Washington ends skid against short-handed Minnesota
Hannes Steinbach scored 26 points on 12-of-17 shooting and grabbed nine rebounds as Washington snapped a three-game skid with a 69-57 Big Ten Conference victory against short-handed Minnesota on Saturday night in Seattle.
Zoom Diallo added 17 points on 7-of-8 shooting with four assists for the Huskies (13-13, 5-10).
Cade Tyson scored 22 points and grabbed nine rebounds for the Golden Gophers (11-14, 4-10), who lost for the ninth time in their past 10 games. Because of injuries, Minnesota had just six scholarship players available. Bobby Durkin scored 13 and Isaac Asuma added 11.
The Huskies shot 63.0% from the field (29 of 46), while limiting Minnesota to 42.9% (21 of 49), with more than half of those attempts coming from 3-point range (7 of 28). Washington had a 44-26 edge in points in the paint, 10-0 in bench scoring and 14-4 in fast-break points.
There were 10 lead changes before the Huskies closed the first half with a 14-0 run over the final 3:57 to turn a one-point deficit into a 39-26 lead.
A 3-pointer from the top of the lane by a wide-open Durkin gave the Golden Gophers a 26-25 lead, causing Washington coach Danny Sprinkle to call a timeout.
The Huskies got the message, holding Minnesota to 0-for-4 shooting and forcing four turnovers the rest of the half.
A step-back jumper in the lane by Courtland Muldrew sparked the Huskies' closing run. Steinbach followed with a driving layup off a turnover and Franck Kepnang made a jumper in the lane off an offensive rebound.
Muldrew blocked a 3-point attempt by Isaac Asuma and made a layup off a pass from Steinbach on the fast break.
Two free throws by Yates, a turnaround jumper by Kepnang and a tip-in by Steinbach on the fast break following another turnover closed the half.
Grayson Grove, the lone big man available for Minnesota, picked up his second foul with 12:34 left in the first half, leaving the Golden Gophers with a five-guard lineup.
Fifth-year senior Maximus Gizzi, who enrolled at Minnesota after starring at NAIA schools Marian and Huntington, appeared for eight minutes in the first half and 11 overall. Gizzi had made six previous appearances this season, totaling 14 minutes. Gizzi got his first rebound and second steal of the season but shot an airball on his lone 3-point attempt.