MINNEAPOLIS — Joshua Ola-Joseph scored 17 points, Mike Mitchell Jr. added 14 off the bench and Minnesota used a dominant second-half to roll past Florida Gulf Coast 77-57 on Saturday.
Minnesota led 43-41 with 14 1/2 minutes left in the second half before FGCU missed nine shots in a row and went nine-plus minutes without a field goal. Within that run, Mitchell hit a jumper and a 3-pointer that pushed the lead to 10 and hit another 3-pointer that capped a 12-0 run. By the time the Eagles finally made a field goal, the score was 70-48 with 5:13 remaining.
Minnesota scored 40 points in the second half and held FGCU to 24.
Isaiah Ihnen scored 13 points off the bench and Cam Christie added 11 for Minnesota (7-3). Elijah Hawkins had 11 assists for the second consecutive game and scored eight points.
Zach Anderson led FGCU (3-8) with 14 points. Keeshawn Kellman scored 12 points and Dallion Johnson had 11.
The Golden Gophers turned 14 FGCU turnovers into 26 points and committed only seven turnovers of their own. With Mitchell and Ihnen combining for 27 points, Minnesota led 35-18 in bench points, as FGCU stuck to an eight-man rotation. The Gophers made all five of their free throws with four of them by Ola-Joseph.
Minnesota trailed 14-5 in the early going, but a 7-0 burst in which Ola-Joseph scored the first five points capped a rally in which the Golden Gophers took their first lead at 25-24 with five minutes left in the first half. Ola-Joseph finished the half with 11 points on three 3-pointers and two free throws and Minnesota led 37-33.
Minnesota hosts IUPUI on Tuesday in the second game of a stretch of four home non-conference games before Big Ten play resumes in January.
Florida Gulf Coast plays at Mercer on Saturday.
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