Gophers lose regular season finale to Purdue

March 9, 2013; West Lafayette, IN, USA; Purdue Boilermakers guard Rapheal Davis (35) drives to the basket against the Minnesota Golden Gophers at Mackey Arena. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports

The Minnesota Golden Gophers close out the regular season with a 89-73 loss at the hands of the Purdue Boilermakers on the road Saturday afternoon.

On Senior Day at Mackey Arena in West Lafayette, senior D.J. Byrd scored 18 points while notching seven rebounds and five assists for the Boilermakers as they took a 17-point half-time lead to run away with the victory.

The Gophers attempted a comeback to start the second half with a 17-7 run to cut the Purdue lead to single digits, but after playing uninspired defense for a few minutes thereafter, the Boilermakers pushed the lead back to double-digits.

Andre Hollins scored 17 points in the second half and led all scorers with 24 points in the game, but his effort was too little too late.

Despite nine assists from Hollins, the rest of the Gophers weren’t able to play consistently on offense or defense.

Trevor Mbakwe, who sat out most of the first half after being called on two early fouls, only scored six points on 2-of-9 shooting. Mbakwe was able to add 10 rebounds, but those rebounds did not amount to much as Minnesota wasted one opportunity after another.

Rodney Williams played a solid game, notching 13 points and six rebounds — including five offensive rebounds — but his statistics didn’t translate as well to the game.

With the loss, the Gophers finish the season with a 8-10 conference record, the same record as Purdue.

Minnesota will likely face the Boilermakers again in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament depending on the outcome of the Iowa and Nebraska game.