Gophers 74
Missouri State 69
It wasn’t a thing of beauty, but the Gophers held on to beat Missouri State 74-69 Friday morning in the consolation side of the bracket at the Puerto Rico Tip-Off. Minnesota led by as many as 16 points in the second half before Missouri State was able to make it a game down the stretch.
1. King on fire from 3
Joey King battled foul trouble – as most of the Gophers did – but connected on six 3-pointers to lead Minnesota with 18 points on 6-of-8 shooting (6-of-7 on 3-point attempts). Minnesota hit 13 3-pointers in the game.
2. Too many freebies
If not for the hot shooting from deep the Gophers might have lost to the inferior Bears. Missouri State was able to draw 22 fouls on the Gophers and it resulted in a plentiful day at the free-throw line, where they went 26-for-37.
King fouls out with 18 seconds left. Bigtime foul trouble for MN today. Missouri State has shot 37 free throws.
— Amelia Rayno (@AmeliaRayno) November 20, 2015
3. Two more days in San Juan
The victory earned the Gophers one more game in the early-season tournament. They’ll play at 1:30 p.m. Sunday against the winner of Friday’s game between Texas Tech and Mississippi State.
Tweet of the Game
That was a 20-5 run by Missouri St after being down 49-31 to open the second half. Brutal #Gophers. Brutal. Shouldn't happen vs. this team.
— Marcus R. Fuller (@Marcus_R_Fuller) November 20, 2015
