Elijah Hawkins' school-record 17 assists lead Minnesota past IUPUI
Dec 12, 2023; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Golden Gophers guard Elijah Hawkins (0) drives to the basket as IUPUI Jaguars guard Bryce Monroe (4) defends during the first half at Williams Arena. credits: Matt Krohn-USA TODAY Sports Minnesota got 19 points from Cam Christie as the Golden Gophers overwhelmed visiting IUPUI 101-65 on Tuesday night in a nonconference game in Minneapolis.
Despite having two starters out of the lineup, the Big Ten's Minnesota (8-3) was still too much for IUPUI (3-8) of the Horizon League.
The Gophers won their third in a row, while IUPUI lost for the eighth time in nine games after opening the season with two wins.
Minnesota had four players in double-figure scoring and all 10 players to see action scored. Parker Fox scored 16 off the bench on 8-of-8 shooting with five dunks.
Joshua Ola-Joseph and Mike Mitchell Jr. had 14 points apiece for the Gophers.
Minnesota point guard Elijah Hawkins only had two points but dished out a career-high 17 assists, setting a single-game all-time record for the Gophers, and left the game with a minute left to a standing ovation.
It was the third straight game for Hawkins with 11 or more assists, as the 5-foot-11 playmaker entered the game averaging 6.5 assists per game.
For the Jaguars, Bryce Monroe scored a game-high 20 points on 10-of-17 shooting, Qwanzi Samuels had a career-high 13 off the bench, and John Egbuta added 11.
The Golden Gophers led from the first to final whistle, shooting 70.6 percent in the first half.
Hawkins found Mitchell for a 3-pointer on the 17-second mark, and notched his 11th assist a dunk by Fox with 55 seconds left before half.
In the first half, Ola-Joseph had 14 points and Mitchell had 10 as the Golden Gophers hit 8 of 13 3-pointers. Minnesota's 30-point lead at the half (57-27) was the Gophers' largest lead of the season.
Minnesota's leading scorer, 6-11 center Dawson Garcia (18.2 points per game), remained sidelined with an ankle injury, and Braeden Carrington is away from the team for personal reasons.
The game was the first ever between the two schools.
—Field Level Media
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