Luke Loewe scored a game-high 24 points and had seven assists while Jamison Battle tallied 21 points, 14 rebounds, and five assists to carry Minnesota (13-12, 4-12 Big Ten) to a 77-60 victory over Northwestern on Saturday at Williams Arena.
Pete Nance led Northwestern (12-13, 5-11 Big Ten) with 18 points while Boo Buie chipped in with 16 points.
Minnesota had four players score in double figures on Saturday. Along with Loewe and Battle, EJ Stephens had 15 points to go along with eight rebounds and four assists while Sean Sutherlin 11 points to go along with six rebounds, five assists, and four steals.
IT WAS OVER WHEN: Northwestern cut Minnesota's lead to 47-40 with 15:09 remaining, but the Gophers responded with a 16-2 run over the next five-and-a-half minutes to extend their lead to 63-42 and never looked back.
HE STOLE THE SHOW: Luke Loewe was not only the high-scorer on the day, but he also tied a career high sinking six three-pointers. He finished 6-of-10 from beyond the arc on the day.
THE STAT DOESN'T LIE: Minnesota was red-hot shooting on Saturday, going 29-of-52 from the field and 11-of-23 from beyond the three-point line. The Gophers also out-rebounded Northwestern 37 to 30 on the day. Minnesota also had 22 assists on 29 made baskets, efficiency at its best.
THE BOTTOM LINE: After two consecutive lackluster efforts on the road against Ohio State and Penn State where the offense couldn't must no more than 46 points, the Gophers needed to show a ton of effort and energy today. They did. What was even more impressive is they did it without their second-leading scorer in Payton Willis, who was out due to COVID protocols. There is still a lot for this Minnesota team to play for as the regular season winds down. Up next, is two more home games against Wisconsin on Wednesday and Indiana next Sunday.
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