Golden Gopher junior forward Jordan Murphy of San Antonio posted his 12th double-double in as many games to lead Minnesota past Drake last night at Williams Arena, 68-67. Murphy finished with 24 points and 18 rebounds.
Sophomore Amir Coffey added 16 points – all after halftime – and junior Nate Mason scored 12 for Minnesota, which improved to 9-3 on the season.
Ore Arogundade (ARE-oh-gun-daw-day) led the Bulldogs with 15 points off the bench, while Graham Woodward of Edina added 15 for the Bulldogs, which dipped to 5-5.
Dupree McBrayer’s 3-pointer with nine minutes to play gave Minnesota its first lead, 50-47. His steal and dunk gave the Gophers their largest lead at 61-54.
Woodward knocked down two free throws and nailed a 3-pointer to cut Minnesota’s lead to 64-62 with two minutes to play. But Murphy scored off an offensive rebound and added another basket.
Drake scored five points in the final six seconds, but the rally fell just short. rake led by nine points at one point in the second half.
Minnesota will host Oral Roberts on December 21st.
(photo courtesy of Gopher Sports)