Credit: Rich Janzaruk/Herald-Times / USA TODAY NETWORK
Mackenzie Mgbako scored 19 points, Kel’el Ware registered a double-double and Indiana held on for a 74-62 win over visiting Minnesota in a Big Ten Conference matchup Friday evening in Bloomington, Ind.
Ware tallied 17 points and 14 rebounds for Indiana (12-5, 4-2 Big Ten), which bounced back from a loss against Rutgers earlier this week. Malik Reneau finished with 16 points and Trey Galloway had 10 points, seven assists and four steals.
Pharrel Payne put up 17 points on 7-for-8 shooting and 10 rebounds to lead Minnesota (12-4, 3-2), whose seven-game winning streak came to an end. Dawson Garcia added 14 points and nine rebounds for the Golden Gophers. Joshua Ola-Joseph chipped in 12 points.
Indiana shot 43.3 percent overall (26 of 60) and 42.9 percent from 3-point range (6 of 14). Minnesota shot 39 percent from the field (23 of 59) and a meager 15 percent from long range (3 of 20).
The Hoosiers went on an 11-0 run early in the second half to take a commanding lead.
Elijah Hawkins made a jump shot to cut Minnesota’s deficit to 45-35 with 17:22 remaining. Indiana scored the next 11 points, starting with a three-point play by Ware. He finished the scoring outburst with an assist on a 3-pointer by Galloway that made it 56-35 with 15:08 to go.
The Golden Gophers struggled to keep pace the rest of the way. Garcia scored five straight Minnesota points to cut the deficit to 69-56 with 2:39 remaining, but Indiana maintained a double-digit lead the rest of the way.
Indiana established a 41-31 lead at the half.
The Hoosiers scored the first seven points of the game thanks to a 3-pointer by Galloway and a 3-pointer and a free throw by Mgbako.
A 3-pointer by Ware made it 16-6 for Indiana with 14:43 to go in the first half.
The Hoosiers continued to put pressure on the Golden Gophers. A three-point play by Anthony Walker increased Indiana’s advantage to 25-8 with 12:14 remaining in the half.
Minnesota cut the deficit to 28-23 thanks to an 11-0 sprint, culminating with a 3-pointer by Cam Christie with 6:18 to go in the half.
Indiana responded with a layup by Walker and a 3-pointer by Ware to reclaim a double-digit lead.
–Field Level Media