National Basketball Association
Minnesota 86, Louisiana-Lafayette 74
When: 8:00 PM ET, Friday, November 11, 2016
Where: Williams Arena, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Officials:
# Chris Beaver, # Paul Szelc, # Edwin Young
Attendance:
8453
By The Sports Xchange
Five players scored in double figures to lead Minnesota to an 86-74 victory over Louisiana-Lafayette in a nonconference college basketball season opener for both teams on Friday.
Dupree McBrayer and Nate Mason shared top team scoring honors with 15 points apiece. Amir Coffey had 15 points while Akeem Springs and Reggie Lynch had 11 and 10 points, respectively, for the Golden Gophers (1-0), playing on their home Williams Arena court.
Justin Miller scored a game-high 21 points, Bryce Washington had 16 and Kadavion Evans added 11 for the Ragin' Cajuns (0-1), who returned three starters from a 19-15 team.
Minnesota burst to a 12-2 lead in the game's first five minutes and moved to a 48-26 advantage by halftime as Mason scored 10 first-half points and eight different Gophers scored.
The Golden Gopher lead never slipped below 12 points in the second half and that came in the final two minutes as the Ragin' Cajuns scored 10 unanswered points in 60 seconds to narrow the margin but not threaten the ultimate winners.
Minnesota shot 50.9 percent (27-of-53) from the field and hit 10 3-pointers while Louisiana-Lafayette was just 31.9 percent (22-of-69). The Ragin' Cajuns had a 42-39 rebounding edge.
The teams last met in 1980, a 94-73 Minnesota win over what was then Southwest Louisiana in a National Invitation Tournament third-round game.
Both teams resume play on Monday. The Golden Gophers host UT-Arlington and the Ragin' Cajuns travel on Montana State.
Top Game Performances
| Louisiana-Lafayette |
|
Minnesota |
|
Justin Miller 21 |
Scoring |
Nate Mason 15 |
|
Frank Bartley IV 3 |
Assists |
Nate Mason 7 |
|
Bryce Washington 10 |
Rebounds |
Eric Curry 8 |
|
Bryce Washington 6 |
Free Throws Made |
Amir Coffey 5 |
|
Frank Bartley IV 2 |
Steals |
Nate Mason 2 |
|
Jerekius Davis 1 |
Blocks |
Reggie Lynch 2 |
Team Stats Summary
| Team |
Points |
FG% |
3PM-3PA |
FTM-FTA |
Assists |
Rebounds |
Blocks |
Steals |
Turnovers |
| Louisiana-Lafayette
|
74 |
31.9 |
7-21 |
23-30 |
10 |
34 |
2 |
11 |
15 |
| Minnesota
|
86 |
50.9 |
10-25 |
22-32 |
17 |
36 |
5 |
6 |
19 |
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