Unlike most recent games on the road, the Penn State men's basketball team was able to avoid an early deficit.

Nonetheless, the outcome was the same.

Minnesota's defense forced the Nittany Lions (6-17, 1-11 Big Ten) into 25 turnovers, leading the Golden Gophers (16-7, 8-4) to a 77-62 victory on Saturday night at Williams Arena in Minneapolis.

"Once again our turnovers haunted us throughout the game. Mentally we did not have all five guys on the court at once, which hurt us," Penn State men's basketball coach Jerry Dunn said. "We had a lot of open looks, but did not take the shots that we should have taken."

The Lions had their chances in both halves to draw even with Minnesota but were unable to take advantage of the opportunities that presented themselves. With Penn State trailing 25-23 with 5:43 remaining, Penn State guard Brandon Watkins hauled in an outlet pass, and he was clear of the field but he left a pass for Aaron Johnson. Johnson was unable to handle it, however, and the ball rolled out of bounds off his leg on the breakaway. Despite the miscue, Johnson finished with 12 points and a career-high 14 rebounds.

The Lions missed a golden opportunity to tie the game and momentum switched to the Golden Gophers. Minnesota went on an 11-5 run to close out the half, capped off by a Rick Rickert three-pointer with 22 seconds remaining.

Down by eight, the Lions came out strong to start in the second half, scoring the first six points to cut the lead to 38-36 as Jan Jagla dunked a Watkins miss with 17:30 remaining. The Lions had a chance to take the lead with a DeForrest Riley three-pointer, but the attempt from the corner went in-and-out. The Golden Gophers then went on a 12-2 run to distance themselves from Penn State and stretch the lead to 50-38. The Lions were never able to recover.

Rickert led the Golden Gophers with 26 points, tying a season-high. He was able to score inside with turnaround jump shots, in the paint with reverse lay-ups and in transition with pull-up three-pointers. Penn State could find no answers for Rickert.

"He played well, like a future NBA player," Watkins said on the Penn State Sports Radio Network. "He hurt us in so many ways."

The Golden Gophers' zone press caused a great deal of confusion for the Lions all game long. Minnesota used the press following made free throws, after some made baskets and dead-ball timeouts. The press was responsible for many of those 25 Penn State turnovers, and allowed for Minnesota to create several of its 18 steals.

"The press caused a lot of problems," Watkins said. "We have to get to the right spots on the floor, and then take care of the ball."

And the Lions couldn't do that.