Austin Hollins ran off a screen, caught an inbounds pass along the right sideline and in rhythm drilled a three-pointer to give Minnesota a 60-59 lead over the Iowa Hawkeyes with 12 seconds to play. That play, sandwiched between two Iowa turnovers and made free throws after, was enough to protect the Golden Gophers' home court in a 62-59 victory on Sunday.
No. 23 Minnesota vs. Iowa final score: Austin Hollins leads Gophers past Hawkeyes
A three-pointer by Minnesota Gophers guard Austin Hollins in the closing seconds gave the team a win against the Iowa Hawkeyes.
Reese Strickland-USA TODAY Sports
Hollins led the No. 23 Gophers with 17 points, and Andre Hollins stuffed the box score with 15 points, eight assists and six rebounds to move Tubby Smith's team to a 17-5 record on the year.
Guard Mike Gesell led the Hawkeyes (14-8) with 11 points, six rebounds and three assists.
The Hawkeyes got off to a slow start, falling behind 14-2 before responding with a 10-1 run that cut the Gophers’ lead to just three points, 15-12, with 10 minutes left in the first half. Iowa trailed just 29-28 at halftime despite shooting 34.5 percent, much in part because the bench unit outscored Minnesota’s subs, 17-0.
For the game, the Golden Gopher bench was outscored 27-0. Iowa's Zach McCabe was the main contributor for the Hawkeyes' second unit, scoring 10 points and hitting three of his five three-point attempts.
Iowa took its first lead with 13 minutes left in the game on a three-point jumper by Gesell, and neither team led by more than four points in the second half in a back-and-forth affair. The Hawkeyes led 59-55 after a free throw with 2:12 to play in the game but couldn’t score again.
See More:
