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Minnesota 81, Lehigh 62: Joey King scored 20 points and Andre Hollins added 18 points and five assists as the Golden Gophers held off the visiting Mountain Hawks in the opener for both teams.

Elliott Eliason registered 11 points and 17 rebounds to earn his first career double-double for Minnesota, which gave coach Richard Pitino a victory in his debut. Austin Hollins added 11 points and seven rebounds for the Golden Gophers, who won their 25th straight home opener.

Mackey McKnight led the way with 18 points and freshman Austin Price chipped in with 15 for Lehigh. Jesse Chuku recorded eight points and 10 rebounds for the Mountain Hawks.

The Golden Gophers coasted to a 13-point advantage after 12 minutes and King tallied 10 to lead the way to a 37-18 edge at intermission. Lehigh outrebounded Minnesota in the first half 21-18, but Andre Hollins had nine points as the Golden Gophers pulled away.

Lehigh were limited to 23.3 percent shooting and turned the ball over 11 times in the first half before playing Minnesota even in the final 20 minutes. Point guard DeAndre Mathieu added nine assists and three steals for Minnesota, which never allowed the Mountain Hawks to put together a big run.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Minnesota junior F Maurice Walker, who scored a team-high 17 points in the final exhibition game Monday, was suspended six games for violating university policy. … Lehigh recorded at least 20 wins the last two seasons but lost their top three scorers, including G C.J. McCollum, who was the 10th pick in the 2013 NBA draft and is currently with the Portland Trail Blazers. … Minnesota played a Patriot League team in its opener for the third straight season and fourth time in seven years.