Durkin’s clutch shot leads Gophers to win in Cincinnati

Aaron Doster / Imagn Images By Andy Greder / St. Paul Pioneer Press Today at 9:12 PM Listen Comments Share Share this article News Reporting News Reporting Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. The Trust Project What is this? Bobby Durkin has earned the nickname “Bobby Buckets” for his long-distance shooting touch, and on Monday, the Gophers wing made his biggest bucket. The senior from Darien, Illinois, missed his opening five 3-pointers at Fifth Third Arena, but his sixth splashed through the net with less than a second left to edge Cincinnati 63-61. ADVERTISEMENT The Gophers’ toughest nonconference schedule in seven years got off to a great start as Minnesota closed the game with a 9-0 run to beat a quality Big 12 Conference team on the road. Down 61-60 with 6.8 seconds left, Isaac Asuma missed the front end of a one-on-one. But Minnesota got another chance off of Cincinnati guard MJ Collins’ missed free throw. Asuma rebounded it and passed to Durkin on the wing, who made the trey with 0.4 seconds left. Cincinnati didn’t get off the final heave in time. “Isaac made a great pass to Bobby and he didn’t hesitate,” Gophers head coach Niko Medved said on the KTLK-AM postgame show. “We knew on a missed free throw we just want to go, not trying to run any (play). The guys knew the situation. We didn’t have to have a three necessarily, but Bobby knew he had to let it go. … It was so great to see that nothing but net.” Durkin finished with only five points on 2 of 7 shooting and 1 of 6 from deep, but the Gophers’ best shooter came through in the clutch. He shot 39% from deep last year and was 50% in Minnesota’s opening two games this year. “Obviously I didn’t think I was playing my best (Monday), so I was just happy to pull through for the team,” Durkin said on ESPN. Cincinnati (2-1) was picked to finish eight in the 16-team Big 12 and were slotted 31st in the latest KenPom ranking. Minnesota (3-0) checked in at 43rd, but will be moving up now. With an eye toward making the NCAA tournament, the Gophers scheduled five high-major nonconference games this season, the most since they played six in 2019-20. They passed their first test in dramatic fashion. ADVERTISEMENT “This was big, great crowd, huge game for both schools,” Medved said. “One that can make a difference on Selection Sunday.” Kyan Evans had his best game yet for Minnesota. The North Carolina transfer poured in a career-high 26 points on 11 of 19 shooting, along with 10 rebounds and five assists. But the point guard also had seven turnovers against Cincinnati’s pesky defense. Tylen Riley had 25 points to lead the Bearcats. The Gophers set two goals Monday: out-rebound Cincinnati and take care of the basketball. “We were one for two,” Medved said. The Gophers had a 40-28 advantage on the glass, but had 17 turnovers turn into 16 points for the Bearcats. Cincinnati turned the ball over 12 times for six Minnesota points. Forward Jaylen Crocker-Johnson spent all night in foul trouble, picking up his fourth foul with 12 minutes left and his fifth with 1:35 remaining. He ended with 11 points and four rebounds. Minnesota trailed the Bearcats 30-23 with four minutes left in the first half on the back of a 10-0 advantage in points in the paint, but the Gophers closed the first half with a 7-0 run to tie it 30-30 at the break. ADVERTISEMENT Evans, who had a combined 12 points in the first two games versus North Dakota and St. Thomas, paced the Gophers with 16 in the opening half. Then it was Durkin who put on the finishing touch. Text Example ____________________________________ This story was written by one of our partner news agencies. 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