Christie has 19 points, Hawkins chips in with 18 and Minnesota rallies to beat Penn State 75-70

Mar 2, 2024, 10:58 pm

MINNEAPOLIS -- — Cam Christie scored 19 points, Elijah Hawkins added 18 and Minnesota rallied from a 12-point deficit in the second half and beat Penn State 75-70 on Saturday to sweep the season series.

Minnesota (18-11, 9-9 Big Ten), which won 83-74 at Penn State on Jan. 27, ended a two-game skid.

Mike Mitchell Jr. and Hawkins hit consecutive 3-pointers to spark a 21-5 run to give Minnesota a 62-58 lead with 3:49 remaining. Christie also hit from deep and scored seven points during the stretch.

Ace Baldwin Jr. made a pair of free throws to give Penn State its last lead, 63-62, with 2:44 left. Hawkins forced a turnover and then dished to Mitchell to spark a 6-0 surge. Baldwin's 3 cut the Nittany Lions' deficit 69-66 with 35 seconds left before the Golden Gophers sealed it at the free-throw line.

Christie scored 13 points and Hawkins added 11 as the Golden Gophers shot 58% (15 of 26) in the second half. Parker Fox finished with 11 points and Mitchell scored all 11 of his after the break. Hawkins had eight assists and two steals.

Puff Johnson scored 19 points for Penn State (14-16, 8-11), which led by as many as 23 points in the first half and had a 12-point advantage at the break. Baldwin finished with 17 points, six rebounds and eight assists. The pair combined for nine of the Nittany Lions' 11 3-pointers.

Minnesota closed on an 11-1 run to pull within 42-30 at halftime. Johnson hit four from long range and scored 14 points in the first half for Penn State, which opened with an 18-8 run and led 41-18 with 5:04 left. Fox and Hawkins each scored seven first-half points for the Golden Gophers.

Minnesota plays at home against Indiana on Wednesday.

Penn State hosts Maryland on March 10 in a regular-season finale.

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