National Basketball Association
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Minnesota 86, Furman 76
When: 8:00 PM ET, Monday, December 22, 2014
Where: Williams Arena, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Officials: # Donnie Eppler, # Tyler Ford, # Larry Scirotto
Attendance: 12287

Minnesota 86, Furman 76:
Joey King scored a season-high 19 points to lead a balanced Gophers attack as they pulled away late for a home win over the Paladins.

DeAndre Mathieu added 16 points, seven assists and five steals for Minnesota (10-2), which improved to 8-0 at home. Nate Mason scored 14 points off the bench, hitting 4-of-5 from 3-point range, while Maurice Walker chipped in with 11 points and seven rebounds.

Stephen Croone had a game-high 25 points to lead Furman (2-8), while Kendrec Ferrara added 18 points and 10 rebounds off the bench. Geoff Beans contributed 14 points, including four 3-pointers, while Daniel Fowler had 13 points, five assists and three steals.

The Gophers led throughout the first half, though Furman stayed close for a while, trailing by just five with 8:29 to go in the half. But an 11-0 run by Minnesota pushed the advantage to 16 with 5:11 to play, although the Paladins rallied back to within seven by halftime.

It was close throughout the second half, and Furman finally took its first lead on Beans' 3-pointer with 7:54 to play, which started a string of 10 lead changes over the next four minutes. The game was tied with 3:12 left, but Mathieu had a pair of layups sandwiching a Mason 3-pointer to push the Gophers' advantage to seven with 44 seconds to go and the Paladins never threatened again.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Minnesota shot 52.5 percent from the field, but hit just 6-of-19 from 3-point range. … The Golden Gophers won the rebound battle 38-31, grabbing 15 offensive boards in the process. … Minnesota finished with 15 steals among its 19 turnovers forced.
Top Game Performances
 
Furman   Minnesota
Stephen Croone 25 Scoring Joey King 19
Daniel Fowler 5 Assists Deandre Mathieu 7
Kendrec Ferrara 10 Rebounds Maurice Walker 7
Stephen Croone 8 Free Throws Made Maurice Walker 5
Daniel Fowler 3 Steals Deandre Mathieu 5
Kris Acox 2 Blocks Elliott Eliason 2
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Furman 76 47.5 12-26 8-11 16 27 6 10 19
Minnesota 86 52.5 6-19 16-26 17 35 4 15 14