Mason, Gophers victorious over No. 15 Boilermakers on road
Published 9:04 am Monday, January 2, 2017
Nate Mason made sure it was a very special weekend in Indiana for the Pitino family — son Richard, who is the Minnesota coach, and father Rick, the Louisville coach.
Mason contributed 31 points, 11 assists and six rebounds on Sunday, and Minnesota pulled away in overtime for a 91-82 Big Ten victory against No, 15 Purdue in Mackey Arena.
On Saturday, Rick Pitino’s No. 6 Cardinals dominated Indiana 77-62 in Bankers Life Fieldhouse. Rick was in the crowd Sunday to watch his son’s team improve to 13-2, 1-1 in the Big Ten after struggling to an 8-23, 2-16 mark last season.
Louisville also defeated Purdue 71-64 on Nov. 30 in Louisville in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge.
But Sunday’s game was all about Mason, who made 11 of 18 field goal attempts and 7 of 10 free throws.
“It was a big win,” Mason said. “It means a lot, not only to me but to the young guys. We were just so excited to get the big win. Everybody was locked in, and everybody was focused. The rim got pretty big for me. I just kept shooting, and they just kept falling.”
Purdue guard P.J. Thompson, who spent most the game trying to guard Mason, credited the Golden Gophers’ leading scorer, who came in averaging 13.5 points.
“He’s a good player,” Thompson said. “He came out ready to play and had his team ready to play. More than Nate Mason, it was on us. We’ve got to come out ready to play.”
Richard Pitino was thrilled to complete the Pitino family sweep of the Boilermakers and Hoosiers.
“I think this is a great win,” Richard Pitino said. “I don’t know when the last time we won here. We deserved it, but we had to go out there and take it. It was great to play well right away and get our confidence going.”
Eric Curry scored seven of his 10 in overtime for Minnesota. The teams traded baskets to begin the extra period before a Curry basket began an 11-0, victory-clinching run that snapped the Boilermakers’ seven-game winning streak.
Minnesota overcame 28 points and 22 rebounds from Caleb Swanigan, but it wasn’t enough to save the Boilermakers (12-3, 1-1).
Swanigan’s layup with 4.6 seconds remaining in regulation tied the game at 73 and forced overtime. Dupree McBrayer’s 3-point attempt for Minnesota at the buzzer bounced off the rim.
The Golden Gophers began the game by making their first eight shots and building a 17-4 lead, but Purdue rallied to lead 50-43 with 13:39 remaining. Mason scored 10 during the next three minutes, and it was back and forth the rest of the way.
“Minnesota did everything well early, and they got into a nice rhythm,” Purdue coach Matt Painter said. “It felt like we were down 10 or 12 at the half, but we were fortunate to be down only (38-35). Their guards played well, but we made defensive mistakes as the game wore on.”