By R.L. Bynum
Dawson Garcia tied his career-high in a big Minnesota win last week at Ohio State.
Garcia collected 28 points and nine rebounds Thursday as the Gophers knocked off the Buckeyes in Columbus, Ohio, 70–67, matching the 28 points he scored in his freshman season for Marquette in a road game against Villanova on Feb. 10, 2021.
Garcia’s best game as a Tar Heel was 26 points on Nov. 20, 2021, in Carolina’s 93–84 loss to Purdue at Uncasville, Conn.
“He’s a warrior. He doesn’t blink. He just keeps working,” Minnesota coach Ben Johnson said after the game.
Garcia hit two late free throws to seal the win for Minnesota (7–8, 1–4 Big Ten).
His dominance inside and good play on defense made a big difference for the Gophers.
“That’s what it’s all about,” Garcia told The Star Tribune. “Coach says never blink, and that was a great example of that tonight. There were times when we could’ve got tight down the stretch, but we stuck together. We all came in and said, ‘Go to war.’ “
Garcia had 14 points and nine rebounds in a Jan. 3 loss at Wisconsin. He produced his fifth career double-double on Jan. 7 in an 81–70 overtime home loss to Nebraska with 19 points and 15 rebounds. His lone double-double for Carolina was a 20-point, 10-rebound game on Dec. 14, 2021, in a 71–61 home win over Furman.
Andrew Platek’s league-leading Siena team had been on a roll with seven consecutive victories before losing its first MAAC game Sunday. The Saints lost 66–62 to Canisius, with Platek held to five points, although he had four steals.
In the Saints’ four wins since the New Year before Sunday, Platek notched three 3-pointers in two of them — with 13 points in their 70–64 Friday victory at Niagara and 11 points in their 70–60 home win on Jan. 6 against St. Peter’s.
Siena (12–6, 6–1 MAAC) has a one-game lead in the conference over Iona.
Jeremiah Francis’ Emmanuel College team has won two in a row after he scored 13 points and two 3-pointers and dished out four assists in Saturday’s 93–61 home win over Mount Olive. Last Tuesday, he had seven points, five assists and two steals in the Lions’ 85–63 victory at Erskine.
Francis collected 12 points and four assists in Emmanuel’s 89–71 home loss Jan. 4 against Barton.
Emmanuel is 9–7 and sixth in Conference Carolinas at 4–3.
The transfer to Texas Tech continues to go poorly for Kerwin Walton, who didn’t play Saturday in the Red Raiders’ 72–70 loss at Texas.
He scored six points and two 3-pointers in Tuesday’s 84–50 defeat at Iowa State in 11 minutes. He was scoreless in the Jan. 7 68–63 overtime loss to Oklahoma and the Jan. 10 75–72 defeat at Kansas. He had three points in 11 minutes in the 67–61 Dec. 31 defeat at TCU.
Texas Tech (10–7, 0–5 Big 12) has lost its last five games and shares the Big 12 cellar with West Virginia.
There is still no news on Anthony Harris’ status at Rhode Island. Coach Archie Miller has said for months that he planned to add Harris to his roster. Harris took fall classes at home to earn the proper academic standard.
A decision, either way, would have to come by Jan. 23, when the school’s spring semester starts.
The Rams (6–11, 2–3) lost Saturday night to UMass 75–66.
