The 2024-25 Minnesota Golden Gophers do not like to make it easy on themselves but for the fifth time on Monday evening, the Gophers came out on top.

This time, Minnesota was able to narrowly escape an upset bid from the Central Michigan Chippewas with a 68-65 win. The Gophers in the matchup shot 44% from the field including 37% from three-point range but struggled at the free-throw line and lost both the turnover and rebound battles.

Dawson Garcia had his fifth 20-point effort of the season on 6-of-9 shooting from the field including 7-of-11 from the free throw line. He also had 11 rebounds. It is the first time this season he has recorded a double-double and the 12th of his collegiate career.

Lu'Cye Patterson after a series of sluggish games also was strong for the Gophers on Saturday with 19 points on 6-of-15 shooting including 4-of-9 from three-point range.

Central Michigan in the game was led by forward Ugnius Jarusevicius who had 17 points as well as guard Jakobi Heady who had 13 points and 13 rebounds.

Early on in Saturday's game, it looked as though the Gophers were going to get off to a strong start and potentially have an easier non-conference matchup after experiencing struggles over the past two weeks.

After Central Michigan jumped out to a 4-0 start in the first three minutes, the Gophers would go on a 14-0 run over the next 4:12 to take a 14-0 lead. It would be their largest lead of the evening.

The Chippewas, however, answered back following the 14-0 run, tying the game up with under 10 minutes to play after a 9-0 run, and from there it would be a back-and-forth affair for the remainder of the game. After the game was tied at 21-21 with 9:16 remaining in the first half, the biggest lead for either side would be just six points while 13 total lead changes occurred throughout the matchup.

After finding themselves trailing for about five minutes in the middle of the second half, the Gophers would reclaim the lead for the final time with 5:27 to go thanks to a Lu'Cye Patterson jumper following a Central Michigan turnover. Patterson would also hit a crucial three-point attempt with 1:49 remaining in the game, to give the Gophers a four-point lead and begin a 10-2 run over the next 1:15 of action.

In the final minute, it appeared the Gophers were going to put the game away thanks to four straight free throws made by Dawson Garcia, however, one free throw and a three-pointer 10 seconds later from the Chippewas would make it just a one-possession game with 18 seconds remaining. But Central Michigan would be unable to find a tying basket in the final seconds of the game, giving the Gophers their fifth win of the season and third-straight after falling to North Texas on November 13.

The Gophers head to Orlando, Florida for a matchup with Wichita State in the ESPN Events Invitational. Tipoff on Thanksgiving is set for 11:00 a.m. CT / 12:00 p.m. ET.

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