By Marco LaNave
As the season’s competition made a permanent step up on Tuesday night, the Gophers got a big performance from their veteran scorer who had been relatively quiet throughout the nonconference schedule.
In the Big Ten opener, senior guard Lawrence Westbrook tied a career high with 29 points to lead the Gophers 1-0 Big Ten, 10-3 overall to a 75-70 victory over Penn State 0-1, 8-5 in front of a sellout crowd at Williams Arena.
“The Big Ten season is where all the men play,” Westbrook said. “If you’re a player, you step up and you make plays. I’ve been waiting for this game for a long time; I couldn’t even sleep [Monday] night.” …