National Basketball Association
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Minnesota 69, Iowa 59
When: 6:00 PM ET, Sunday, January 16, 2011
Where: Williams Arena, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Officials: # Tim Clougherty, # Bill Elk, # Ted Valentine
Attendance: 14625

Trevor Mbakwe had 16 points and 12 rebounds off the bench, and No. 25 Minnesota used an 18-4 second-half run to dispatch visiting Iowa, 69-59, on Sunday. Mbakwe, the Big Ten’s rebounding leader, was held out of the Minnesota starting lineup by coach Tubby Smith for the second straight game following his recent arrest for violating a restraining order against an ex-girlfriend.

The junior forward tallied 10 of his points in the second half for the Gophers (14-4, 3-3 Big Ten), who were coming off a 70-67 win over No. 8 Purdue on Thursday in which Mbakwe had seven points and 10 boards.

Iowa (7-10, 0-5) stayed winless in league play despite the efforts of Melsahn Basabe, who scored 16 of his game-high 20 in the second half and grabbed 13 rebounds. Eric May chipped in 16 in the loss.

Al Nolen added 13 points and Ralph Sampson III had 11 for the Gophers, who built a 30-19 halftime margin by closing the first half on a 14-5 run.

But Iowa quickly erased the deficit, and the game was tied at 42 six minutes into the second half before Minnesota regained command to earn its fifth straight victory over the Hawkeyes.
Top Game Performances
 
Iowa   Minnesota
Melsahn Basabe 20 Scoring Trevor Mbakwe 16
Bryce Cartwright 5 Assists Blake Hoffarber 4
Melsahn Basabe 13 Rebounds Trevor Mbakwe 12
Melsahn Basabe 4 Free Throws Made Al Nolen 7
Eric May 2 Steals Blake Hoffarber 3
Jarryd Cole 1 Blocks Ralph Sampson III 7
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Iowa 59 37.3 6-19 9-11 12 28 2 6
Minnesota 69 43.5 2-10 27-37 17 38 12 9