Langston Reynolds drove to the net for a go-ahead layup with 11 seconds remaining, and Minnesota escaped with a 67-66 win over Northwestern on Saturday night in Minneapolis in their Big Ten Conference regular-season finale.
Reynolds finished with 21 points on 9-for-13 shooting for the Golden Gophers (15-16, 8-12 Big Ten), who won on “Senior Night” in front of their home crowd. Cade Tyson added 15 points and Isaac Asuma scored 14 to go along with a team-high eight rebounds.
Nick Martinelli scored 23 points on 9-for-18 shooting to lead the Wildcats (13-18, 5-15). Jake West contributed 14 points on 5-for-9 shooting for Northwestern, which finished the Big Ten regular season with back-to-back losses after winning the previous three games in a row.
Minnesota shot 54.5% (24 of 44) from the field and 35.3% (6 of 17) from 3-point range. Northwestern shot 43.4% (24 of 53) overall and 34.8% (8 of 23) from beyond the arc.
The Golden Gophers outscored the Wildcats 34-24 in the paint.
Northwestern rallied after falling behind 61-53 with 5:29 remaining.
Martinelli knocked down a 3-pointer to cut the Wildcats’ deficit to 61-56 with 4:59 to go. He followed with a layup to make it 61-58 with four minutes left, and he made one of two free-throw attempts to bring Northwestern within 61-59 with 3:17 remaining.
Reynolds sank a pair of free throws to boost Minnesota’s lead to 63-59 with 3:01 to go.
Martinelli continued to lead the comeback attempt. He made a step-back jump shot to cut the deficit to 63-61, and Jordan Clayton gave Northwestern a 64-63 lead when he made a 3-pointer with 1:34 to go.
Angelo Ciaravino added two free throws to increase Northwestern’s advantage to 66-63 with 34 seconds remaining.
Reynolds did the rest to help Minnesota earn the win on its home court. He finished off a dunk to bring the Golden Gophers within 66-65 with 26 seconds left, and after a missed free throw by Martinelli, he provided the dramatic finish with his layup off his right hand on the next possession.
Northwestern is seeded 15th in the Big Ten tournament and plays No. 18 seed Penn State in the opening round on Tuesday in Chicago. Minnesota is seeded No. 11 and will play 14th-seeded Rutgers in the second round on Wednesday.
