Tyson, Crocker-Johnson help Minnesota stave off Chicago State 66-54
Cade Tyson scored 22 points, Jaylen Crocker-Johnson scored 15 points and Minnesota beat Chicago State 66-54 on Tuesday night.
Isaac Asuma scored 14 points and despite shooting just 37% (19 of 52) — including 25% (7 of 28) from 3-point range — the Golden Gophers (4-1) converted 21 of 27 foul shots compared to just 6 of 10 for the Cougars (0-5).
Marcus Tankersley scored 16 points and Braelon Bush 10 for Chicago State, which shot 40% (22 of 55).
Minnesota led 31-24 in the first half before the Cougars outscored Minnesota 19-13 in the first 8 1/2 minutes of the second and closed to within 44-43. After close to three minutes of scoreless basketball by the two, Stephen Byard made a basket to put the Cougars ahead by a point. Crocker-Johnson's layup with 6:38 left gave Minnesota the lead for good.
Tyson, who entered the night as the Big Ten's second-leading scorer, led the Gophers in scoring for the fifth time. He was 6-of-13 from the floor, including 3-of-8 from three-point range, and 7-of-8 at the line, while tying his season-high with six rebounds.
Crocker-Johnson tied his season-high with 15 points and grabbed seven boards, his first game this season in which he had fewer than double-digit rebounds.