University of Minnesota Athletics
Thursday, October 16
7:00 PM
University of Minnesota
80
vs
54
North Dakota State
Players Mentioned
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/ Men's Basketball
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/ Men's Basketball
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/ Men's Basketball
Guard/Forward
/ Men's Basketball
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/ Men's Basketball
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/ Men's Basketball
Photo by: Brad Rempel
Tyson Scores 28 in Exhibition Win Over NDSU
10/16/2025 9:45:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Cade Tyson scored a game-high 28 points, and Jaylen Crocker-Johnson (11) and Isaac Asuma (10) also reached double-figures, as Minnesota soundly defeated North Dakota State, 80-54, in an exhibition game at Williams Arena. The exhibition win before a crowd of 7,332 marked the unofficial start to the Niko Medved era at Minnesota.
Tyson, who began his career at Belmont and transferred here after one season at North Carolina, made the most of his 24 minutes. He was 9-of-13 from the field, including 6-of-9 from three-point range, and went 4-of-4 at the line. Crocker-Johnson finished with 11 points and five rebounds, and Asuma had 10 points, six rebounds, and four assists. Robert Vaihola just missed a double-double, finishing with eight points and a game-high 14 rebounds, helping the Gophers to finish with a sizeable 46-31 advantage on the glass. Chansey Willis Jr. wound up with seven points and five assists, and Bobby Durkin had six points and five boards.
As a team, Minnesota made 28-of-58 (.483) field goals, including 11-of-28 (.393) three-pointers, and 13-of-22 (.591) free throws. NDSU, picked for a fourth-place finish in the Summit League's preseason poll, was 19-of-55 (.345) from the field, including just 5-of-24 (.208) from long-range, and 11-of-20 (.550) at the line. Trevian Carson was the lone Bison player to reach double-figures with 14 points, and Markhi Strickland added nine points and five rebounds.
Minnesota opened the game by building a 13-9 lead, as it made 4-of-6 field goals, including its first three attempts from three-point range. Tyson scored five of the first 10 points for the Gophers, and Crocker-Johnson and Durkin each added three-pointers for the early four-point lead. NDSU responded with a 10-3 run for a 19-16 edge with 12:12 remaining in the half. A couple free throws by Tyson pulled the Gophers within a point with 9:30 left, but NDSU stretched its lead to 23-18 before Asuma drained a three from the right corner. Asuma added a layup, followed by a Durkin three-pointer, and a layup and three from Tyson to make it a 13-0 run and give the Gophers a 31-23 lead with 4:11 left in the half. At that point, Minnesota was shooting 10-of-21, including 6-of-11 from long-range, while the Bison had cooled off to 8-of-22 (.364) and 2-of-10 from beyond the arc. NDSU narrowed the lead to five points, but the Gophers scored the final four points of the half and held a 35-26 halftime lead.
Tyson led Minnesota with 12 first-half points, while Asuma had seven points, four rebounds, and three assists, and Durkin came off the bench for six points and four boards. Minnesota was 12-of-28 (.429) from the field, including 6-of-16 (.375) from three-point range, and 5-of-9 (.556) at the free throw line, and the Gophers had a 24-15 rebounding advantage. NDSU was paced by Emil Skytta with five points in a reserve role. Minnesota's defense limited the Bison to 8-of-25 (.320) first-half field goals, including 2-of-12 (.167) three-pointers, and they were 8-of-13 (.615) at the line.
Minnesota stretched its lead to 13 points, 49-36, as Asuma reached double-figures with a three-point play with 13:54 remaining. The Bison closed to within nine, but 11 straight points from Tyson and a three-point play from Crocker-Johnson put the Gophers up 63-40 with 8:50 left. During Tyson's scoring run, he hit three three-pointers and added a tip-in to give him 23 points in 18 minutes. Another run for the Gophers, this time 14-5, expanded the lead to 77-49 with 3:04 left, and Minnesota closed out the 26-point exhibition victory.
The Gophers have one more exhibition, playing host North Dakota on Saturday, Oct. 25, at 2:00 p.m., before they open the regular season with a 7:00 p.m. tipoff versus Gardner-Webb on Monday, Nov. 3.
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Tyson, who began his career at Belmont and transferred here after one season at North Carolina, made the most of his 24 minutes. He was 9-of-13 from the field, including 6-of-9 from three-point range, and went 4-of-4 at the line. Crocker-Johnson finished with 11 points and five rebounds, and Asuma had 10 points, six rebounds, and four assists. Robert Vaihola just missed a double-double, finishing with eight points and a game-high 14 rebounds, helping the Gophers to finish with a sizeable 46-31 advantage on the glass. Chansey Willis Jr. wound up with seven points and five assists, and Bobby Durkin had six points and five boards.
As a team, Minnesota made 28-of-58 (.483) field goals, including 11-of-28 (.393) three-pointers, and 13-of-22 (.591) free throws. NDSU, picked for a fourth-place finish in the Summit League's preseason poll, was 19-of-55 (.345) from the field, including just 5-of-24 (.208) from long-range, and 11-of-20 (.550) at the line. Trevian Carson was the lone Bison player to reach double-figures with 14 points, and Markhi Strickland added nine points and five rebounds.
Minnesota opened the game by building a 13-9 lead, as it made 4-of-6 field goals, including its first three attempts from three-point range. Tyson scored five of the first 10 points for the Gophers, and Crocker-Johnson and Durkin each added three-pointers for the early four-point lead. NDSU responded with a 10-3 run for a 19-16 edge with 12:12 remaining in the half. A couple free throws by Tyson pulled the Gophers within a point with 9:30 left, but NDSU stretched its lead to 23-18 before Asuma drained a three from the right corner. Asuma added a layup, followed by a Durkin three-pointer, and a layup and three from Tyson to make it a 13-0 run and give the Gophers a 31-23 lead with 4:11 left in the half. At that point, Minnesota was shooting 10-of-21, including 6-of-11 from long-range, while the Bison had cooled off to 8-of-22 (.364) and 2-of-10 from beyond the arc. NDSU narrowed the lead to five points, but the Gophers scored the final four points of the half and held a 35-26 halftime lead.
Tyson led Minnesota with 12 first-half points, while Asuma had seven points, four rebounds, and three assists, and Durkin came off the bench for six points and four boards. Minnesota was 12-of-28 (.429) from the field, including 6-of-16 (.375) from three-point range, and 5-of-9 (.556) at the free throw line, and the Gophers had a 24-15 rebounding advantage. NDSU was paced by Emil Skytta with five points in a reserve role. Minnesota's defense limited the Bison to 8-of-25 (.320) first-half field goals, including 2-of-12 (.167) three-pointers, and they were 8-of-13 (.615) at the line.
Minnesota stretched its lead to 13 points, 49-36, as Asuma reached double-figures with a three-point play with 13:54 remaining. The Bison closed to within nine, but 11 straight points from Tyson and a three-point play from Crocker-Johnson put the Gophers up 63-40 with 8:50 left. During Tyson's scoring run, he hit three three-pointers and added a tip-in to give him 23 points in 18 minutes. Another run for the Gophers, this time 14-5, expanded the lead to 77-49 with 3:04 left, and Minnesota closed out the 26-point exhibition victory.
The Gophers have one more exhibition, playing host North Dakota on Saturday, Oct. 25, at 2:00 p.m., before they open the regular season with a 7:00 p.m. tipoff versus Gardner-Webb on Monday, Nov. 3.
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Highlights: Gophers 80, NDSU 54
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