MINNEAPOLIS _ Minnesota senior starters Nate Mason and Reggie Lynch sat for more than 10 minutes in the second half Sunday after picking up four fouls each with their team only leading by single digits.
Normally, that would be reason to panic for Minnesota coach Richard Pitino. But his defense picked up on the perimeter and Jordan Murphy had 21 of his 23 points in the second half of a 92-64 victory against Western Carolina at Williams Arena.
Murphy, the Big Ten's leading scorer at 25.3 points per game, was held to just two points in the first half. It was the second straight game the 6-foot-6 junior forward had just one basket at halftime, but not many opponents can slow him down for long.
He only finished with four field goals, but Murphy had one of his most efficient games from foul line. The San Antonio native made his first seven free throws and finished 15-for-19 at the charity stripe.
Amir Coffey and Dupree McBrayer also added 15 and 14 points for Minnesota, respectively.
The Gophers (4-0) pulled away in the last 10 minutes but they allowed their Southern Conference opponent to hit 7-for-10 3-pointers in the first half to hang around even after taking a 42-33 halftime lead.
Western Carolina (1-3) sank back-to-back 3-pointers to open the second half, including when Halvorsen curled around a screen and drilled a jumper plus the foul. Minnesota's senior captain Mason was called for the foul. The rare four-point play cut it to 45-40 after Halvorsen's free throw.
On the ensuing possession, Mason drove baseline and his defender drew a controversial charging call for a fourth foul. Pitino screamed at the official, but it still resulted in Mason going to the bench.
Two minutes later, Lynch joined Mason sitting with his fourth foul as well on a failed block attempt.
Freshman Isaiah Washington got valuable minutes in the second half replacing Mason. Known for his famous "jelly" layup, the New York native had his trademark flashy finger roll blocked twice. But Washington, who had a season-high 10 points with no turnovers in 17 minutes, picked up valuable experience running the team for an extended period.
Pitino played Coffey at shooting guard for parts of the second half to use his size and length at 6-foot-8 to limit three-pointers. Murphy's 3-point play on a dunk and free throw followed by Coffey's spinning layup plus the foul made it 71-49 lead with eight minutes remaining.
Mason had 13 points and eight rebounds for the Gophers. And Lynch finished with six points, eight rebounds and five blocks in 16 minutes.
Western Carolina was led by Matt Halvorsen, who had 13 of his team-high 17 points in the first half. The Catamounts finished 11-for-22 from 3-point range, but they committed 20 turnovers.
The competition will only get tougher as nonconference play moves along, especially over Thanksgiving when Minnesota travels to play in the Barclays Center Classic against Massachusetts on Friday and Alabama on Saturday.
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