(AP) — It might take some time for Trevor Mbakwe to get comfortable with his new starting role.

Problem is, the Big Ten season is up next for the sixth-year senior and the No. 13 Minnesota Gophers, who saw Mbakwe struggle with five points and four rebounds in 17 minutes before leaving with five stitches above his right eye early in the second half of a 75-50 victory over Lafayette on Saturday night, Dec. 22, at Williams Arena.

“The coaches kind of said there was no reason for me to go back in,” said Mbakwe, who replaced Elliott Eliason as the starting center. “We had a pretty comfortable lead at the time. They didn’t want to risk any injuries or anything that might happen. Obviously, I was ready to go right away, but it was just precaution.”

The first sellout crowd at the Barn in a nonconference game under coach Tubby Smith saw Mbakwe start for the first time since he blew out his right knee on Nov. 27, 2011, against Dayton in Orlando, Fla.

Mbakwe and fellow senior frontcourt mate Rodney Williams had put on a show for the home crowd on Dec. 11 against North Dakota State with 33 combined points to go with Mbakwe’s career-best 18 rebounds. It was a sign they should be starting together, but the Minnesota-bred inside tandem had just 13 points and eight rebounds combined Saturday.

The Gophers, who open Big Ten play on New Year’s Eve day against Michigan State at home, also showed rust as a team after an 11-day break. But they extended an eight-game winning streak with 42 bench points, including a season-high 10 points from sophomore forward Oto Osenieks. Sophomore starter Joe Coleman had eight of his team-high 12 points in the first half.

“We looked a little winded; I wasn’t really impressed with it at first,” Smith said of the new lineup. “But it was a change. They hadn’t played together in (12) games. It was the first time Elliott hadn’t been in the lineup in a long time, since March.”

Smith said it was a “coach’s decision” to not play Eliason, who had started the past 19 games at center. He would not elaborate on it, but Smith said he expected the 7-foot sophomore to play in the next game.

Mbakwe said Smith told him during the pregame walk-through that he would be starting. The move made sense. One could argue that it should have been done much sooner. The 6-foot-8, 245-pound St. Paul native is the type of double-double threat who could help the Gophers to the upper echelon of the conference this season, even though he didn’t showcase that ability Saturday.

Instead, it was reserves such as Osenieks, Mo Walker and Andre Ingram displaying the team’s frontcourt depth. Osenieks and Walker combined for 12 points to help Minnesota pull away in the first half and lead 37-22 at halftime. Ingram had all of his six points and six rebounds in the second half, which included two putback dunks.

Williams, who had eight points and four rebounds in 16 minutes, didn’t play much in the second half after opening with three straight baskets, including two dunks, to give Minnesota a 43-25 lead near the 18-minute mark.

“I think it was just Coach trying to get some other guys minutes,” Williams said. “It’s OK. We played enough together to know what’s going on out there.”

Mbakwe quickly left the game and went to the locker room after getting elbowed in the face by a Lafayette player on the offensive end at the 17:13 mark. He returned to the sideline midway through the second half to watch the rest of the game and cheer on his former bench mates.

It was a bittersweet ending to his first start, but Mbakwe said he’ll be ready for Michigan State 6-9, 275-pound center Derrick Nix, who had 25 points and 11 rebounds Saturday in a Spartans win over Texas.

“We were watching that game, and he looked good,” Mbakwe said. “It’s going to be a big test for us, and a big challenge for myself. Derrick Nix is a big guy. But I’m excited.”