National Basketball Association
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Minnesota 81, Rutgers 70
When: 6:30 PM ET, Sunday, February 18, 2024
Where: Williams Arena, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Officials: # Jeffrey Anderson, # Eric Curry, # Courtney Green
Attendance: 9680
By Field Level Media

Pharrel Payne scored 21 points and pulled down 11 rebounds, and Minnesota held on for an 81-70 win over Rutgers in a Big Ten Conference matchup on Sunday evening in Minneapolis.

Elijah Hawkins added 16 points and a game-high seven assists for Minnesota (16-9, 7-7). Dawson Garcia contributed 14 points and eight rebounds.

Clifford Omoruyi and Derek Simpson scored 19 points apiece to lead Rutgers (14-11, 6-8). Jeremiah Williams finished with nine points on 2-for-10 shooting.

Minnesota shot 51 percent (25 of 49) from the field and 50 percent (8 of 16) from 3-point range. Rutgers shot 38.7 percent (24 of 62) overall and 21.1 percent (4 of 19) from beyond the arc.

The Golden Gophers finished with a slim 37-33 advantage in rebounds.

Minnesota opened the second half on an 8-0 run to seize a 45-37 lead. Mike Mitchell Jr. made a jump shot, Payne made a layup, Hawkins made a layup and Payne put down a dunk to swing momentum toward the Golden Gophers.

Hawkins made a 3-pointer to give Minnesota a double-digit lead with 12:45 remaining. Cam Christie zipped a pass to Hawkins, whose long-range shot made it 56-44.

Another 3-pointer, this time by Garcia, increased Minnesota's lead to 72-55 with 3:39 remaining.

Rutgers answered with an 11-0 run to cut the deficit to 72-66 with 2:11 left. Simpson had a layup, a 3-pointer and a pair of free throws during the run.

Minnesota then secured the victory by scoring nine of the final 13 points.

The score was tied at 37-37 at the half.

Minnesota took a 16-11 lead in the first seven minutes. Payne scored seven points during that span for the Golden Gophers.

Rutgers responded with a 14-3 run to pull ahead 25-19 with 8:23 to go in the half. Antwone Woolfolk made a layup to finish off the scoring run.

The Golden Gophers scored 18 of the final 30 points of the first half to pull even.

--Field Level Media

Top Game Performances
 
Rutgers   Minnesota
Clifford Omoruyi 19 Scoring Pharrel Payne 21
Aundre Hyatt 4 Assists Elijah Hawkins 7
Clifford Omoruyi 8 Rebounds Pharrel Payne 11
Clifford Omoruyi 7 Free Throws Made Dawson Garcia 5
Clifford Omoruyi 3 Steals Parker Fox 1
Clifford Omoruyi 3 Blocks Pharrel Payne 2
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Rutgers 70 38.7 4-19 18-22 16 29 5 10 8
Minnesota 81 51.0 8-16 23-34 20 34 8 4 15