Participating in his first border battle, University of Wisconsin sophomore A.J. Storr rose to the challenge in a big way.

Recording his first collegiate double-double, Storr scored four of his 15 points in the final two minutes to help lift No.13 Wisconsin to a 61-59 victory over Minnesota at Williams Arena Tuesday.

Senior forward, and Lakeville, MN, native Tyler Wahl was equally impressive for Wisconsin (15-4, 7-1 Big Ten), scoring 12 of his team-high 16 points in the second half and closing with a flourish.

Guard Elijah Hawkins scored 16 points for the Gophers (12-7, 3-5), which have dropped seven straight games in the series despite the last five meetings being decided by six points or fewer.

It didn’t appear the game was headed that way early, with Wisconsin shooting 50 percent in the first half and limiting Minnesota to 31 percent, but the Gophers took a 58-57 lead with 34.8 seconds left.

Coming out of a timeout, Storr’s drive to the rim drew contact and allowed the sophomore – an 84.1 percent free-throw shooter – to make both attempts with 26.4 seconds left to take a 59-58 lead.

Looking to hold for the last shot, Wahl got positioning on Minnesota forward Dawson Garcia (10 points) to draw a loose-ball foul. He made both free throws with 5.4 seconds left.

Wisconsin intentionally fouled to prevent the Gophers from attempting the tying three but, after he made the first, Mike Mitchell secured his rebound and saw his tying shot attempt go off the glass and roll off the rim.

Other than committing seven turnovers in 31 possessions, Wisconsin dominated both ends of the floor in the opening half thanks to a 14-2 run sparked by consecutive three-pointers by Max Klesmit (11 points).

The Gophers were tied for second in the Big Ten in field goal percentage (48.0) but got little movement against the Badgers’ front. Minnesota shot 9-for-29 (31.0 percent) in the opening half, including nearly a six-minute field goal drought, and were an abysmal 3-for-14 from the perimeter.

That changed in the opening 8:03 of the second half when the Gophers made their first six three-point attempts to take a 46-45 lead.

UW pushed the lead back to eight, only for the Gophers to go on an 11-1 run to take a 57-55 lead with 2:37 remaining.

What it means: Any win on the road in the Big Ten is a good win, especially with No.2 Purdue nipping at UW’s heels, but there always seems to be a little extra in winning at The Barn. In the only regular-season meeting between the border rivals, Wisconsin showed no signs of relinquishing control of the rivalry.

Star of the game: Storr was nearly perfect in the first half, finishing with nine points, seven rebounds, two assists, and no turnovers. UW outscored Minnesota by 15 when he was on the floor in the opening half and six overall. In addition to his free throws, his biggest play was his transition dunk off a feed from Klesmit to tie the score at 57 with 1:51 left.

Stat of the game: Free throws were an issue for both teams. Wisconsin was only 8-for-10 from the line, while Minnesota was an ugly 5-for-13.

Reason to be Concerned: Kamari McGee didn’t make the trip after suffering a leg injury on Friday, so the Badgers turned to Isaac Lindsey to provide minutes. They didn’t waste time, as Lindsey checked in before the first media timeout but ended up playing only four minutes.

Don’t overlook: Greg Gard earned his 100th career Big Ten win as head coach on Tuesday. He became the 23rd coach – and fourth Badger – in conference history to reach the century mark (Bo Ryan – 172, Walter Meanwell – 158, Bud Foster – 143).

What’s next: Wisconsin returns to the Kohl Center to host Michigan State on Friday. Since dropping to 1-4 in the conference on Jan.11, the Spartans (12-7, 4-4) have started to right the ship with three straight wins, the latest being a 61-59 road win at Maryland Sunday. Despite being outrebounded by 15 and scoring just 17 second-half points, Michigan State forced 18 turnovers.

UW won the first meeting between the two, 70-57, on December 5. UW hasn’t won two regular season games against the Spartans since the 2003-04 season.

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