MINNEAPOLIS – You want to know how difficult life on the road in the Big Ten can be?

Wisconsin, alone in first place in the league and No. 10 in the USA Today coaches poll, built a 15-point lead over rival Minnesota in the first half, led by 10 at halftime and led by eight points with a little more than seven minutes remaining.

Yet the Gophers, who entered the night under the .500 mark in league play, refused to surrender and eventually battled back to take a one-point lead in the final minute.

The Badgers then showed their championship mettle as AJ Storr and Tyler Wahl each hit two free throws and UW got one final stop thanks to a block by Wahl to escape with a 61-59 victory Tuesday night at Williams Arena.

"To be able to give up a lead on the road, claw back, withstand the full-throated (fans) of this place and find a way to win," UW coach Greg Gard said, "you have to be able to win games when maybe you’re not at your best as you get through a season, just because the season is too long.

"Good teams, when they’re not quite clicking or at their best on either end of the floor, they find a way to get it done.

"That just tells you the fortitude and grit this group has internally."

The Badgers (15-4, 7-1 Big Ten) won in Minneapolis for the seventh time in the last eight games to maintain sole possession of first place in the league.

Purdue (18-2, 7-2) remained one-half game off the lead with a 99-67 victory over visiting Michigan later Tuesday.

BOX SCORE: Wisconsin 61, Minnesota 59

Minnesota (12-7, 3-5), which hit its first 6 three-pointers of the second half to wipe out the halftime deficit and take a 46-45 lead, suffered its fourth consecutive defeat.

"We didn’t have the urgency we needed on the three-point shooters, especially early in the second half," Wahl said. "But we talked about it in a few of the timeouts and got things straightened out.

"At that point it was kind of a dog fight. We just had to play our game and get some stops. Thankfully we did."

The Badgers got critical plays from several sources in the final two minutes.

Just 25 seconds after missing a three-pointer from the left wing with UW trailing, 57-55, Max Klesmit deflected a pass by Minnesota point guard Elijah Hawkins (16 points, nine assists, five rebounds), gained possession and passed ahead to Storr, who drove in from half-court for a dunk and a 57-56 tie with1 minute 52 seconds left.

"I just seen Kles steal it," said Storr, who contributed 15 points and 12 rebounds. "I ran and he hit me with a good pass."

Klesmit hit 3 of 5 three-pointers and finished with 11 points, two rebounds and two steals.

"He is just active," Gard said of Klesmit. "And he has been on such a tear offensively that people forget he is a tough-nosed defender first and foremost."

Then after a Minnesota's Braeden Carrington hit 1 of 2 free throws to give the Gophers a 59-58 lead with 34.8 seconds left, Storr was fouled on a drive and hit two bonus free throws with 26.4 seconds left to give UW a 59-58 lead.

Storr, shooting 84.1% from the line entering the game, was asked if he was nervous in that situation.

"No nerves," said Storr, who finished 5 of 6 from the line. "I shot some clutch free throws last year, too… Shooting free throws is simple."

Time for Chucky Hepburn and Wahl, who finished with 16 points, four assists, three rebounds and three blocks, to step up.

Hepburn (three points, four assists, three rebounds and two steals), forced Hawkins into a difficult turn-around jumper in the lane.

The ball was well short but Dawson Garcia tossed Wahl to the floor while battling for the rebound and was assessed a foul with 5.4 seconds left.

Wahl, who came in at 69.8% from the line, hit both shots to give UW a three-point cushion.

The Badgers committed their sixth foul of the half with 4.2 seconds left and their seventh with 3.2 seconds left.

Mike Mitchell Jr. made the first free throw and missed the second intentionally. Storr failed to box out Mitchell, who tracked down the loose ball along the right baseline.

He rose up for a jumper with 2.8 seconds left and the ball hit the backboard and the rim before falling away. Carrington was on the backside in position for a potential tip but Wahl blocked that attempt eight-tenths of a second left.

The ball was batted up into the air, Wahl corralled it and UW had survived.

"We need to block out the shooter when we’re in that situation," Gard said. "But life on the on the road is not easy in this league. So you find a way to get them done, you learn from what you did well and learn from what you didn’t do well and move on to the next one."

UW prevailed for many reasons.

The Badgers tightened their defense after Minnesota's three-point outburst to open the second half. The Gophers hit just 1 of their final 4 three-point attempts and got one point on their final five possessions.

UW hit 8 of 10 free throws. Minnesota hit 5 of 13. That included a miss by Garcia in a tie game with 63 seconds left after Storr was called for a technical for hanging on the rim while trying to rebound a miss by Klesmit.

Wahl led the way as UW's big men helped limit Garcia to 10 points, 7.7 points below his average, on 4-for-10 shooting. Pharrel Payne was limited to nine points on 3-for-10 shooting.

"We just made plays when we needed them," Gard said. "That is the mark of a good team. When you’re not in sync, not playing well and the (other) team has got some momentum going, a little mojo on you, you’ve got to find ways to tip it and turn the tide."

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Badgers show mettle down stretch to win on road against Minnesota