Rodney Williams had 14 points, eight rebounds and two blocks while filling in at power forward for injured star Trevor Mbakwe, lifting Minnesota to a 58-55 victory over Virginia Tech on Wednesday night in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge.
Julian Welch scored 15 points and hit two free throws with 18.9 seconds to go that gave the Golden Gophers the lead for good.
Elliott Eliason added eight points, seven rebounds and two blocks for the Gophers (7-1), who played their first game after Mbakwe was lost for the season with a right knee injury.
Erick Green scored 25 points for the Hokies (5-2) but was hampered in the final 19 seconds after falling off Williams Arena's raised floor and landing on his right shoulder. He returned, and his 3-pointer at the buzzer rimmed out.