Checking in on 5 former Heels
Jeremiah Francis, Emmanuel College guard
6–1, 190 pounds | Junior | UNC 2019–20 (1 season)
91–77 Saturday, Dec. 31 loss at Augusta — Started; 29 minutes, 3 points, 1–4 FG, 1–3 3FG, 1 rebound, 1 foul, 2 assists, 1 turnover, 1 steal
89–71 Wednesday, Jan. 4 loss vs. Barton — Started; 31 minutes, 12 points, 4–11 FG, 1–5 3FG, 2 rebounds, 2 fouls, 4 assists, 1 turnover
85–63 Tuesday win at Erskine — Started; 33 minutes, 7 points, 3–5 FG, 1–2 FT, 3 rebounds, 3 fouls, 5 assists, 3 turnovers, 2 steals
93–61 Saturday win vs. Mount Olive — Started; 31 minutes, 13 points, 4–10 FG, 2–5 3FG, 3–3 FT, 3 rebounds, 1 foul, 4 assists, 2 turnovers, 1 steal
Season statistics — 14 games, 14 starts, 7.3 points, 32.7% FG, 28.2 3FG, 77.8 FT%, 2.4 rebounds; totals of 34 assists, 12 steals and 1 block
Up next — 7 p.m. Monday vs. North Greenville; 7 p.m. Wednesday at Lees-McRae
Dawson Garcia, Minnesota forward
6–11, 230 pounds | Sophomore | UNC 2020–21 (part of 1 season)
63–60 Tuesday, Jan. 3 loss at Wisconsin — Started; 32 minutes, 14 points, 5–13 FG, 0–3 3FG, 4–5 FT, 9 rebounds, 2 fouls, 3 turnovers
81–70 OT Saturday, Jan. 7 loss vs. Nebraska — Started; 36 minutes, 19 points, 6–15 FG, 2–3 3FG, 5–6 FT, 15 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 block, +4
70–67 Thursday win at Ohio State — Started; 38 minutes, 28 points, 9–15 FG, 2–4 3FG, 8–11 FT, 9 rebounds, 3 fouls, 2 assists, 1 steal
Season statistics — 15 games, 15 starts, 15.5 points, 46.2 FG%, 31.4 3FG%, 71.6 FT%, 6.7 rebounds; totals of 25 assists, 9 steals, 9 blocks
Up next — 6 p.m. Monday vs. Illinois; 7 p.m. Thursday vs. Purdue
Anthony Harris, Rhode Island guard
6–4, 190 pounds | Junior | UNC 2019–22 (3 seasons)
Because of academic concerns, his season hasn’t started yet. If he joined the Rams team, that should be by the time the spring semester starts on Jan. 23.
Andrew Platek, Siena guard
6–4, 208 pounds | Graduate student | UNC 2017–21 (4 seasons)
70–61 Sunday, Jan. 1 win at Fairfield — Started; 23 minutes, 4 points, 2–3 FG, 3 rebounds, 1 foul, 1 assist, 1 turnover, 1 steal
70–60 Friday, Jan 6 win vs. Saint Peter’s — Started; 22 minutes, 11 points, 3–7 FG, 3–7 3FG, 2–2 FT, 2 fouls, 2 assists, 4 turnovers
68–63 Sunday, Jan 8 win vs. Rider — Started; 31 minutes, 9 points, 3–9 FG, 1–6 3FG, 2–5 FT, 1 rebound, 1 foul, 2 turnovers, 1 steal
70–64 Friday win at Niagara — Started; 33 minutes, 13 points, 5–6 FG, 3–4 3FG, 4 rebounds, 2 fouls, 2 blocks, 1 steal
66–62 Sunday loss at Canisius — Started; 25 minutes, 5 points, 2–11 FG, 1–7 3FG, 1 rebound, 1 turnover, 4 steals
Season statistics — 18 games, 18 starts, 10.2 points, 47.3 FG%, 44.8 3FG%, 60.9 FT%, 2.6 rebounds; totals of 25 assists, 18 steals, 4 blocks
Up next — 7 p.m. Friday vs. Mount St. Mary’s, ESPN+; 2 p.m. Sunday vs. Fairfield, ESPN+
Kerwin Walton, Texas Tech guard
6–5, 200 pounds | Junior | UNC 2020–22 (2 seasons)
67–61 Saturday, Dec. 31 loss at TCU — 11 minutes, 3 points, 1–2 FG, 1–2 3FG, 1 rebound, 1 turnover
75–72 Tuesday, Jan. 10 loss at Kansas — 1 minute, 0 points, 0–1 FG, 0–1 3FG
68–63 OT Saturday, Jan. 7 loss vs. Oklahoma — 11 minutes, 0 points, 1 foul
84–50 Tuesday loss at Iowa State — 9 minutes, 6 points, 2–2 FG, 2–2 3FG, 1 block
72–70 Saturday loss at Texas — Didn’t play
Season statistics — 15 games, 170 minutes, 47 points, 16–36 FG, 10–27 3FG, 5–6 FT, 16 rebounds, 7 assists, 2 steals, 4 blocks
Up next — 9 p.m. Tuesday vs. Baylor, ESPNU; 2 p.m. Saturday at Kansas State, ESPN2 or ESPNU
Photo via @GopherMBB
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