Final from Williams. #RaiseTheBarn pic.twitter.com/wjIZrji0uB
— Minnesota Men's Basketball (@GopherMBB) December 23, 2014
The Minnesota Gophers held off a late charge from Furman to come away with an 86-76 victory at Williams Arena Monday night. Minnesota won their seventh consecutive game, closing out the contest after Furman made a furious rally midway through the second half.
The Paladins used an 11-4 run midway through the second half to wipe out a lead Minnesota had held since early in the game. Furman was red hot in the second half, knocking down seven three-pointers.
Furman also shot a ridiculous 7-of-12 from 3 and 17-of-27 FGs in the second half to give the #Gophers a scare.
— Tyler Mason (@tylermason21) December 23, 2014
But the Gophers fought off the rally and made plays down the stretch to win their 42nd consecutive non-conference home game.
Joey King led the way for Minnesota with 19 points. Senior point guard DeAndre Mathieu made some plays down the stretch to finish with 16 and also had seven assists, while Nate Mason was 4-of-5 from behind the arc to score 14.
Freshman Stephen Croone kept Furman in the game. During the second half, he scored a game high 25 points and knocked down five three’s. Another Furman freshman, Geoff Beans added 19.
The Gophers (10-2) host UNC Willmington in their final non-conference home game on Saturday afternoon. They open Big Ten play New Year’s Eve day at Purdue.
