Rutgers Scarlet Knights vs Minnesota Golden Gophers Box Score on Dec 03, 2017

The Sports Xchange
Dec 3, 2017

MINNEAPOLIS -- Nate Mason led the way with 26 points as 12th-ranked Minnesota bounced back from its first loss of the season, opening conference play with an 89-67 win over Rutgers on Sunday.

Jordan Murphy, the three-time winner of the Big Ten's player of the week award, had 18 points and led all rebounders with 16 for the Gophers (8-1, 1-0 Big Ten) who led by 10 at the start of the second half, and were able to pull away from an aggressive Rutgers team late.

Rutgers (6-2, 0-1) was paced by 13 points and nine rebounds from Mamadou Doucure, while Geo Baker had 12 points.

The Scarlet Knights lost their second consecutive game, due in large part to a rough shooting night. The Knights shot just over 32 percent for the game, and Minnesota, which leads the nation in blocked shots, swatted away eight shots.

Minnesota got good news even before the opening tip, with junior guard Dupree McBrayer returning to the starting lineup. He had missed the Gophers previous game, an 86-81 home loss to Miami, due to an infection in his right leg. McBrayer played 25 minutes and had seven points.

The Gophers got back-to-back slam dunks in the final minute to lead 43-33 at halftime. Murphy, who sat out the final four minutes of the half after picking up his third foul, led all scorers with 12 points, while sophomore forward Eugene Omoruyi came off the bench to lead the Knights with 8. Rutgers had eight offensive rebounds in the first four minutes and 14 in the half.

NOTES: The Gophers home court, Williams Arena, and the Scarlet Knights former home court, College Avenue Gym, are both nicknamed "The Barn." ... Rutgers' next game is the Knights' Big Ten home opener when they host third-ranked Michigan State on Tuesday. ... Minnesota's next action will be its first Big Ten road game, when the Gophers travel to Nebraska on Tuesday. There are no Minnesotans on the Rutgers roster, but Gophers freshman guard Jamir Harris hails from just south of the Rutgers campus in North Brunswick Township, N.J.