• Recap
• Bleachers

No. 22 Minnesota tops Saint Joseph's

Dec 9, 2010 - 3:44 AM Philadelphia, PA (Sports Network) - Devoe Joseph scored 19 points and Trevor Mbakwe finished with 12 and 16 rebounds as No. 22 Minnesota topped Saint Joseph's 83-73 at Hagan Arena.

Blake Hoffarber added 14 points for the Gophers (8-1), who have won two straight since falling to Virginia on November 29.

Maurice Walker and Ralph Sampson III both supplied 10 points in the victory.

Carl Jones led the Hawks (3-6) with a game-high 29 points and Langston Galloway scored 21 in the fourth straight loss for Saint Joseph's.

Minnesota made the game's first basket, but that was its only lead in the opening 10 1/2 minutes. A Mbakwe dunk off a Hoffarber steal gave the Gophers their next advantage, 18-17, at 9:30. Minnesota would never trail from there, taking a 36-26 lead into the intermission.

Saint Joseph's opened up the second on an 11-2 run that was capped by a Jones three-pointer at 16:36. But the Gophers responded with a 13-0 streak -- bookended by Joseph and Hoffarber three-pointers -- to extend their lead to 14, their largest of the game.

A layup from the Hawks' Idris Hilliard put the game at 68-63 with just more than four minutes remaining, but the Gophers responded with another timely three from Joseph to extend the advantage to eight.

After a Jones three-pointer with 55 ticks remaining pulled the Hawks within 79-71, Minnesota added a Mbakwe dunk and two Hoffarber free-throws to extend its advantage to 12. Jones connected on a layup with 18 seconds remaining to account for the final advantage.

Game Notes

Minnesota was the first ranked team to play at Hagan Arena, which opened last season...Jones has scored in double figures in 11 straight games dating back to last season...The Hawks' four-game skid comes on the heels of three straight wins...Minnesota leads the all-time series 3-1...The Gophers made 13- of-17 from the line, while the Hawks were 14-of-16...Minnesota won the rebounding margin 41-38.