University of Minnesota Athletics
Fast Break: Mount St. Mary's
11/16/2016 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Recap | Quotes | Photo Gallery
SERIES, ETC.
Tonight's game was just the second all-time meeting (not counting vacated games), with Minnesota now holding a 2-0 lead in the series. Both games have been played in Minneapolis, with the Golden Gophers also posting an 85-56 win ion November 21, 2011. This was head coach Richard Pitino's first-ever game against The Mount, and it also was his first career game against a Northeast Conference foe. Minnesota improved to 8-0 all-time against NEC teams. Coach Pitino's fourth-year record at Minnesota now stands at 54-51, and his five-year career mark is 72-65. Minnesota last opened the season with a 3-0 record during Pitino's first season in 2013-14.
STARTING FIVE
Coach Pitino once again utilized a starting lineup of juniors Nate Mason and Reggie Lynch, sophomores Dupree McBrayer and Jordan Murphy, and freshman Amir Coffey. Mason made his team-leading 36th career start in Maroon and Gold, while Murphy was in the starting lineup for the 23rd time and McBrayer made his 17th start. A redshirt junior, Lynch has started his first three games at Minnesota after transferring from Illinois State, and Coffey also made his third career start.
BIG RUN SPARKS GOPHERS
Minnesota has utilized big second-half scoring runs the past two games to pull away and post double-digit wins. During Monday's 84-67 win against UT Arlington, the Gophers opened the second half on a 24-3 run to rally from a six-point halftime deficit. Tonight, Minnesota used a 20-1 run over a seven-minute span to stretch a 49-42 lead to 69-43. Jordan Murphy and Akeem Springs each tallied eight points during the run. Minnesota also had a 12-2 run to start its season-opening win against Louisiana.
MURPHY RECORDS DOUBLE-DOUBLE
Jordan Murphy recorded his 11th career point-rebound double-double, and second in as many games, finishing with game-highs of 18 points and 12 rebounds. He made 8-of-9 field goals, and also led the Gophers with two blocked shots. Murphy helped the Gophers to a 46-25 advantage on the boards. In addition to Murphy's effort on the glass, Eric Curry had eight boards, and Reggie Lynch and Akeem Springs each grabbed six caroms.
FIVE PLAYERS REACH DOUBLE-FIGURES
Minnesota had very balanced scoring, with five players reaching double figures. In addition to Murphy's game-high 18 points, Dupree McBrayer and Nate Mason each had 13 points, while Akeem Springs and Amir Coffey each had 10. McBrayer had a perfect shooting night, making 5-of-5 field goals (including a three-pointer) and both of his free throw attempts.
GOPHERS TOP 80 POINTS FOR THIRD-STRAIGHT
Minnesota topped 80 points for the third-straight game to open the season. It's the first time the Gophers tallied 80-plus in three-consecutive games since wins against Omaha (93-90) and Clemson (89-83) and an 85-81 loss to South Dakota during Nov. 27-Dec. 5, 2015. Minnesota hasn't opened a season with three-straight 80-plus point outings since wins against Mercer (80-59), UNC-Asheville (92-65) and Eastern Washington (86-68) during 2001-02. The last time a Gophers team started a season with four-straight 80-point games was 1992-93, when Clem Haskins' team opened the season with six-straight games over 80.
