Damian Johnson had 18 points and No. 22 Minnesota earned its first win away from home this season, beating No. 12 Butler 82-73 on Thursday in the first round of the 76 Classic.

The Golden Gophers (4-0) held off the Bulldogs by making five 3-pointers in the final 8 minutes.

Colton Iverson finished with 13 points and 11 rebounds for the Gophers, who converted 12 of 18 free throws in the last 3 minutes.

Matt Howard shot 15-of-18 on free throws and paced Butler (3-1) with 23 points before fouling out with 2:29 left. Shelvin Mack added 20 points and six rebounds.

Butler beat six of the previous seven Big Ten teams it played, but struggled to score against Minnesota's stifling defense. The Bulldogs committed a season-high 21 turnovers and shot 33 percent from the field.

With the score tied 38-all, Minnesota, which beat its first three opponents by an average of 34 points, took the lead for good with a 9-1 run that was capped by Lawrence Westbrook's 3-pointer.

Westbrook, the team's leading scorer, didn't get on the board until making two free throws to give the Gophers a 40-38 advantage with 14:01 left in the second half. He finished with nine points.

Devoe Joseph scored 11 of his 14 points, including two 3-pointers, in the final 4 minutes for Minnesota.

Butler pulled within four points several times in the closing minutes, but never got closer.

With the Gophers down 27-23, Iverson scored on a nice up-and-under move after he grabbed an offensive rebound. He chased another rebound and fed Blake Hoffarber for a 3-pointer and made two free throws during a 9-1 run to close the first half.

Minnesota outrebounded Butler by six en route to a 32-28 halftime lead.

Butler took its largest lead of the first half after Gordon Hayward made a 3-pointer followed by a free throw, making it 13-7.

Butler hit 13 of 17 free throws while Minnesota attempted just nine in the first half.

The teams looked evenly matched from the beginning, and neither managed a double-digit lead.