Minnesota 63, Saint Mary's 55: Joey King scored a team-high 18 points as the Golden Gophers downed the visiting Gaels in the second round of the NIT.

DeAndre Mathieu added 14 points for top-seeded Minnesota (22-13), which will face Southern Mississippi in the quarterfinals. Austin Hollins chipped in with 10 points and five assists while Elliott Eliason recorded eight rebounds and a game-high seven blocks for the Golden Gophers, who went 21-of-28 from the free-throw line.

Stephen Holt led the way with a game-high 24 points to go along with three assists and three steals for Saint Mary's (23-12), which shot 38.1 percent from the field. James Walker III scored nine points while Kerry Carter pulled down eight rebounds for the fourth-seeded Gaels, who finished 16-of-25 from the free-throw line.

Holt knocked down back-to-back 3-pointers as Saint Mary's opened the game on a 14-0 run that was aided by six Minnesota turnovers. King sparked a 13-3 spurt to tie the game at 19 before Matt Hodgson's layup gave the Gaels a 26-22 edge at the break.

King scored four points during a 11-0 burst to put the Golden Gophers on top 40-32 with under nine minutes remaining. Holt made a pair of free throws to trim the deficit to four, but that's as close as Saint Mary's would get as Andre Hollins hit a 3-pointer to make it 52-44 and Minnesota punched its ticket to the next round.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Minnesota has won eight straight games against non-conference opponents. … Saint Mary's started off 4-of-5 from beyond the arc before finishing 7-of-14. … The Golden Gophers improved to 17-3 at Williams Arena.