Field Level Media
Mar 6, 2021
Jacob Young scored six of his 23 points in overtime as visiting Rutgers withstood blowing a 14-point lead and recorded a 77-70 victory over Minnesota on Saturday afternoon in the regular-season finale for both teams at Minneapolis.
Young finished a point shy of his season high, and shot 8 of 13 from the field. He also collected seven assists, five rebounds and four steals.
The Scarlet Knights (14-10, 10-10 Big Ten) bolstered their chances for their first NCAA tournament bid since 1991. They did enough in overtime after missing their final six shots of regulation and getting outscored 25-11 in the final 12:44.
Marcus Carr's uncontested 3-pointer from the left side forged a 63-63 tie with 50 seconds left. Rutgers had a chance for the win but Geo Baker missed a jumper from the left side at the buzzer while being guarded by Carr.
Young gave Rutgers the lead for good 14 seconds into the extra period and the Scarlet Knights took a 69-63 lead on a dunk by Caleb McConnell with 3:09 left. Minnesota was within 71-68 on two free throws by Jamal Mashburn Jr. with 2:06 remaining and, after Carr missed a jumper in the lane with 67 seconds left, Young converted a 3-point play for a 74-68 lead with 40 seconds left to essentially seal it.
Baker and Montez Mathis added 12 points apiece for Rutgers, which shot 43.5 percent and survived missing nine of 24 free throws. Ron Harper Jr. contributed 11 while Myles Johnson chipped in nine and 15 rebounds.
The Golden Gophers (13-14, 6-14) ended the regular season on a seven-game losing streak as Carr struggled throughout after entering as the conference's third-leading scorer. Carr finished with four points on 1-of-13 shooting and missed his first 10 shots before tying the game in regulation.
Brandon Johnson led Minnesota with 19 points and 11 rebounds. Mashburn added 17 as the Golden Gophers shot 31.3 percent and misfired on 20 of 26 3-point tries.
There were 10 lead changes before Rutgers surged ahead in the final four minutes to take a 37-28 lead by halftime. Rutgers hiked the lead to 52-38 on a basket by Young with 12:44 remaining before Minnesota stormed back.
--Field Level Media