Liam Robbins had 27 points, nine rebounds and five blocks, Marcus Carr added 15 points and seven assists, and Minnesota cruised to a 90-61 win over Missouri-Kansas City on Thursday night.
Robbins, a 7-foot transfer from Drake, made 7 of 11 from the field and 12 of 14 from the free-throw line. Both Gach added 14 points and Gabe Kalscheur scored 10 for Minnesota (6-0). Kalscheur, a junior who hit 2 of 5 from 3-point range, moved into a tie for seventh in program history with 155 career 3s.
Robbins opened the scoring with a 3-pointer and the Golden Gophers never trailed. Kalscheur hit a 3 before Isaiah Ihnen made a jumper to give Minnesota a 14-3 lead about 5 minutes into the game. Carr made a 3-pointer to close the first half and Robbins scored the first six points in a 9-0 run to open the second that made it 53-31 when Gach made a 3 with 16:44 to play. The Roos trailed by at least 13 points the rest of the way.
Demarius Pitts and Brandon McKissic scored 10 points apiece for Kansas City (2-3).
Ihnen, a 6-foot-9 sophomore from Germany, grabbed a career-high 11 rebounds. He spoke with the Gopher Radio Network/Learfield-IMG College after the game, including MNN sports director Mike Grimm:
The Golden Gophers scored 20 points off 14 Kansas City turnovers and had a 14-0 edge in fast-break points. The Roos were called for 32 personal fouls as Minnesota outscored them 34-8 from the free-throw line.
The Gophers attempted 44 foul shots, the fifth most by a Division I team this season. Only Georgia Tech (41, in a four-overtime game) has made more free throws in a game this season.
(info and photo courtesy of Gopher Sports)
#35 Isaiah Ihnen