LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) &045; Minnesota came into Nebraska on Wednesday night believing it could beat the Cornhuskers, then promptly fell behind by 14 points.

But the Golden Gophers turned up their defense, took the lead midway through the second half and finished strong in a 57-48 victory.

&uot;We came in here thinking we could win the game,&uot; Aaron Robinson said. &uot;We got our backs against the wall and had to play against 10,000 fans. This was a big stepping stone for us. This was a big win for us.&uot;

Jeff Hagen hit a layup and a free throw with 2:55 left to put Minnesota ahead to stay, and Vincent Grier made two 3-pointers to seal the win.

The Gophers (4-3) closed with a 17-3 run that provided their first non-conference road win since December 2000.

Nebraska (3-2) lost for the first time in 17 home non-conference games.

Grier led all scorers with 17 points and Hagen added 11. Marcus Neal had 10 to lead Nebraska.

&uot;We’ve worked as hard or harder than any team in the country,&uot; Hagen said. &uot;We feel like we’re really a tough team and that can help us win games. This is evidence of that coming true.&uot;

Minnesota coach Dan Monson credited the Gophers defense. Nebraska hit 33 percent of its shots in the game and just 28 percent in the second half.

But Nebraska coach Barry Collier said his team appeared reluctant to shoot during the Minnesota rally.

&uot;I think as the game progressed, the hesitation became more of the case,&uot; Collier said. &uot;We didn’t handle the comeback very well and Minnesota played really well. We were in good shape and

we just hit a wall offensively.&uot;

Minnesota trailed by as many as 14 points in the first half and was down by nine at halftime.