University of Minnesota Athletics
Minnesota Overpowers Morgan State, 94-64
12/9/2009 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Minneapolis -- Minnesota remained undefeated at home this season, improving to 6-3 overall, with a decisive 94-64 victory over Morgan State on a snowy Tuesday evening at Williams Arena.
Morgan State's bus wound up stuck in traffic due to the snowy conditions outside, and the Bears first took the floor with a little less than 40 minutes remaining before the tipoff. Whether or not that was a factor, Morgan State got off to a slippery start. Minnesota jumped out to an 18-0 lead over the first 7:31 of the game, and never looked back against a team that is coming off an NCAA Tournament appearance last season, and had played well in losing by nine points at 22nd-ranked Louisville, and defeating Arkansas earlier this season.
Blake Hoffarber led the Golden Gophers in scoring for the second-consecutive game, finishing with 18 points on 8-for-11 shooting, while Lawrence Westbrook added 14 points, four assists, and four steals. Damian Johnson was the third Gophers player to reach double figures, finishing with 11 points. All 11 Minnesota players scored points, with all but one having at least five points in the blowout victory, and every player for the Gophers also grabbed at least two rebounds, as Minnesota held a 47-to-42 advantage on the glass.
Morgan State (5-4) was led by Reggie Holmes' game-high 26 points, while Kevin Thompson finished with 17 points and a game-best 19 rebounds before fouling out of the game late in the second half. Holmes entered the game ranked fourth nationally with an average of 24.6 points per game. The Bears did manage to come up with 23 offensive rebounds, but were able to convert those second chances into just 15 points in the loss.
Minnesota's Devron Bostick finished with nine points and five rebounds, while Ralph Sampson III also had nine points and a team-high seven boards. Al Nolen dished out a game-best six assists, while scoring five points and chasing down five caroms.
The Gophers led 43-21 at the half after making 16-of-30 (.533) field goals, including 5-of-10 treys, while limiting the Bears to just 25.8 percent on 8-for-31 shooting. Morgan State's deficit was 27 points (54-27) with 15:49 left, before rallying to cut it to 18 points (74-56) with 5:14 remaining. But the Gophers responded to outscore the Bears 20-8 down the stretch to finish with the 30-point margin, its largest of the night.
Minnesota stays home to face St. Joseph's on Saturday at 3:00 p.m. The game will be televised live on Big Ten Network.
