King, Dorsey Lead Gophers Past UL-Monroe 67-56
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Kevin Dorsey and Joey King keyed a second-half surge and Minnesota rallied to beat Louisiana-Monroe 67-56 on Sunday.
King finished with 20 points, Nate Mason had 12 and Dorsey 11 for the Golden Gophers (2-0).
The Warhawks (1-1) got 16 points from Majok Deng. Travis Munnings added 12 and Jamaal Samuel had 11.
Minnesota, which pulled away in the second half to beat Missouri-Kansas City 76-58 Friday, couldn't repeat that performance as they allowed ULM to take the lead before playing well at both ends in the final minutes.
Starting the second half up by 13, the Gophers trailed by a point with about seven minutes to play. Dorsey then drained a 3-pointer, Mason hit a long jumper and King scored on a tip during an 11-0 Minnesota run that put the Gophers up 61-51.
ULM scored just 5 points in the final 6:45.
The young Gophers -- Minnesota has just two seniors -- were sluggish throughout much of the first 13 minutes of the second half as they missed shot after shot and didn't always get back quickly on defense. Munnings had 10 points in an 18-6 run to as the Warhawks took a 51-50 lead.
ULM, who scored the first 17 points in Friday's 88-43 win over McMurry, found things much tougher early against a Big Ten opponent. The Warhawks had more fouls (five) than points (3) in the opening five minutes and quickly trailed 12-3.
A drive by Munnings got ULM within 19-15, but Minnesota answered with a 15-4 spurt -- including 6 points each by Charles Buggs and King -- for a 15-point lead with three minutes to play in the first half. Minnesota led 38-25 at intermission.
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TIP-INS
ULM: The Warhawks shot 34 percent after shooting 62.3 percent in their opener. . ULM, St. Peter's and Baylor are the only teams in the nation to not allow 75 points in a game since 2013-14.
Minnesota: The Gophers had four blocks. They had seven Friday. . The Gophers have won 45 consecutive non-conference home games since Nov. 29, 2011, the second-longest streak in the nation behind Duke.
UP NEXT
ULM: At Northwestern State on Thursday.
Minnesota: Faces Temple on Friday in the Puerto Rico Tip-Off.
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