Minneapolis, MN – Andre Hollins scored 21 points and had seven of his team's nine points in overtime, as Minnesota outlasted No. 20 Wisconsin, 58-53, on Thursday at Williams Arena.
Austin Hollins had 11 points, four assists and three rebounds and Rodney Williams added 10 points and five boards for the Golden Gophers (18-7, 6-6 Big Ten), who bounced back from consecutive losses.
"That was a real big win for us," Williams said. "We were coming in on a losing streak and we needed something to pick us up. We have a lot of people down on us right now but we know what we are capable of and how good we can be and I think this win can put us back to how we were."
Sam Dekker had 14 points and Ben Brust chipped in 11 for the Badgers (17-8, 8-4), who shot a mere 30.5 percent from the floor and had the ball up two points with 22.6 seconds remaining in regulation, before turning the ball over on an inbounds traveling violation that allowed Minnesota to tie the game just seconds later.
Wisconsin had won 50 straight games when leading or tied with 5:00 remaining in regulation.
Andre Hollins kicked off overtime with a 3-pointer from the top of the key, while Wisconsin missed its first five shots in the extra period. Trevor Mbakwe extended the margin to 54-49 on two free throws with 1 1/2 minutes remaining, until Dekker gave Wisconsin its first points of the stanza with two free throws to bring the visitors within three points just 10 seconds later.
Both teams then traded possessions, and Andre Hollins went 4-for-4 from the charity stripe in the final 18 seconds of OT to secure the victory.
With 22.6 seconds on the clock in regulation, Austin Hollins drove to the hoop to potentially tie the contest, but Mike Bruesewitz forced a critical charge to give the Badgers the ball back. However, on the next play, as he took the ball out of bounds under his team's own basket, he shuffled his feet and moved his position. Thus, turning the ball over back to the Gophers.
Joe Coleman made the most of the error and got to the free throw line to sink both shots to tie the game at 49-49. Wisconsin got the ball back for a shot at the win, but the Gophers defended Traevon Jackson well and forced an errant shot to send the game to overtime.
"He really struggled," Wisconsin coach Bo Ryan said about Jackson's late try. "He could not complete the play. He tried to draw some contact. He just did not make good decisions finishing. I think he thought he could get to the rim."
Brust made it 47-43 with 6:11 to play, but the game slowed down until under two minutes remaining, and Williams' dunk brought Minnesota within 49-47.
It was not a pleasant outing for either team in the first half, as Wisconsin held a 24-22 edge. Minnesota shot 36 percent from the floor and 3-of-10 from behind the arc, while the Badgers shot 32 percent and 3-of-13 from 3-point range.
Game Notes
It was the first time in Wisconsin history that the team has played three straight overtime games ... The Badgers defeated Iowa in two overtimes on Feb. 6 and then-No. 3 Michigan in overtime last Saturday ... Nine of the Badgers' 12 conference games have been decided by six points or fewer, including each of their last four games ... Mbakwe had eight points and Coleman finished with six points, while the only other Gopher to score was Maurice Walker, who had two points ... Minnesota fell at Wisconsin on Jan. 26, 45-44.
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