Cade Tyson scored 30 points on 8-for-12 shooting from the field, including 4-for-8 from beyond the arc, as Minnesota coasted to an 87-60 win over Gardner-Webb on Monday night in Minneapolis in the teams’ season opener.

Jaylen Crocker-Johnson added 13 points and 14 rebounds for Minnesota, which won Niko Medved’s debut as head coach. The Golden Gophers turned to a Minnesota native when they hired Medved from Colorado State during the offseason.

Julius Clark scored 13 points on 5-for-9 shooting from the field off the bench to lead Gardner-Webb. Spence Sims and Jacob Hudson scored 12 points apiece off the bench.

Minnesota shot 54.5% (30 of 55) from the field and 33.3% (7 of 21) from 3-point range. Gardner-Webb shot 33.3% (19 of 57) overall and 31.6% (6 of 19) from beyond the arc.

The Golden Gophers set the tone by scoring the first 10 points.

Tyson drained a 3-pointer to put Minnesota on top 10-0 with 16:52 to go in the first half. He made a 3-point play with a layup and a free throw during the run, which included two free throws by Crocker-Johnson and another layup by Tyson.

Bobby Durkin drained a 3-pointer, and Grayson Grove made a dunk to increase Minnesota’s lead to 20-1 with 14:02 left in the first half. Soon after, Tyson drained a 3-pointer to push the Golden Gophers’ advantage to 23-1 with 11:42 remaining.

A 7-0 run increased Minnesota’s lead to 53-18 with 49 seconds to go in the first half. Tyson made a pair of free throws to finish the run, which included a layup by Crocker-Johnson and a 3-pointer by Durkin.

Gardner-Webb outscored Minnesota 40-34 in the second half, but by then it was too little, too late. The Runnin’ Bulldogs scored the final four points of the game on a dunk by Clark and a layup by Hudson.

–Field Level Media