Gopher Defense Stifles Eastern Kentucky

Minnesota held Eastern Kentucky scoreless for almost the first 10 minutes of the second half during its 71-58 victory against the Colonels on Saturday afternoon at Williams Arena.

The Gophers (9-1) established an early 10-5 lead, with junior forwards Ralph Sampson III and Trevor Mbakwe each scoring four points, but the Colonels responded with a 17-3 run to build a nine-point lead at 22-13.

Minnesota answered with a 12-0 run to pull back in front, 25-22, late in the half. EKU’s Justin Stommes, a native of Minnesota, knocked down his fourth three-pointer to tie the game with 0:06 left in the half, but freshman guard Maverick Ahanmisi hit a three-pointer from halfcourt to send Minnesota to the locker room with a 28-25 lead.

Senior guard Blake Hoffarber opened the second half with a three-pointer from the right wing, Sampson added a pair of dunks, Mbakwe hit a free throw, and junior guard Devoe Joseph hit a straight-away trey to extend Minnesota’s run from the first half to 26-3 to take a 39-25 lead.

Eastern Kentucky (5-5), which tied the score on Stommes’ three late in the first half, was held scoreless for the first 9:55 of the second half before Stommes dunked to cut the Golden Gophers’ lead to 43-27.

Sampson led the Gophers with 19 points, making 6-of-6 field goals and 7-of-8 free throws, while also grabbing a team-high eight rebounds and dishing out four assists. Hoffarber finished with 14 points, making 4-of-9 three-pointers, and adding six assists and three steals, while Mbakwe had 14 points and five boards.

EKU was led by Stommes’ 19 points on 5-of-9 treys, but he was the lone Colonels player to reach double figures. As a team, Eastern Kentucky was held to 19-of-53 (.358) field goals, including 10-of-29 (.345) from beyond the arc.

Minnesota made 17-of-30 (.567) second-half field goals to finish at 26-of-50 (.520) for the game, but the Gophers struggled at the free throw line, where they made just 12-of-22 (.545) attempts. The Gophers held a 37-28 edge in rebounding against the undersized Colonels.

The Gophers return to action on Wednesday, Dec. 15, when they play host to Akron at 7:00 p.m. (CST) in Williams Arena. For ticket information, call the Golden Gopher Ticket Office at 612.624.8080 or 1.800.U.GOPHER, or visit www.mygophersports.com.