Spokesman-Review
National Basketball Association
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Minnesota 108, NC-Wilmington 82
When: 1:00 PM ET, Saturday, December 27, 2014
Where: Williams Arena, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Officials: # Terry Oglesby, # Frank Spencer, # Gerald Williams
Attendance: 12711

Minnesota 108, UNC Wilmington 82: Carlos Morris scored a career-high 24 points and the host Golden Gophers used a withering 31-4 run late in the first half to down the Seahawks.

Minnesota (11-2) trailed by eight points with under eight minutes remaining in the first half before Morris, Maurice Walker and DeAndre Mathieu combined to score the game’s next 19 points. Nate Mason scored 18 points, Walker finished with 17 points and six rebounds, and Mathieu added 13 points and 11 assists as the Golden Gophers shot 59.7 percent from the field.

Freddie Jackson scored 21 points to lead UNC Wilmington (5-5), which made 12 of its first 17 shots from the field before not scoring for more than five minutes late in the first half. Addison Spurill and Craig Ponder each added 12 points.

The Seahawks hit five of their first six shots from the floor and stayed hot for the first 12 minutes, taking a 31-23 lead on Cedrick Williams’ jumper with just under 7 ½ minutes left in the first half. Walker scored back-to-back baskets to begin the decisive spurt, two three-point plays from Morris in a 35-second span put Minnesota ahead by two, and Mathieu added a 3-pointer before Morris scored a basket and added two free throws made it 42-31 with just over three minutes before intermission.

Charles Buggs came off the bench to make two 3-pointers later in the half and a pair of Mathieu free throws extended the Golden Gophers’ advantage to 54-35 before Malik Pugh’s 3-pointer just before the buzzer made it 54-38 at halftime. Minnesota hit four of its first five second-half shots and another Morris three-point play less than six minutes into the period pushed the Golden Gophers’ cushion to 70-49.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Buggs tied his career high with 13 points and matched a career best with three 3-pointers. … The Golden Gophers have scored 80 points or more in seven consecutive games and topped 90 for the fourth time in 13 games. … Wilmington hit just 19 of its final 49 shots.
Top Game Performances
 
NC-Wilmington   Minnesota
Freddie Jackson 21 Scoring Carlos Morris 24
Jordan Talley 7 Assists Deandre Mathieu 11
C.J. Gettys 9 Rebounds Maurice Walker 6
C.J. Gettys 5 Free Throws Made Carlos Morris 7
Freddie Jackson 2 Steals Nate Mason 5
C.J. Gettys 3 Blocks Elliott Eliason 2
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
NC-Wilmington 82 47.0 10-24 10-12 19 38 7 5 20
Minnesota 108 59.7 10-16 18-21 25 23 4 13 8