Minneapolis - As the final buzzer sounded Saturday, Alan Anderson found Chris Hill near mid-court and wrapped his arms around him before the teammates bumped chests.

It was a brief moment of emotion and satisfaction for MSU's seniors, who were criticized as a group last week for their lack of toughness. The No. 19 Spartans knocked off Minnesota, 69-55.

Anderson only hit one field goal in his homecoming appearance, where the Minneapolis native was once a high school star, but nailed 11-of-12 free throws and was in on nearly every key play down the stretch.

"We needed a senior to come through and he came through," MSU head coach Tom Izzo said.

Despite committing 21 turnovers and shooting only 35 percent from the field in the second half, the Spartans hit late shots and made defensive stops - two areas where they lacked in their three-point loss to Wisconsin last week.

"We did a better job," Anderson, a swingman, said. "Right now, we're trying to get better and prove things to ourselves."

What made the difference for MSU was nailing 26-of-28 free throws to remain the top shooting team in the nation from the charity stripe, while the Golden Gophers shot 14-for-24 from the line and 34.7 percent from the field.

"We have a small margin for error and we used it up today," Minnesota head coach Don Monson said.

Junior guard Maurice Ager and sophomore guard Shannon Brown each added 12 points, as MSU (12-3 overall, 4-1 Big Ten) held off a late Minnesota (13-5, 3-2) run.

"We strive off each other, we make sure we're playing good every game," Ager said.

Fueled by three 3-pointers by senior guard Aaron Robinson, Minnesota kept close, trailing by five points at halftime, 39-34. Off a steal, Ager nailed a jumper with three seconds left on the shot clock and on the next possession, hit three free throws with 6:14 remaining to pull MSU ahead by 11.

But as Minnesota cut the lead to seven points with less than five minutes left, senior guard Kelvin Torbert hit a 3-pointer off a pass by Anderson from the post.

A 3-pointer by Gophers forward Brent Lawson and a jumper by guard Vincent Grier cut the lead again by five points, 58-53.

But Anderson grabbed a miss by Hill for an easy layup before Minnesota started sending the Spartans to the foul line to seal the game.

"We executed well at the end, made some shots, finished off and made our free throws," said Torbert, who finished with 10 points. "Those are the things we have to do to keep winning games."

MSU struggled to stop Golden Gophers center Jeff Hagen, who played on an injured left knee, scoring a team-high 16 points and grabbing six rebounds.

Although Hagen wasn't as mobile, his aggressive inside game caused junior center Paul Davis to sit on the bench in foul trouble. Davis finished with a season-low six points and seven rebounds in 20 minutes.

Robinson added 12 points, Lawson scored 10 points and Grier had 10 points.

On what ESPN called Separation Saturday with five teams tied for second place in the Big Ten with a 3-1 record, only three teams - MSU, Wisconsin and Indiana - survived to stay a game behind No. 1 Illinois. Wisconsin knocked off Michigan and Indiana beat Ohio State.

Source: Big Ten