Ralph Sampson III went 6-of-6 from the field and 7-of-8 from the line for 19 points and added eight rebounds as No. 20 Minnesota pulled away from Eastern Kentucky en route to a 71-58 victory on Saturday.

Blake Hoffarber scored all 12 of his points on 3-pointers for the Golden Gophers (9-1), who shot 52 percent from the floor.

Minnesota led 28-25 at the break and took control immediately in the second half, opening the period with a 15-0 run. The Colonels did not score for the first 9:54 of the second half. Hoffarber sparked the rally with a 3-pointer and Sampson had a pair of dunks as the Gophers pulled away.

Since suffering its first loss on November 29 against Virginia, Minnesota has rolled over three opponents and has two more home games before jumping into Big Ten play at Wisconsin on December 28.

Justin Stommes did his best to keep Eastern Kentucky (5-5) in the game with 19 points.