That was closer than expected.

Minnesota rolled into Monday’s game against Loyola Marymount with a 2-0 record, including a double-digit win over the Lions on Saturday. A second straight blowout was not in order as the Lions kept the game tight until the final whistle.

LMU battled all the way and found itself with a 55-54 lead late. From there, the Gophers outscored the Lions 13-9 to escape with a three-point win, 67-64.

The big star for Minnesota was Marcus Carr who poured in a game-high 26 points on 9-for-16 shooting, including 2-for-4 from three-point range. He rounded out his performance with 7 rebounds and 3 assists.

Carr helped carry a Gophers team on a night that saw only one other player – Both Gach – hit double-digit points with 10. Gabe Kalscheur struggled mightily Monday, shooting just 1-for-11 from the floor after scoring 17 points Saturday.

The 26 points are impressive for Carr, but it is actually his lowest output in three games thus far to start the season. He put up 35 in the season opener before scoring another 28 points in Saturday’s win. That gives Carr a 29.7 points per game average early on the year.

After escaping with the win, Minnesota will move on to face North Dakota on Dec. 4. That game is set for a 9 pm EST tip on BTN.