BTN.com staff, November 15, 2012

Minnesota held Tennessee State to 14-of-59 shooting, as defense led the Golden Gophers to a 72-43 victory on Thursday at Williams Arena in Minneapolis. Minnesota (3-0) held Tennessee State (0-3) to 24 percent shooting from the field, and the Golden Gophers never trailed in the game.

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FINAL: Minnesota held Tennessee State to 14-of-59 shooting, as defense led the Golden Gophers to a 72-43 victory on Thursday at Williams Arena in Minneapolis. Minnesota (3-0) held Tennessee State (0-3) to 24 percent shooting from the field.

The Golden Gophers were able to carry momentum into the break and sustain it to start the second half. Minnesota was winning 25-17 late in the first before it went on an 18-4 run to extend its lead to 22 points with 19:02 in the game. The Golden Gophers got a spark from Rodney Williams Jr., who poured in 15 points and 7-of-9 shooting from the field. Minnesota shot 48 percent from the field (26-of-54).

The Golden Gophers shot 6-of-16 from three-point range during the game, good for 38 percent. Minnesota also got double-digit contributions from Austin Hollins, who scored 12 and Andre Hollins, who scored 13. Kellen Thornton scored 11 points for the Tigers in a losing effort. More Tennessee State scoring came from Jordan Cyphers and Robert Covington, who each scored 10.

HALFTIME: Tennessee State has struggled to give Minnesota a test, as the Golden Gophers lead 39-21 at the half. Minnesota never trailed in the first half and led by as many as 20 points. The game was knotted up when the Tigers went 2:50 without scoring, allowing the Golden Gophers to take a 9-0 lead with 15:35 left in the first half. Minnesota hit six threes in the first half, shooting 50 percent from deep. Seven Minnesota players scored in the half. The Golden Gophers' Andre Hollins already has 13 points. Tennessee State's Robert Covington had a big first half, with seven points.

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Rodney Williams stuffs it.

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Williams has a nice alley-oop dunk.

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Andre Hollins sends it down.

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Williams can also dunk … with two hands.

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Joe Coleman joins the dunk club.

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