Jamison Battle had a team-high 20 points and Payton Willis added 19 points to boost Minnesota to a 73-69 victory against Western Kentucky on Friday night in the inaugural Asheville Championship at Harrah’s Cherokee Center in Asheville, N.C.
Balanced scoring and a sound effort from beyond the arc helped the Golden Gophers fend off the Hilltoppers and Dayvion McKnight, who scored 28 of his game-high 34 points after halftime to help Western Kentucky nearly rally from a 16-point, second-half hole.
E.J. Stephens scored 18 points and Eric Curry had 11 points and seven rebounds for Minnesota, which never trailed. Battle paced the team with five 3-pointers, while Stephens (four) and Willis (three) followed.
Western Kentucky drew within 70-67 on a pair of McKnight free throws with 36 seconds to go. McKnight secured a jump ball moments later, but Jairus Hamilton (12 points) missed an attempt at a tying 3-pointer with 11 seconds to go.
Willis split a pair of free throws before a Hamilton dunk trimmed the deficit to 71-69 with three seconds left. Two more free throws, this time by Stephens, created the final margin.
McKnight narrowly missed a double-double, grabbing nine boards to go with four assists. Luke Loewe dished five assists for Minnesota.
The Hilltoppers shot 35.7 percent in the first half compared to 38.7 percent for the Golden Gophers, but their struggles from beyond the arc added up. Western Kentucky was just 2-for-10 from deep in the first 20 minutes, and ultimately were doomed by multiple treys at its expense.
Stephens beat the buzzer with a 3 to give Minnesota a 35-23 lead at the break. The Golden Gophers went 8-for-20 from long range in the first half, with Battle contributing five of those makes.
First-year Golden Gophers coach Ben Johnson has won the first two games of his collegiate career.
Minnesota has topped Western Kentucky in each of the schools’ three meetings.
–Field Level Media
