National Basketball Association
Minnesota 90, Kansas City 61
When: 8:00 PM ET, Thursday, December 10, 2020
Where: Williams Arena, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Officials:
# Kelly Pfeifer, # Donnie Eppler, # Bill Ek
Attendance:
N/A
By Field Level Media
Center Liam Robbins dominated much smaller Kansas City inside Thursday night as unbeaten Minnesota cruised to its sixth straight win, a 90-61 nonconference decision in Minneapolis.
The 7-0 Robbins, a transfer from Drake, scored a game-high 27 points on just 11 field-goal attempts. Robbins connected on 12 of 14 free throws while adding nine rebounds and blocking five shots.
Marcus Carr added 15 points -- 11 under his average, which ranks in the top 10 in Division I -- and seven assists. Both Gach chipped in 14 points while taking just five shots from the floor. The Golden Gophers did most of their damage at the foul line, hitting 34 of 44 as the Roos were whistled for 32 fouls.
Brandon McKissic and Demarius Pitts each scored 10 points for Kansas City (2-3), which dropped its third straight game. The Summit League team made just 41.1 percent of their shots from the field.
Minnesota blew the game open early in the second half, expanding a 12-point lead to 21 in just over three minutes time. Robbins ripped off the first six points on two layups and two free throws, and Gach's 3-pointer forced the Roos to take a timeout trailing 52-31. The game never got closer than 13 after that.
The Gophers wasted little time asserting their physical superiority. Carr sank two free throws with 13:24 left in the first half to cap a game-opening 18-4 run that Robbins started with a 3-pointer.
Pitts converted a short jumper at the 10:47 mark to finish an 8-0 spurt by Kansas City that drew it within 21-15. From that point, the Roos were at least able to stay competitive despite mounting foul trouble.
The margin was single figures before Carr drilled a long 3-pointer just before the horn, enabling Minnesota to take a 43-31 cushion into the break.
The Golden Gophers open a murderous five-game stretch on Tuesday night with their Big 10 Conference lid-lifter at No. 6 Illinois. They'll play four ranked teams and Atlantic 10 preseason favorite Saint Louis, which is unbeaten and just outside the top 25.
--Field Level Media
Top Game Performances
| Kansas City |
|
Minnesota |
|
Brandon McKissic 10 |
Scoring |
Liam Robbins 27 |
|
Brandon McKissic 5 |
Assists |
Marcus Carr 7 |
|
Josiah Allick 7 |
Rebounds |
Isaiah Ihnen 11 |
|
Jacob Johnson 4 |
Free Throws Made |
Liam Robbins 12 |
|
Caden Boser 2 |
Steals |
Eric Curry 1 |
|
Josiah Allick 1 |
Blocks |
Liam Robbins 5 |
Team Stats Summary
| Team |
Points |
FG% |
3PM-3PA |
FTM-FTA |
Assists |
Rebounds |
Blocks |
Steals |
Turnovers |
| Kansas City
|
61 |
41.1 |
7-17 |
8-19 |
14 |
31 |
2 |
4 |
14 |
| Minnesota
|
90 |
46.2 |
8-24 |
34-44 |
18 |
38 |
9 |
4 |
7 |
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