Murphy Leads Gophers Past Clemson 89-83

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) -- Jordan Murphy had 24 points and 10 rebounds to lead Minnesota to an 89-83 victory over Clemson in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge on Monday night.

Murphy hit 9 of 16 shots and Nate Mason added 17 points with eight assists for the Golden Gophers (5-2).

Jaron Blossomgame scored 24 points and grabbed six rebounds, and Jordan Roper scored a career-high 25 for Clemson (4-2), which hit 14 of 28 3-pointers.

The Tigers led by 10 in the first half but they allowed Minnesota to shoot 52.7 percent for the game and had no answer for Murphy down the stretch.

Minnesota went 24 for 30 at the free throw line and only turned it over six times.

Joey King scored 17 points and Charles Buggs 15 for the Gophers.

The Tigers opened the game with three straight 3-pointers and kept firing through the first half. They made six of their first 11 shots from deep, the last from Avry Holmes for a 37-27 lead with just over three minutes to play in the half.

But Murphy's only 3 of the game capped a 9-0 run to pull Minnesota back within one and his 3-point play came during another 9-0 surge in the third quarter to put Minnesota ahead 62-56.

The undersized Gophers were outrebounded in each of their first six games, but were the aggressors on the glass on Monday night. They held a 31-25 advantage and Murphy did his best to make the versatile Blossomgame work for his looks.

The Gophers play South Dakota this Saturday afternoon at 2 p.m. with the pre-game coverage at 1:30 on 1340 KROC AM.