LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. (AP) — Trevor Mbakwe had 16 points and 12 rebounds as Minnesota rallied to beat DePaul 86-85 in the opening round of the Old Spice Classic on Thursday.
Minnesota (5-0) also got 18 points from Rodney Williams. The Golden Gophers will play Indiana State, a 60-49 winner over Texas Tech, in a winner’s bracket game Friday.
Brandon Young scored 23 points and Cleveland Melvin added 20 for DePaul (2-1), which will meet Texas Tech in a consolation game Friday.
Williams had a key rebound basket, making it 86-83, after a pair of missed free throws by Julian Welch with 13 seconds left.
Krys Faber had a rebound basket in the final second after DePaul’s Moses Morgan missed a potential game-tying three-pointer.