Spokesman-Review
National Basketball Association
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Minnesota 85, South Dakota State 73
When: 8:00 PM ET, Thursday, December 23, 2010
Where: Williams Arena, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Officials: # Dan Chrisman, # Mike Sanzere, # Zelton Steed
Attendance: 13302

No. 16 Minnesota used a decisive 9-0 run late in the second half en route to a 85-73 win over South Dakota State on Thursday night in Minneapolis. The Golden Gophers (11-1) finished off non-conference play with their fifth straight win before starting Big Ten Conference action next week at Wisconsin.

Devoe Joseph, who shared team scoring honors for Minnesota with 15 points, capped the game-deciding run in the second half with a 3-pointer as the Gophers broke away from a 64-64 tie with 6:15 remaining. Following Joseph’s trey, Minnesota had a comfortable 73-64 lead with 3:40 left over a game South Dakota State (8-4) team that rallied from a 10-point second half deficit.

Sharing team-high honors for Minnesota was Colton Iverson, who came off the bench to tally 15 points. Rodney Williams, coming off his first double-double of the season earlier this week, added 13 points and six rebounds. Minnesota leading scorer Blake Hoffarber was limited to just four points, but he did contribute six assists.

The Gophers shot 52.5 percent from the field, but struggled from the free throw line, hitting just 61.5 percent.

South Dakota State got a game-high 23 points from Clint Sargent, who scored 18 in the second half to rally the Jackrabbits, who still have never beaten a Top 25 team (0-5) since moving to Division I in 2004-05. Nate Wolters had a double-double for SDSU with 16 points and 10 assists.
Top Game Performances
 
South Dakota State   Minnesota
Clint Sargent 23 Scoring Colton Iverson 15
Nate Wolters 11 Assists Blake Hoffarber 6
Dale Moss 7 Rebounds Ralph Sampson III 6
Jordan Dykstra 4 Free Throws Made Colton Iverson 5
Griffan Callahan 2 Steals Al Nolen 2
N/A Blocks Ralph Sampson III 3
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
South Dakota State 73 40.0 10-27 11-13 17 29 0 6
Minnesota 85 52.5 5-15 16-26 19 34 5 6