National Basketball Association
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Rutgers 75, Minnesota 52
When: 1:00 PM ET, Saturday, March 5, 2016
Where: Louis Brown Athletic Center, Piscataway, New Jersey
Officials: # Courtney Green, # Ray Perone, # Ted Valentine
Attendance: 4473

Sophomore guard Mike Williams set career highs of 29 points and six 3-pointers and Rutgers ended a 17-game losing streak by demolishing Minnesota 75-52 on Saturday in Big Ten play at Piscataway, N.J.

Freshman guard Corey Sanders added 12 points, seven rebounds and six assists and senior guard Bishop Daniels had 12 points and seven assists for the Scarlet Knights (7-24, 1-17), who won for the first time since defeating UMass Lowell on Dec. 28. Senior center Greg Lewis collected 13 rebounds in a contest in which Rutgers led wire-to-wire.

Junior forward Charles Buggs and freshman guard Stephon Sharp scored 13 points apiece for shorthanded Minnesota (8-22, 2-16), which has lost 17 of its last 19 games. The Golden Gophers shot just 30.1 percent from the field and were 2 of 17 from 3-point range.

Minnesota played without sophomore guard Nate Mason and freshmen guards Kevin Dorsey and Dupree McBrayer due to suspensions related to an explicit sex tape being placed on social-media sites. Mason was the team's leading scorer at 13.8 points per game and the Golden Gophers were also missing senior forward Joey King (11.6), who fractured his right foot during Wednesday's loss to Wisconsin.

The Golden Gophers were frigid from the outset and missed 14 of their first 15 field-goal attempts. Rutgers took advantage with a 15-0 run and held a 21-2 lead after a layup by sophomore forward D.J. Foreman with 11:09 left in the first half.

Minnesota finally recorded its second basket when Sharp scored on a jumper with 10:49 remaining. But the Scarlet Knights answered with eight straight points and made it 29-4 on Williams' 3-pointer and eventually took a 40-15 lead into the break.

Rutgers pushed the lead to 30 early in the second half on a basket by Daniels. The lead topped out at 33 points on two free throws by Williams with 7:17 remaining.
Top Game Performances
 
Minnesota   Rutgers
Charles Buggs 13 Scoring Mike Williams 29
Jordan Murphy 3 Assists Bishop Daniels 7
Bakary Konate 11 Rebounds Greg Lewis 13
Bakary Konate 4 Free Throws Made Mike Williams 9
Charles Buggs 3 Steals Corey Sanders 6
Jordan Murphy 2 Blocks Greg Lewis 2
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Minnesota 52 30.1 2-17 6-9 8 36 4 7 16
Rutgers 75 44.1 8-15 15-22 14 43 3 14 16