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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) -- Minnesota coach Dan Monson stopped short of
saying his team was lucky to beat Virginia 74-62 in a Big Ten/ACC
Challenge game Tuesday at Williams Arena.
But Monson acknowledged the game between two inexperienced teams -- neither team has a senior on its roster -- was ugly.
"It wasn't a work of art by any stretch of the imagination," he
said. "It was a knockdown, tough game."
Virginia (4-2), which was coming off a fifth-place finish in the
Puerto Rico Shootout, shot 36 percent, including 6-of-25 from
3-point range.
Offensively, the Gophers (4-0) were led by Terrance Simmons, who
had 15 points and six assists. Joel Przybilla had 14 points,
including 10 in a 10-minute stretch of the second half. J.B.
Bickerstaff had 13 points and 10 rebounds for his first
double-double this year.
The game also saw Nick Sinville emerge as a presence on the
Minnesota bench. He had 12 points on 5-of-6 shooting, including a
key lay-in and two free throws after Dusty Rychart fouled out with
2:43.
"When Dusty went out, we needed somebody to step up and do the
things that Dusty can do and Nick stepped up big time tonight,"
Bickerstaff said.
The rest of the Minnesota bench had just three points.
Rychart, Minnesota's leading scorer coming into the game, had
eight points and eight rebounds.
Virginia was led by freshman Travis Watson's 16 points and seven
rebounds. Donald Hand, averaging a team-leading 17 points this
year, had 13 points before fouling out on 5-of-17 shooting.
Hand and Chris Williams, who made just 3-of-11 baskets, said
Virginia's inexperience showed as the Cavs kept failing to pull
closer to the Gophers after Minnesota opened up leads of six points
three separate times in the second half.
"Maybe if we got a rebound, the game could have gone another
way," Hand said. "We just have to get a little tougher as a whole
team."
Minnesota kept Virginia in the game by failing to extend each of
its leads.
"Obviously, they pressured us out of a lot of the things we
tried to do," Monson said.
Virginia coach Pete Gillen said he doesn't expect to win when
his team struggles mightily from the field.
"Some of our veteran guys didn't give us what they could give
us," Gillen said. "That was my only disappointment."
Minnesota's zone defense and its ability to break the Virginia
press helped fend off several second-chance shots by the Cavaliers.
"It was just a respect for how explosive they are," Monson
said. "We had to keep them off their rhythm as much as possible."
Przybilla finally made his presence under the basket known in
the second half, bringing the crowd down with his thunderous dunks.
The 7-foot-1 sophomore center had six rebounds, four assists and
blocked four shots.
Virginia's only lead of the first half came at 26-25 with 7:16
left when Donald Hand hit a 3-pointer to end an 8-0 run by the
Cavaliers.
Przybilla, a projected first-round pick when he decides to leave
Minnesota, still has no offensive rebounds this season.
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ALSO SEE
Mens College Basketball Scoreboard
Virginia Clubhouse
Minnesota Clubhouse
ACC/Big Ten Challenge
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