Gophers guard Cam Christie hit a contested 3-pointer to beat the shot clock early in Thursday’s game against Ball State. On the next possession, he had a better look from deep but passed it up and found Josh Ola-Joseph for an easier layup.

Coach Ben Johnson appreciated the heady play, pointing at his true freshman after the play.

Christie’s assist, part of a career-high six, contributed to the Gophers’ hot start in an 80-63 win over Ball State at Williams Arena.

The Gophers (9-3) extended their winning streak to four, while Ball State (8-4) lost its second consecutive.

Minnesota, a 12-point favorite, didn’t put away from Ball State until late in the game, despite a huge gulf between the teams in NET ratings — Minnesota at 95, Ball State at 223.

After a nine-day layoff for class finals, the U bucked a recent trend and started hot even before Christie’s heady assist. Mike Mitchell Jr. hit two 3-pointers from the wing to start the game. The Pepperdine transfer ended with a season-high 20 points; he has scored at least 12 points in five of the previous six games.

Ball State’s leading scorer Basheer Jihad was forced to deal with routine double teams from U defenders in the post; the 6-9 junior committed five turnovers and had only one point in his opening 12 minutes. Jihad, who was averaging 18.5 points per game, came on stronger and finished with 17 points on 10 shots.

Jalin Anderson picked up the slack for Ball State with 26 points.

Minnesota had five players in players in double figures, with Pharrel Payne at 13, Elijah Hawkins and Ola-Joseph at 12 apiece and Christie at 11.

Hawkins finished with nine assists, which ended a streak of four games in double digits. He set a program record with 17 assists against Indiana University-Purdue University-Indianapolis last week.

The Gophers led 39-27 at the half, with Mitchell leading seven scorers with 10 points.

Minnesota jumped out to a 26-9 lead after nine minutes, but a six-minute scoring drought allowed Ball State to get back in the game.

The Gophers played without all-Big Ten forward Dawson Garcia, who has been progressing from a sprained ankle against Nebraska on Dec. 6.

The Gophers final nonconference game is Dec. 29 against Maine at The Barn.

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