Minnesota clamps down on Rutgers, pulls away for win

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.