Gophers start hot, finish hot in win over Ball State

Mike Mitchell Jr. scored 20 points for Minnesota in an 80-63 win Thursday.

It looks like slow starts are a thing of the past for the Gophers men's basketball team. 

Mike Mitchell Jr. knocked down a pair of 3-pointers in the opening minutes, Elijah Hawkins was dishing dimes throughout the first half and Minnesota bolted out to a 26-9 lead early on Thursday that prompted a second Ball State timeout.

The Gophers eventually pulled away with a strong finish for an 80-63 win at Williams Arena in Minneapolis, although the Cardinals did give them a fight for the better part of 40 minutes.

"I thought our start really set the tone," Gophers coach Ben Johnson said. "I just thought that aggressiveness on both sides of the ball set a tone. We really tried to emphasize that during our break, getting off to a good start."

The Gophers defense hounded the Cardinals early, forcing turnover after turnover and turning them into points on the other end. In all, Minnesota forced 14 Ball State turnovers, turning them into 19 Gophers points.

Still, Ball State managed to trim its deficit to single digits in the first half during a cold stretch for the Gophers when Hawkins was off the floor. 

Minnesota’s offense struggled initially without its floor general, and Ball State’s zone defense did the rest, holding the Gophers without points for 2 minutes, 39 seconds during a stretch in which Minnesota shot 0 for 5.

The Gophers (9-3) did manage to extend their lead back to double digits by the end of the frame, taking a 39-27 advantage into the halftime break.

Mitchell led the Gophers with 20 points and tallied five assists. Hawkins finished with 12 points, nine assists and seven rebounds. 

"I'm getting more comfortable (in the offense)," Mitchell said. "I think being out there with guys like (Pharrel Payne) that are used to the offense makes it easier for me." 

Both were playmakers for the Gophers throughout the night, creating chances for themselves and others. 

Five Gophers scored in double figures as Minnesota played its third straight game without leading scorer Dawson Garcia. Johnson said after the game that Garcia is progressing but didn't have further update on his status. He did note the team's upcoming break — Minnesota doesn't play again until Dec. 29 — will give Garcia more time to recover.

"I think we're a balanced team, and that's one thing when (Garcia) went down that we really tried to focus is opportunities for us to grow as a team and for guys to grow individually," Johnson said. 

While the Cardinals (8-4) refused to go away, the Gophers had an answer every time. With it back to a single-digit margin in the second half, Mitchell made an incredible pass to Pharrel Payne under the basket, and Payne threw down a dunk with authority. 

Payne finished with 13 points and four rebounds.

And his dunk put Minnesota back up 59-48 midway through the second half.

But it wasn’t the last time Ball State closed in on the Gophers, again closing the margin to single digits, but then it was Payne’s time to take over. Minnesota fed him in the post and Payne delivered, helping the Gophers push the margin back to 15.

Josh Ola-Joseph drove in for a layup, was fouled and hit the free throw to put the Gophers up 75-57 with just over five minutes left to essentially put the game on ice.

Ola-Joseph recorded 12 points. Cam Christie scored 11.

The collective helped the Gophers win their fourth straight game, and more importantly, play another complete game.