A strong shooting night which included an impressive 54.5% shooting percentage from the floor and a 14-of-29 day from three-point range helped propel Minnesota to a decisive 102-76 victory over the UTSA Roadrunners on Friday night at Williams Arean.
Dawson Garcia led all scorers with 22 points on 7-of-14 shooting including 7-of-7 attempts from the charity stripe. The Golden Gophers who were the worst free throw shooting team in 2022-2023 continued their strong start of the season from the line, hitting 28-of-34 free throws as a team.
Other notable performances included redshirt junior Isaiah Ihnen recording 70 points on a perfect night of shooting from the field including five three-pointers. Ihnen who missed each of the previous two seasons due to injury now has 28 points in the first two games of the season for the Gohpers on 10-fo-12 shooting.
Freshman guard Cam Christie was also impressive as the Arlington Heights, Illinois native notched 18 points in the win making 5-of-8 shots from the field and 4-of-6 attempts from three-point range.
The Golden Gophers on Friday night came out blazing offensively, hitting 16-of-31 attempts in the first half including eight of their first 13 taking a 24-13 lead in the first eight minutes of action.
The Gophers especially had a hot hand from deep in the first half, making 6-of-15 attempts including three from Cam Christie who led all scorers in the first 20 minutes with 13 points. An undisciplined UTSA team sent the Gohpers to the line 18 times in the first half as well, where the Gophers took advantage of the free opportunities, making 16-of-18 free throw attempts in the opening 20 minutes of play.
The Gophers would also take advantage of dominating the boards in the first half, outrebounding UTSA 25-18 including 20-11 when it came to defensive rebounds. The Gophers also were able to garner 19 fast break points in the first half thanks to six steals and five blocks while causing eight total UTSA first-half turnovers.
After outscoring the Roadrunners 54-30 in the first half, the Gophers would outpace UTSA 48-46 in the second half. Both teams exhibited impressive shooting performances in the final half, with the Golden Gophers making 14-of-24 second-half shots and UTSA converting 18-of-35 attempts from the field.
Despite UTSA's strong offensive effort in the second half, the Roadrunners were never able to make any significant strides in closing the gap thanks to the Gophers' own hot hands. The Gophers' efficiency from deep continued in the second half, making 8-of-14 attempts including three each of Isaiah Ihnen and Mike Mitchell Jr.
UP NEXT
The Gophers will now have nearly a week off before returning to the court next Wednesday to take on the Missouri Tigers at Williams Arena.
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