LINCOLN, Neb. — Shavon Shields scored 13 of his 15 points in the second half and Nebraska survived an eight-minute field-goal drought to end the game to beat Minnesota 52-49 on Tuesday night.

The Cornhuskers (11-7, 3-3 Big Ten) made 11 of their last 12 free throws after starting 3 for 9 from the line. Benny Parker made two with 25 seconds left to make it a three-point game, and the Gophers missed three straight 3-pointers before the final buzzer.

Minnesota (12-8, 1-6) has lost six of its last seven games. Five of the Gophers’ six conference losses have been by five points or less.

Terran Petteway added 11 points for the Huskers in a slog of a game that had 33 field goals and 31 turnovers.

Andre Hollins had 21 points for the Gophers, who shot a season-low 30.8 percent from the field and made only 9 of 19 free throws. Joey King added 11 points.

Shields’ jumper with 8:01 left was Nebraska’s final field goal. The Huskers shot 40.5 percent.

Hollins’ layup and Carlos Morris’ 3-pointer from the corner pulled the Gophers’ within 50-49, but Parker was fouled and made the free throws.

Hollins, Morris and DeAndre Mathieu each missed what would have been game-tying 3s at the end.

Minnesota had tied it 33-33 when Hollins made one of two free throws after Walter Pitchford was assessed a technical foul for knocking down Mathieu under the Minnesota basket during a stoppage.

Tarin Smith’s fast-break layup off Petteway’s slick left-handed pass, Smith’s two-hand underhand basket and a bucket by Shields put the Huskers up 39-33 with 10 minutes left.

Hollins hit one of two free throws to get the Gophers within five points after Shields was given a technical for protesting a foul, and then King made a 3-pointer to end a Minnesota field-goal drought lasting almost eight minutes to pull the Gophers within 39-37.

Nebraska led by as many as eight points in the first half despite having difficulty dealing with Minnesota’s full-court defense. The Huskers turned over the ball on four straight possessions and ended the half with eight giveaways.

Minnesota was even worse in the opening 20 minutes — 33 percent shooting and 10 turnovers — but managed to lead 25-24 at the break with the help of a late 15-4 run featuring a couple Hollins 3-pointers.

TIP-INS

Minnesota: Gophers came into the game averaging a Big Ten-leading 11.1 steals and finished with nine. … The Gophers have lost three straight to Nebraska.

Nebraska: Terran Petteway reached 1,000 points in his career with an early 3-point basket. The game also marked Petteway’s 50th consecutive start, most on the team besides Shields’ 68 in a row. … The struggling Tai Webster made his best play of the year when he juked Joey King on his way to the hoop for a layup that gave Nebraska a 15-7 lead.

UP NEXT

Minnesota hosts Illinois on Saturday.

Nebraska hosts Michigan State on Saturday.