TULSA WORLD HOMEPAGE | WIRELESS

Follow us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter Follow us on RSS
Sports Extra! Sports Extra Tulsa World Follow us on ...


SPORTS EXTRA BLOGS
    Sports Editor
Mike Strain

Sports Columnist
Dave Sittler

The Picker
Entertaining & Infuriating

LOCAL PROS

ALL SPORTS

PHOTOS & VIDEOS

OUTDOORS

FIND A STORY

EMAIL ALERTS

SOCIAL MEDIA

RSS FEEDS

CONTACT US
BUY PHOTOS & PAGES

TULSA WORLD

ADVERTISE ON SPORTS EXTRA

National Basketball Association
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Minnesota 77, Illinois 67
When: 9:00 PM ET, Wednesday, January 3, 2018
Where: Williams Arena, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Officials: # Terry Wymer, # Keith Kimble, # Paul Szelc
Attendance: 11597
Jordan Murphy moved within a game of Tim Duncan's all-time NCAA record for consecutive double-doubles to start a season Wednesday night, scoring 17 points and grabbing 17 rebounds as Minnesota bounced Illinois 77-67 at Williams Arena in Minneapolis.

Murphy has double-doubles in all 16 Golden Gopher games and can tie Duncan's 21-year-old mark Saturday when Minnesota (13-3, 2-1 Big 10) hosts Indiana. Murphy is averaging 19 points and nearly 13 rebounds per game.

The Golden Gophers led 13-2 and never trailed, putting all five starters in double figures. Nate Mason added 17 points after missing Sunday's 65-55 win over Harvard with an ankle injury, while Amir Coffey hit for 16.

Dupree McBrayer contributed 12 points and center Reggie Lynch chipped in his own double-double with 11 points and 12 rebounds. With Murphy and Lynch sweeping the glass, Minnesota won the rebounding battle, 48-39.

Leron Black tallied 14 points to pace the Fighting Illini (10-6, 0-3) and freshman guard Trent Frazier scored 12. But Illinois simply couldn't overcome a rocky start that saw it miss 18 of its first 19 shots and trail by 20 points just over 12 minutes into the game.

The Fighting Illini gave it a good run, slicing the deficit to 39-26 at the half and making their move midway through the second half. When Da'Monte Williams tipped in Michael Finke's missed 3-pointer with 10:14 remaining, Illinois closed within 55-51.

Black sank a 3-pointer with 3:57 left in the game that drew the Fighting Illini within 65-60. But Mason applied the dagger, hustling to grab the rebound of a McBrayer air ball and swishing a corner 3-pointer with 3:25 remaining for an eight-point lead.

The Golden Gophers converted 45 percent of their field goal attempts, thanks to 12-of-21 shooting in the second half. They overcame poor 3-point shooting (5-of-20) and missed a dozen of their 34 free throw tries.

Illinois made only 25 of 72 field goal tries for the night and was 7-of-28 from the 3-point arc.

--Field Level Media

Top Game Performances
 
Illinois   Minnesota
Leron Black 14 Scoring Nate Mason 17
Trent Frazier 6 Assists Nate Mason 6
Da'Monte Williams 8 Rebounds Jordan Murphy 17
Da'Monte Williams 4 Free Throws Made Dupree McBrayer 6
Da'Monte Williams 4 Steals Nate Mason 3
Kipper Nichols 1 Blocks Reggie Lynch 7
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Illinois 67 34.7 7-28 10-14 16 34 1 8 12
Minnesota 77 45.5 5-20 22-34 14 44 10 6 15