National Basketball Association
Minnesota 77, Oral Roberts 63
When: 8:00 PM ET, Thursday, December 21, 2017
Where: Williams Arena, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Officials:
# D.J. Carstensen, # Rob Kueneman, # Mike Eades
Attendance:
11234
By The Sports Xchange
Jordan Murphy scored 17 points and grabbed 10 rebounds to help Minnesota turn back Oral Roberts 77-63 on Thursday night in Minneapolis.
Oral Roberts kept it close throughout the first half and trailed 41-40 two minutes into the second before Minnesota took over.
The Golden Gophers (10-3) went on a 23-4 run capped by a 3-pointer from Nate Mason that gave them a 64-44 lead with 9:09 to go.
Minnesota had a 17-6 advantage on points off turnovers and outscored Oral Roberts 23-8 from the free-throw line.
Amir Coffey had 15 points, making 9 of 10 from the free-throw line, and Mason scored 14 for Minnesota. Michael Hurt contributed 10 points.
Chris Miller scored a career-high 18 points, and Emmanuel Nzekwesi added 10 points and 15 rebounds for Oral Roberts (4-11). R.J. Fuqua also scored 10 points for the visitors.
Albert Owens, the Golden Eagles' leading scorer, played just nine minutes and finished with four points.
Both teams went cold -- each was 1 of 9 -- in the final 5 1/2 minutes of the first half that ended with the Gophers leading 38-34.
The teams traded early runs.
Minnesota scored eight consecutive points to take a 15-8 lead before Oral Roberts responded with 10 in a row.
Miller gave the Golden Eagles an 18-15 lead nine minutes into the game.
Oral Roberts extended its run to 16-4 when Fuqua gave the Golden Eagles a 24-19 lead on a jumper with 9:03 to go in the first half.
The Golden Gophers host Florida Atlantic on Saturday. Oral Roberts is off until hosting Omaha on Dec. 30.
Top Game Performances
| Oral Roberts |
|
Minnesota |
|
Chris Miller 18 |
Scoring |
Jordan Murphy 17 |
|
Sam Kearns 5 |
Assists |
Amir Coffey 7 |
|
Emmanuel Nzekwesi 15 |
Rebounds |
Jordan Murphy 10 |
|
R.J. Fuqua 4 |
Free Throws Made |
Amir Coffey 9 |
|
R.J. Fuqua 1 |
Steals |
Amir Coffey 2 |
|
Albert Owens 2 |
Blocks |
Reggie Lynch 3 |
Team Stats Summary
| Team |
Points |
FG% |
3PM-3PA |
FTM-FTA |
Assists |
Rebounds |
Blocks |
Steals |
Turnovers |
| Oral Roberts
|
63 |
39.4 |
3-16 |
8-12 |
15 |
39 |
4 |
5 |
14 |
| Minnesota
|
77 |
38.1 |
6-19 |
23-28 |
17 |
36 |
7 |
8 |
9 |
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