National Basketball Association
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Minnesota 58, Virginia Tech 55
When: 9:15 PM ET, Wednesday, November 30, 2011
Where: Williams Arena, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Officials: # Jim Burr, # Paul Janssen, # Terry Wymer
Attendance: 10487
Julian Welch hit the go-ahead free throws with 16 seconds left and finished with 15 points as Minnesota edged visiting Virginia Tech 58-55 in the Big Ten-ACC Challenge on Wednesday.

Rodney Williams added 14 points and eight rebounds for the Golden Gophers (6-1), who were playing without Trevor Mbakwe and Ralph Sampson III.

Minnesota trailed, 28-25, at the half but came out of the break strong, ripping off a 17-9 burst to grab the lead. Erick Green would not let the Gophers pull away, hitting a pair of 3-pointers to keep the Hokies to within one possession.

Green’s layup with 25 seconds left gave Virginia Tech the lead back, 55-54. But Welch drew a foul on the other end and hit the two free throws.

The Hokies had one last chance following a timeout but they fumbled the inbounds pass into the backcourt for an over-and-back violation.

Green, who slid off the raised court and appeared to hurt his right shoulder with 17 seconds left but came back on the court, missed a desperation 3-point attempt at the buzzer.

Green finished with 25 points for Virginia Tech (5-2).
Top Game Performances
 
Virginia Tech   Minnesota
Erick Green 25 Scoring Julian Welch 15
Erick Green 4 Assists Julian Welch 4
Victor Davila 7 Rebounds Rodney Williams 8
Erick Green 3 Free Throws Made Julian Welch 4
Robert Brown 2 Steals Austin Hollins 2
Dorian Finney-Smith 1 Blocks Elliott Eliason 2
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Virginia Tech 55 37.7 8-17 7-7 12 25 3 6 11
Minnesota 58 50.0 2-13 8-15 17 28 5 9 9