Dawson Garcia scored 19 points on 8-for-13 shooting, and Minnesota pulled away for an 86-67 win over Arkansas-Pine Bluff on Tuesday night in Minneapolis.
Cam Christie added 14 points off the bench and made 4 of 6 3-point attempts for Minnesota (4-1). Joshua Ola-Joseph finished with 12 points, and Elijah Hawkins tallied 10.
Rashad Williams scored a game-high 26 points and made a half-dozen 3-pointers to lead Arkansas-Pine Bluff (3-3). Lonnell Martin Jr. was the only other Golden Lions player to score in double figures with 14 points.
Minnesota shot 44.9 percent (31 of 69) from the field. Arkansas-Pine Bluff shot 36.2 percent (21 of 58).
After falling behind by 15 points at halftime, Arkansas-Pine Bluff came out better to start the second half. The Golden Lions pulled within 61-53 with 10:19 to play when Robert Lewis made a dunk off an assist from Williams.
The Golden Gophers scored 11 of the next 15 points to go ahead 72-57 with 5:50 to go. Ola-Joseph punctuated the scoring binge with a dunk.
Arkansas-Pine Bluff never got closer than 12 points the rest of the way.
Minnesota established a 51-36 lead at the half.
The Golden Lions stayed competitive in the first few minutes. The score was tied at 11-all with 15:30 remaining in the first half.
Williams accounted for all of Arkansas-Pine Bluff’s first 11 points. He drilled a pair of 3-pointers, made a jump shot and sank three free throws before anyone else on his team scored.
Minnesota then took control with a 12-2 run to go ahead 23-13. Christie had five points during the run and assisted a pair of layups by Pharrel Payne.
The Golden Gophers grabbed their largest lead of the half when Mike Mitchell Jr. made a shot from beyond the arc to make it 51-30 with 2:18 remaining.
Minnesota dominated the boards, posting a 50-31 advantage in rebounds.
–Field Level Media