MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. – Nate Mason tallied 14 points, nine assists, six rebounds and five steals, and Minnesota held Georgia Southern to 20 percent shooting in the second half to post an 86-49 men's basketball victory over the Eagles Friday night in Williams Arena.

Ike Smith recorded 12 points and five rebounds for Georgia Southern (4-5), and Jake Allsmiller netted 11. Coye Simmons contributed six points, seven rebounds and a pair of steals, and Tookie Brown finished with a career-high nine assists.

Dupree McBrayer posted 18 points, five rebounds and five assists for Minnesota (9-1), and Akeem Springs scored 16. Reggie Lynch finished with 10 points, six rebounds and four blocked shots.

The story
Minnesota jumped out to a 10-4 lead to start the game and pushed the margin to 36-19 on a Murphy 3-pointer with just over eight minutes remaining in the first period. The Eagles stayed in it with a mini 7-3 run, keyed by 3-pointers from Smith and Allsmiller, and Georgia Southern trailed 45-32 at halftime. The Golden Gophers shot 49 percent from the field and canned 8 of 17 from long distance in the half.

Minnesota opened the second half with a 12-2 run, capped by consecutive Lynch dunks, and the margin ballooned to 26 points at 79-47 on a Springs 3-pointer with 4:09 remaining. The Golden Gophers held the Eagles to 6 for 30 from the floor in the second half and outscored Georgia Southern 41-17. 

Quotables from Head coach Mark Byington
"I'm embarrassed and we have some prideful guys in the locker room, and they are embarrassed too. That's not what we're all about. We didn't show up tonight, and we're going to have to make some changes. The biggest thing is I don't mind getting beat; I don't like not competing and I felt like we didn't compete the whole 40 minutes tonight. We have to make some changes in order to get out of this right now."

"We kept challenging the big kid Lynch inside, and the scouting report was not to challenge him but to drive and make the extra pass. We didn't do that. In the first half, we didn't execute the game plan. We didn't want Mason to get loose and we didn't want Springs to get loose, and they made six threes in the first half. Then the game got really easy for them. They had a big lead so the shots are easy and weren't pressured. So the game got away from us really quick."

"The one thing we have to do is stick together, and I'll make some changes and fix what we have to fix."

Next up
Georgia Southern completes its home-and-home series with Florida Gulf Coast by traveling to Ft. Myers, Fla., for a 7:05 p.m. contest Tuesday. It's the second contest of a four-game road swing for the Eagles, who also play at FIU and Winthrop during the trip.

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