The Gophers face Morgan State, the defending Mid-Eastern Conference champions, at Williams Arena.

Final – Gophers junior guard Blake Hoffarber scores 18 points to lead Minnesota for the second straight game. GOPHERS 94, MORGAN STATE 64.

7:22 2nd – The Gophers are cooling off in shooting, transition defense and ball handling, but the Bears have shot only 29 percent in the game and have scored just 7 points off of Minnesota’s 11 second-half turnovers. GOPHERS 70, MORGAN STATE 46.

11:33 2nd – Game play has really slowed down, with 15 fouls already called in the first eight-and-a-half minutes. The Gophers have made 10 of 12 free throws, while Morgan State has made six of seven. Senior guard Devron Bostick recently scored his first points of the season on a one-handed put-back shot but then committed a foul moments later to allow for a Morgan State 3-point play. GOPHERS 61, MORGAN STATE 39.

15:57 2nd – The Gophers missed their first five shots of the second half but have made their last two while being fouled. Both baskets by Westbrook and junior forward Paul Carter have become 3-point plays for Minnesota. A technical was just called on the Morgan State bench, as Todd Bozeman seems upset with the now-six fouls called on the Bears in the second half alone. Westbrook made the second of two free throws. GOPHERS 52, MORGAN STATE 27.

Halftime – The Gophers and Bears have started to score in more of a back-and-forth pattern. Morgan State has showed its ability to run the floor on a couple of recent possessions. Hoffarber leads the Gophers with 12 points. Johnson has 11. Holmes leads the bears with GOPHERS 43, MORGAN STATE 21.

3:59 1st – Neither team has made a field goal in the last 2:12. GOPHERS 33, MORGAN STATE 12.

7:36 1st – Morgan State has started to have success with baskets in transition, but they’ve still made just four of 20 shots (one of 9 3-pointers) so far. Minnesota has 18 points in the paint. GOPHERS 26, MORGAN STATE 9.

9:48 1st – The Gophers’ first team left with an 18-0 lead. Minnesota made eight of its first 12 shots. Morgan State finally made a basket with around 12-and-a-half minutes to go in the half. GOPHERS 22, MORGAN STATE 7.

15:28 1st – The Gophers have looked sharp on offense and defense, putting on the pressure on both ends of the floor. They’ve scored 6 points off of five Morgan State turnovers. Senior forward Damian Johnson already has 7 points and two steals. Senior guard Lawrence Westbrook has 4 points, two assists and a steal. The Gophers have six assists on six field goals. GOPHERS 13, MORGAN STATE 0.

The snowy weather is delaying or keeping some Gophers fans from coming to the game.

Starting Lineups:

Morgan State Bears (5-3):

F Fr. DeWayne Jackson
F So. Kevin Thompson
C Jr. Rodney Stokes
G Sr. Reggie Holmes
G So. Sean Thomas

Minnesota Gophers (5-3):

F Jr. Blake Hoffarber
F Sr. Damian Johnson
C So. Ralph Sampson III
G Jr. Al Nolen Jr.
G Sr. Lawrence Westbrook