Cam Christie's clutch play leads Gophers' rally over Michigan State
Gophers men's basketball coach Ben Johnson expected big things out of Cam Christie this season. And Christie is delivering more and more every game.
Up a point with 18.5 seconds left, Christie was fouled after securing a defensive rebound and went to the free-throw line for a 1 and 1. He hit the first before Michigan State coach Tom Izzo called a timeout. Pressure on, he made the second, too.
The Gophers got a stop on the next possession to secure a 59-56 victory over the Spartans at Williams Arena, the Gophers' third straight win.
The free throws weren't the only big shots Christie hit Tuesday night. He drilled two key 3-pointers during a 10-0 Minnesota run in the second half that turned a nine-point deficit into a one-point lead. When Michigan State got a bucket back, Christie hit another 3 to give the one-point advantage back to the U.
Christie finished his night with 19 points and six rebounds. It was a revenge game of sorts for Christie, who fouled out against the Spartans the last time the two teams played on Jan. 18. Not to mention, his brother, Max, played at Michigan State.
"I went into that game (at Michigan State) with a chip on my shoulder, excited to play there and then unfortunately it got cut short due to me fouling out," Christie said. "So obviously I had to make some adjustments, make sure not to foul out of this game again because that would have been tragic. And then just play. Do what I do best."
Dawson Garcia got in on the clutch shot-making, too, hitting a 3-pointer with 1 minute, 27 seconds remaining that broke a 52-52 tie.
But Elijah Hawkins fouled A.J. Hoggard attempting a 3 on the other end. Hoggard made 2-of-3 free-throw attempts, with Christie grabbing the defensive rebound.
After Christie made his two free throws, the Spartans (14-9, 6-6 Big Ten) got two shots off the ensuing possession — a missed layup by Hoggard and a missed tip-in attempt on the rebound before the ball went out of bounds off Michigan State.
The Spartans fouled Hawkins, who made both his free throws. Game.
The Gophers (15-7, 6-5) might not have been in that position without a big jolt of energy early in the first half from Parker Fox, who had a big block in transition to fire up the announced crowd of 8,239 at The Barn, not to mention a steal that he saved from going out of bounds by throwing the ball off a Michigan State defender.
Offensively, he scored seven points in the first half, including an and-1 layup that gave the Gophers a seven-point lead, their largest of the game, 6 minutes, 28 seconds into the contest. He finished his night with eight points and four rebounds.
"I have all the confidence in the world in (Fox), and so I just know when I can put him in there, whether it's for whatever he played, 18 minutes (Tuesday), or if it's five minutes, he's going to do what he does," Johnson said.
Fox did what he does in the first half, Christie did what he does in the second half and the Gophers got another conference victory out of it.
Feb 6, 2024; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Golden Gophers guard Cam Christie (24) shoots as Michigan State Spartans guard A.J. Hoggard (11) defends during the first half at Williams Arena.
Credit: Matt Krohn-USA TODAY Sports
