirds in front of an announced crowd of 8,461 at Williams Arena.

The timetable for Coffey's return is uncertain after missing his first game Wednesday because of "turf toe," a sprain of the ligaments around the big toe joint.

"Turf toes are funny," Pitino said. "They can be lingering. Fortunately, we have some rest. We've got to get him healthy."

The talented freshman guard from Hopkins is the team's second-leading scorer, but he was replaced by Akeem Springs in the starting lineup Wednesday. Coffey spent the night sitting at the far end of the bench watching his starting backcourt mates have their best game of the season.

McBrayer had a career-high 21 points and five assists. Mason added 19 points and seven assists. Their best scoring game together had been a 32-point performance in an 86-49 victory last week against Georgia Southern.

"It keeps the defense on their toes," Mason said. "Both of us can create off the dribble. Both of us can create for others. It'll be hard to stop two people who can create for other people like us. It definitely takes a lot of pressure off me."

LIU Brooklyn (7-4) kept it close midway through the first half, but Mason, Springs and McBrayer had four of Minnesota's six first-half three-pointers in the last four minutes for a 38-24 halftime advantage.

In the second half, the Blackbirds hit their first four shots — all three-pointers — to cut it to 38-36 after Iverson Fleming's jumper near the 18-minute mark. Fleming finished with a game-high 24 points.

Suddenly, the Gophers realized how dangerous it was to allow Brooklyn to gain confidence. McBrayer sparked an 11-3 run that made it a 10-point lead after sophomore forward Jordan Murphy's spinning layup with 12:47 left.

The 6-5 McBrayer later scored nine consecutive points with a variety of drives and aggressive finishes at the rim. The Queens, N.Y., native flexed to the crowd after a baseline basket plus the foul. He converted the three-point play to make it 67-52 with 6:53 remaining.

Pitino said McBrayer is the most improved player on the team. His numbers support it so far, going from 5.9 points per game on 32.6 percent shooting last season to 12.1 points on 48.5 percent shooting this year.

"It all started from the summer, putting work in," McBrayer said. "The turning point was the first game when I came out more confident."

Coming off a career-high 18 points Sunday against Northern Illinois, center Reggie Lynch had only two points in 12 minutes because of foul trouble. Murphy and freshman forward Eric Curry scored 13 and 11 points in the frontcourt, respectively.

Springs, who entered Wednesday with three consecutive double-figure scoring games, finished with eight points on 2-for-7 shooting, but he had a season-high five assists.

For the second time this season, the Gophers had to play without one of their starters. Lynch missed the 57-45 victory Nov. 25 against Southern Illinois because of an ankle injury, but he's fully recovered after a couple of weeks.

Coffey, who was averaging 12.4 points and 3.8 rebounds in 29.5 minutes, will have nine days to recover before Minnesota's next game Dec. 23 against Arkansas State. Big Ten play opens Dec. 27 vs. Michigan State at home.

"My biggest focus is to get them ready for [finals] and get them healthy, get Amir healthy," Pitino said. "We've got some time off here."

LIU Brooklyn's leading scorer Jerome Frink, who played his freshman season at Florida International with Pitino, was held four points under his average with 13 points on 6-for-16 shooting.

The Blackbirds, who upset St. John's on Sunday, shot 9-for-21 from three-point range and won the rebounding battle 38-32. But they committed 19 turnovers.