The Gophers’ second-half surge and last-minute survival at Northwestern on Saturday led to the U’s first win away from Minnesota this season.

Minnesota outscored the Wildcats 24-11 in the final 4 minutes and 39 seconds to produce a 84-78 road win at Welsh-Ryan Arena in Evanston, Ill.

Before this restart of conference play, the Gophers (9-5, 2-1 Big Ten) were 0-5 away from Williams Arena this season, including a blowout loss at fifth-ranked Purdue in December.

On Saturday, the 5-point underdog Gophers trailed Northwestern 67-60 with under five minutes to go, but staked a 78-72 lead before some nervous inbound plays and a turnover allowed the Wildcats to make it 78-76 with 30 seconds left. Bobby Durkin, Cade Tyson and Isaac Asuma each made two free throws down the stretch to seal it.

“We hung in there and that’s what you have to do,” head coach Niko Medved said on the KFXN-FM postgame show. “… A couple of things start going your way and we finally find a way to get a couple of stops.”

The top two leading scorers in the Big Ten — Tyson and Northwestern’s Nick Martinelli — squared off Saturday and both filled it up in the second half. Martinelli had a game-high 26, while Tyson had a team-high 24.

But it was Tyson’s deep 3-pointer on an expiring shot clock from the top of the key that proved clutch with 1:19 remaining.

“I thought there was a play or two he turned down, maybe an open 3,” Medved said. “I’m like, ‘You got to be ready to let that thing fly and the next one is going down.’ I didn’t know it would be the Hail Mary at the end of the clock, but sometimes that is the way it goes.”

Minnesota also got season scoring highs from Grayson Grove and Isaac Asuma; Ausma had 18 and Grove 12.

The start of the Gophers’ second half surge came with Grove being rewarded for setting middle screens and making cuts to the basket to have a series of dunks. Langston Reynolds distributed during that run and finished with a career-high 13 assists.

“(Grove) looked like Shaquille O’Neal there for a little bit,” Medved said. Grove, a reserve forward, finished with four dunks.

The Gophers and Wildcats (8-6, 0-3) were tied at 34-34 in a very even opening half that had seven ties and four lead changes. The separation came in the final few minutes.

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