Marcus Carr continued his sterling start to the season by scoring 22 of his 28 points in the first half to lift Minnesota to an 88-73 victory over Loyola Marymount on Saturday in Minneapolis.
Carr finished 10-for-19 from the floor and added eight assists on Saturday, three days removed from matching a career high with 35 points in the Golden Gophers' 99-69 romp over Green Bay. The junior guard shot 12 of 22 from the field with four 3-pointers against the Phoenix.
Minnesota native Both Gach had 17 points Saturday and Liam Robbins added 10 points and eight rebounds for the Golden Gophers (2-0), who will host the Lions (1-1) again on Monday.
Joe Quintana scored 19 points, Eli Scott added 14 points and nine rebounds and Keli Leaupepe had 12 points before fouling out for Loyola Marymount. Jalin Anderson finished with 10 points three days after sinking a jumper as time expired in the Lions' 85-83 win over Southern Utah.
Carr nearly singlehandedly drove Minnesota to a 41-37 lead at intermission. He shot 8 of 12 from the floor while the rest of his team sputtered to a 6-of-18 performance. Loyola Marymount shot 46.4 percent from the field in the first half.
The Golden Gophers found offense outside of Carr to begin the second half, extending their lead to a then-game-high 14 points in the process. Gach drove for a pair of layups to begin a 17-7 surge that was capped by a three-point play from Gabe Kalscheur, giving Minnesota a 58-44 advantage.
Carr's 3-pointer pushed the Golden Gophers' lead to 76-54 with 6:34 remaining. Loyola Marymount made a run to trim the deficit to 10 with 2:06 to play before Gach's 3-pointer stopped the surge.
Loyola Marymount benefited from a 7-0 run and 8-0 surge to seize a 19-10 lead, but Carr drained a 3-pointer and converted a three-point play as Minnesota rode his hot hand to trim its deficit to two.
Carr didn't stop there, sinking a pair of jumpers, a 3-pointer and another jump shot on consecutive possessions to stake the Golden Gophers to a 29-26 lead.
--Field Level Media
