(Minneapolis, MN) — Elijah Hawkins scored a career-high 24 points and led Minnesota (17-9, 8-7 Big Ten) with seven assists, and Dawson Garcia had 22 points and a team-high nine rebounds, as the Gophers recorded an 88-79 win over Ohio State (15-12, 5-11 Big Ten) at Williams Arena. Hawkins, who leads the nation in assists per game, was 6-of-10 from the field, including 4-of-5 from three-point range, and 8-of-11 at the free throw line to finish with his career-best point total. He had previously scored 23 points on two occasions during his first two seasons at Howard University. Garcia was 8-of-15 from the field, and his nine boards helped the Gophers to a 32-26 rebounding advantage. The Gophers wound up shooting 50 percent from the field by making 28-of-56 attempts, including 8-of-19 (.421) from three-point range, and they were 24-of-31 (.774) at the free throw line. Minnesota travels to Lincoln, Neb., for a 5:30 P-M tipoff versus Nebraska on Sunday.
