MADISON, WIS. – Gophers first-year coach Ben Johnson wants to end the pipeline between the state of Minnesota and Wisconsin's basketball program.
Still, Johnson saw Sunday how much recruiting in his state has boosted their border rival.
Minnesota natives Tyler Wahl, Brad Davison and Steven Crowl combined for 40 points for the No. 11 Badgers, but it was the inability to stop star Johnny Davis late that resulted in the Gophers' 66-60 loss Sunday afternoon in Madison.
"He's the best player in the country," said Davison, who had 14 points. "When the game is on the line, we have a lot of confidence in him to make the right decision."
The Gophers (11-7, 2-7) were forcing other players besides Davis to make plays and tied the game 60-60 after two free throws from E.J. Stephens to cap an 11-2 run with 2:23 to play.
Davis, who finished with 16 points and 15 rebounds, was frustrated for most of the game, but he outscored the Gophers 6-0 in the final two minutes to keep the Badgers (17-3, 7-2) on top of the Big Ten standings.
"We did a pretty good job on Johnny to hold him to seven [points] under his average," Johnson said. "I thought defensively we checked a lot of our boxes. Just a couple things late that we got to tighten up to get a win like this."
Payton Willis, who led the Gophers with 15 of his 17 points in the second half, but the Gophers dropped to 2-19 all-time at the Kohl Center.
Wahl, who starred at Lakeville North, had 10 of his 15 points in the first half to lead Wisconsin to a 32-25 halftime lead. The 6-9 junior was one of three Badgers starters from Minnesota, including Maple Grove's Davison and Eastview's Crowl.
Former DeLaSalle standout Jamison Battle, who had 14 points and 10 rebounds, drew the fourth foul on Wahl with 8:19 remaining. But the Badgers relied even more on the 7-foot Crowl, who had nine of his 11 points in the second half.
During a two-minute stretch in the second half there were 13 of 17 points scored by Minnesotans on both sides, including Crowl's three to give Wisconsin a 58-49 lead.
Crowl held his own inside against the Gophers starting senior center Eric Curry, who returned to the lineup after missing three games with an ankle injury.
Davison, who was honored Sunday before the game for becoming the program's all-time three-point leader, also helped the Badgers get off to strong start with three of his four three-pointers in the first 11 minutes.
The fifth-year senior also grabbed a critical defensive rebound in crunch time when the Gophers missed a shot that could've tied the game again under two minutes remaining.
"He epitomizes what it means to be in this program with how we works every day and goes about his business," Wisconsin coach Greg Gard said about Davison. "I'm glad he's on my team I tell you that."
After winning several close games during a 10-1 start under Johnson, the Gophers haven't been able to finish strong consistently in close games in conference play, especially on the road.
The Gophers lost 71-69 on a last-second shot by Joey Hauser on Jan. 12 at Michigan State. A second-half lead dwindled in a 73-60 loss Jan. 9 at Indiana when they went without a field goal in the last three minutes.
Willis hit back-to-back threes and Stephens followed with the U's fifth shot from beyond the arc in the second half to cut it to a 60-58 game with 3:09 to play Sunday. But the Gophers couldn't deny Davis and failed to score another field goal the rest of the way.
"We just have to keep pushing every day," Willis said. "We know this is a hard league. At the end of the day we have to make winning plays. We just have to figure that out."
