Wofford Falls
November 12, 2010

In the team’s inaugural regular-seasongame of the 2010-2011 season, the Minnesota Golden Gophers basketball team overcame a strong performance by Wofford at Williams Arena Friday night.

Big men Ralph Sampson III and Trevor Mbakwe each recorded double-doubles, as the team recorded a 69-55 win against the Terriers from Wofford.

Sampson finished with 20 points, 13 rebounds, and three blocks, while Mbakwe made his debut with the Golden Gophers by coming off the bench to score 14 points and pull down 10 boards in just 18 minutes.

Minnesota started slowly and found itself trailing 7-5 at the first media timeout of the game at the 15:45 mark. But, following the break in the action, the Gophers went on a 14-2 run over the next four minutes to take a 10-point lead at 19-9.

Senior guard Al Nolen, Sampson, and freshman guard Chip Armelin all made three-pointers during the run. Sampson had nine of the 14 points, including a dunk, and Mbakwe scored his first career points for the Gophers on a slam dunk.

Wofford, which made the NCAA Tournament last year and has three Minnesota players on its roster, cut the Gophers’ lead to six points, 24-18, on a layup by senior Noah Dahlman, a jumper by Jamar Diggs, and a dunk by Tim Johnson. But Minnesota responded with a 7-3 run to close the half with a 31-21 advantage.

Sampson highlighted the first-half action for the Golden Gophers with11 points, six rebounds, and three blocked shots in 17 minutes on the court. Sampson’s three-point basket, taken from the top of the key, was just the second of his career. Mbakwe established himself inside by registering five points and five rebounds in just seven minutes during the opening half.

A three-pointer by Wofford’s Cameron Rundles, one of the three Minnesotans on the Terriers’ roster, cut Minnesota’s lead to seven points to start the second half, but the Gophers scored six straight points to stretch the lead back to 13 points and it never got closer than nine points the rest of the game.

Armelin joined Sampson and Mbakwe as the third Minnesota player to reach double figures for points, finishing with 11 points on 4-of-5 shooting from the field. Junior center Colton Iverson had eight points and nine boards for the Golden Gophers, who held a 41-31 rebounding advantage in the win. Senior guard Blake Hoffarber had an off night offensively, finishing with just two points, but he dished out a game-high six assists to help the Gophers.

Minnesota made 25-of-56 (.446) field goals, but connected on just 3-of-15 three-point attempts, all of which came during that early stretch to open up the lead it maintained throughout the rest of the game.

Wofford was led by Dahlman’s 15 points, while Rundles had 14, Diggs had 10, and Johnson finished with 10 points and a team-high 13 rebounds. The Terriers were limited to just 18-of-49 field goals and struggled at the free throw line by making just 16-of-26 attempts.

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