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National Basketball Association
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Minnesota 70, Appalachian St. 56
When: 8:00 PM ET, Tuesday, December 6, 2011
Where: Williams Arena, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Officials: # Eric Curry, # Brian Dorsey, # Terry Oglesby
Attendance: 10782

Rodney Williams scored 18 points in another fine all-around performance as Minnesota pulled away late to down visiting Appalachian State 70-56 Tuesday.

Williams, who has made the move from small forward to power forward since the Golden Gophers (9-1) lost star Trevor Mbakwe three games ago, added six rebounds and five blocks.

Since Mbakwe suffered his season-ending knee injury in Minnesota’s only loss to Dayton on Nov. 27, Williams has averaged 14.6 points, 7.6 rebounds and 3.3 blocks.

The Gophers outscored the Mountaineers 42-10 in the paint.

Although Minnesota established a 10-point lead in the first half, Appalachian State (4-4) trimmed the deficit to 32-30 by halftime and played the Gophers tight for most of the second half. The Mountaineers took the lead for the final time at 52-50 on a 3-pointer by Omar Carter with 5:23 remaining.

But Williams responded with one of the Gophers’ two 3-pointers in the game, and Chip Armelin converted a three-point play off a steal from Minnesota’s full-court pressure, contributing to a game-ending 20-4 run.

Carter scored 18 points to lead the Mountaineers, who have dropped two straight.
Top Game Performances
 
Appalachian St.   Minnesota
Omar Carter 18 Scoring Rodney Williams 18
Omar Carter 3 Assists Maverick Ahanmisi 5
Issac Butts 8 Rebounds Rodney Williams 6
Omar Carter 5 Free Throws Made Julian Welch 6
Issac Butts 1 Steals Maverick Ahanmisi 2
Jamaal Trice 1 Blocks Rodney Williams 5
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Appalachian St. 56 35.3 9-21 11-15 11 24 2 3 12
Minnesota 70 54.0 2-6 14-19 18 32 6 8 9