MINNEAPOLIS _ Amir Coffey found himself sitting down on the court at just the right time in the first half Wednesday night when a rebound literally fell into his lap.
The Gophers sophomore guard immediately knew what to do with the ball _ shoot it. Coffey's bucket gave him 13 of his 21 points in the first half against No. 10 Miami (Fla.).
Coffey's miraculous shot didn't give his team enough momentum to take control for good.
In front of the first sellout crowd of the season at Williams Arena, the No. 12-ranked Gophers had a chance to prove worthy of all the early hype with a victory against a ranked opponent for the second consecutive game. The Hurricanes were a worthy challenge as well, holding off the Gophers, 86-81.
Miami's balanced attack appeared too much to overcome in the second half when Bruce Brown's 3-pointer made it a 71-59 with 8:37 left.
Isaiah Washington's layup capped a 12-2 run that cut Minnesota's deficit to 73-71 with 3:41 remaining, but the Gophers had to come up with a defensive stop to win.
Some observers tried to dismiss Minnesota's victory against No. 25 Alabama on Saturday at the Barclays Center Classic since the Crimson Tide outplayed Richard Pitino's team in the last 10 minutes using only three players vs. five.
This time Minnesota was shorthanded, with junior guard Dupree McBrayer sidelined because of a right leg injury, which put freshman Washington into the starting lineup.
Washington struggled in his first start, only making just one of his first 10 shots. He finished with 14 points on 6 of 17 shooting. Coffey paced the Gophers with 23 points.
Dewan Huell led the way with 23 points for Miami.
