University of Minnesota Athletics
Gophers Run Past MSU Moorhead, 98-49
11/10/2009 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Minneapolis -- The Minnesota men's basketball team wrapped up its exhibition schedule Monday night at Williams Arena with a 98-49 win against Minnesota State, Moorhead before a crowd of 11,439.
The Golden Gophers, who defeated Minnesota Duluth, 114-47, in their exhibition opener last Thursday, jumped out to a 25-2 lead a little more than 10 minutes into the game, then never looked back against their NCAA Division II foe. A total of five Minnesota players reached double figures, led by sophomore guard Devoe Joseph's game-high 20 points off the bench.
Minnesota's largest lead was the 49-point final margin, and the Gophers connected on 36-of-63 (.571) field goals in the win. Minnesota also shot the ball particularly well from outside the arc, as it made 14-of-23 (.609) attempts from that range. The Gophers used their size to outrebound the Dragons, 45-27, while the team's athleticism was evident by recording 14 steals, 13 blocks, and forcing 24 MSUM turnovers.
MSU Moorhead was paced by guard Jake Driscoll's 14 points, while Jordan May added eight points off the bench. The Dragons were limited to 19-of-55 (.345) field goals, including just 7-of-21 (.333) three-pointers in the loss.
Lawrence Westbrook (16 points), Blake Hoffarber (14), Ralph Sampson III (11), and Damian Johnson (10) joined Joseph in double figures for the Gophers. Hoffarber was 4-of-5 from three-point range, while Westbrook scored 11 points in the opening four minutes of the second half. Joseph made 5-of-8 treys in the game, while Westbrook was 4-of-7 from beyond the stripe.
Paul Carter, Sampson, and Johnson each finished with six rebounds to pace the Gophers on the boards, while a total of seven Minnesota players had at least four rebounds in the contest. Seven Gophers had at least one blocked shot, led by Sampson's game-high total of four. Al Nolen recorded a game-high seven assists, while also topping the Gophers with three steals and grabbing five rebounds in an all-around effort.
The Gophers throttled the Dragons in building the early lead, and led by 26 points (35-9) following a layup by Carter with 5:27 left until the half. After holding a 42-20 lead at halftime, the Gophers made 20-of-30 (.667) field goals after the break, including a red-hot 10-of-14 (.714) from long-range.
Minnesota now looks ahead to its regular season-opener against Tennessee Tech this Friday (Nov. 13). The game is set to tip off from The Barn at 7 p.m., and will be streamed live on www.bigtennetwork.com for a fee. Fans can also listen to the game on the Gopher Radio Network, and flagship station WCCO 830 AM, with Mike Grimm calling the play-by-play and Spencer Tollackson making his debut as the network's analyst.
