Cleveland St. Vikings vs Minnesota Golden Gophers Match Player Stats On Nov 05, 2019

Marcus Carr amassed 18 points, seven rebounds and eight assists as Minnesota pulled away in the second half for an 85-50, season-opening victory over Cleveland State on Tuesday night in Minneapolis.

Carr, a transfer guard from Pitt, was making his debut for Minnesota. So, too, was Payton Willis, who had 17 points and eight rebounds for the Gophers, hitting 5 of 8 3-point shots. Willis previously played for Vanderbilt.

A third newcomer in the starting lineup, Drexel grad transfer Alihan Demir, scored 10 points.

Daniel Oturu contributed 16 points and 10 rebounds for the Gophers, making 7 of 8 shots from the field.

Minnesota sank 13 of 29 from behind the arc, a pleasant development for a team that shot only 31.7 percent from 3-point range last season. The Vikings converted just 3 of 19 chances from long range.

Cleveland State placed only one player in double-digit points, that being freshman Hugo Ferreira, who scored 13 on 6-of-12 shooting. Kasheem Thomas scored eight.

The Gophers never trailed and took their first double-digit lead at 24-12 on Carr's 3-pointer with 7:06 left in the first half. The Gophers led 38-21 at halftime and expanded their advantage from there.

They went on a 10-0 run about midway through the half, helped by another Carr 3-pointer. Willis also drilled a 3-point shot during the sequence that gave Minnesota a 66-34 edge.

Minnesota had a 40-25 rebounding edge over their opponent from the Horizon League.

Cleveland State coach Dennis Gates was making his debut with the Vikings, who went 10-21 last season. Gates spent the past eight seasons as an assistant at Florida State. This is his first head-coaching gig.

--Field Level Media