The Minnesota Golden Gophers for a second straight game had a forgettable start but unlike Wednesday against North Texas, they would survive the slow start to pick up win No. 3 of the 2024-25 season.

After scoring just 14 points in the first half of a 54-51 loss to North Texas on Wednesday, the Gophers had just 19 points on Saturday against the Yale Bulldogs and were just 8-of-27 from the floor in the first 20 minutes of action. With the slow start, they found themselves trailing at halftime 29-19.

However, unlike on Wednesday, the Gophers were able to claw their way back into the game on Saturday and find a way to finish the game off to pick up the win. The Gophers outscored the Bulldogs 40-27 in the second half to pick up their third victory of the season.

Dawson Garcia once again led all scorers, totaling 24 points despite not being as efficient in previous games, shooting 6-for-17 from the floor. The talented forward has now scored 20+ points in each of the Gophers' four games this season. Oregon transfer guard Brennan Rigsby also stepped up offensively in the win, with 15 points as well as contributing five rebounds in the game.

Lu'Cye Patterson's struggles continued from the floor as well in the loss. The Charlotte transfer had just seven points in the game on 3-of-10 shooting while missing all five attempts from three-point range.

Yale in the game was led by guard John Poulakidas who had 21 points in the game on 6-of-15 shooting while being effective from beyond the arc, hitting 4-of-7 three-point attempts.

Coming out of the gate, the Gophers made just three of their first 12 shots and appeared to be in danger of a potential blowout loss as Yale would take advantage of the Gophers' struggles from the floor and would go on a 21-4 run over 12 minutes. That extensive run would see the Bulldogs' lead grow to as large as 14 points, but the Gophers were able to narrow the deficit to just 10 points by halftime.

The Gophers, however, would come out much stronger in the second half, making five of their first seven shots in the first half and 11 of their first 15 of the half. The strong shooting helped the Gophers take a 43-41 lead with 10:15 remaining.

The rest of the way, it would be a back-and-forth affair, the two teams changing leads a handful of times before the Gophers would take the lead back for good with 3:45 remaining at 51-50.

After shooting well for the majority of the game, the Bulldogs would struggle from the floor over the last eight minutes, making just three baskets from the floor including a meaningless three-pointer as time expired cutting a 59-53 win for the Gophers to 59-56.

The Golden Gophers will return to the hardwood at Williams Arena on Tuesday evening when they host the Cleveland State Vikings. The Vikings will enter the game with a 4-3 record after defeating Eastern Michigan 71-63 on Saturday. They also have picked up wins over Loures University (NAIA), Baldwin Wallace University (Division III), and Valparaiso University.

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