University of Minnesota Athletics
University of Minnesota
Lehigh
Pitino Era Opens With 81-62 Victory
11/8/2013 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
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Nov. 8, 2013
Boxscore | Quotes | Photo Gallery 
MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. -- The Richard Pitino era at Minnesota began successfully Friday night, as the Gophers established an early double-digit lead versus Lehigh and maintained a comfortable advantage throughout during an 81-62 victory at Williams Arena.
Four Minnesota players reached double-figures, led by sophomore forward Joey King's game-high 20 points on 6-of-10 shooting. Junior guard Andre Hollins added 18 points and five assists, while junior center Elliott Eliason recorded his first career double-double by finishing with 11 points and a career-best 17 rebounds.
Minnesota (1-0) led 37-18 at the half, as King scored 10 points and the Gophers limited Lehigh to 23.3 percent (7-of-30) from the field, while also forcing 11 turnovers.
But the Mountain Hawks (0-2) played the Gophers even after the break. Lehigh was led by Mackey McKnight's 18 points, while Austin Price added 15 points and Jesse Chuku had eight points and a team-high 10 rebounds.
Junior guard DeAndre Mathieu finished with nine assists and three steals for the Gophers. As a team, Minnesota made 27-of-59 (.458) field goals, including 9-of-25 three-pointers, and Minnesota finished with a 38-35 edge in rebounding.
Minnesota plays host to Montana next Tuesday at Williams Arena, with tipoff slated for 7:00 p.m. For ticket information, visit mygophersports.com, or call 612.624.8080 or 1.800.U.GOPHER.
