Spokesman-Review
National Basketball Association
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Minnesota 70, Bucknell 58
When: 8:00 PM ET, Friday, November 11, 2011
Where: Williams Arena, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Officials: # Tom Eades, # Ray Perrone, # Gerald Williams
Attendance: 11976

Austin Hollins scored six of his 13 points during a critical 10-0 run as Minnesota rallied down the stretch for a season-opening 70-58 victory over visiting Bucknell.

The Golden Gophers (1-0) trailed, 53-48, after Bucknell's Cameron Ayers hit a 3-pointer with 5:53 remaining, but Hollins tied it 58 seconds later with a long-range bucket of his own. Minnesota, which hit just 17 of 29 free throws on the night, took the lead with five consecutive makes from the line, including three in a row from Hollins at the 2:35 mark.

Trevor Mbakwe finished with 17 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Golden Gophers, who had a rough outside shooting night (3-for-15 on 3-pointers) but made up for it inside by grabbing 15 offensive boards.

The Bison (0-1) got 16 points from Bryson Johnson, while Mike Muscala added 12 points and 11 rebounds. Muscala struggled offensively, hitting just two of his 10 field-goal attempts.
Top Game Performances
 
Bucknell   Minnesota
Bryson Johnson 16 Scoring Trevor Mbakwe 17
Bryan Cohen 4 Assists Ralph Sampson III 6
Mike Muscala 11 Rebounds Trevor Mbakwe 10
Mike Muscala 8 Free Throws Made Trevor Mbakwe 9
Mike Muscala 1 Steals Oto Osenieks 2
Ryan Hill 1 Blocks Ralph Sampson III 2
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Bucknell 58 34.8 7-16 19-23 8 29 1 2
Minnesota 70 40.0 3-15 23-35 13 35 6 7