With the Minnesota Timberwolves leading by three in the final 20 seconds of regulation, Anthony Edwards dribbled out the shot clock, tried to cross up Celtics guard Derrick White and  kicked the ball, picked it up and fired.

Splash.

Edwards finished with 39 points and zero turnovers to power Minnesota to a 119-115 victory at home against Boston on Saturday.

Was that play ugly? You bet. Minnesota doesn’t care at the moment. It had to win one of these games — because disaster nearly struck again.

The Wolves cranked up their defensive pressure in the second half to turn a 10-point halftime deficit into a 12-point lead with fewer than four minutes to play. Two minutes later, Boston tied the game on a Jaylen Brown triple with 98 ticks left on the clock.

It wouldn’t be a Timberwolves’ game if it wasn’t dramatic. Minnesota’s late-game execution has been the cause of ire of late, as the Wolves had booted three straight games they could’ve won.

Minnesota came down on the next possession Saturday and Edwards fired off a contested jumper that hit off the iron. But the loose ball went off Brown’s fingertips, allowing the Wolves to maintain possession.

The Wolves (11-8) dialed up an out-of-bounds play that resulted in an open corner triple for Mike Conley, which he hit, to put Minnesota up for good.

Timberwolves coach Chris Finch highlighted the defensive effort that put Minnesota in a position to win Saturday. The Wolves were sluggish on that end in the first half, surrendering 69 points to the hot-shooting Celtics (10-9).

But the screws were tightened over the last 24 minutes. Boston scored just 46 points over the final two quarters and went nearly a full quarter of game time without hitting a triple. Brown had 41 points to pace Boston, but 27 of those came in the first half.

“In the second half, we came to play,” Finch said.

As a result, Minnesota now has its first win of the season over an opponent with a winning record. It can go for its second such victory Sunday against San Antonio at 6 p.m. at Target Center.

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The Battle for Paul Bunyan’s Axe between the Gophers and Badgers was swayed by a former Hawkeye.

Cornerback John Nestor, who transferred from Iowa to Minnesota this year, had two interceptions and a fumble recovery to help the U win the rivalry game, 17-7, on a snowy and cold Saturday at Huntington Bank Stadium.

The Gophers (7-5, 5-4 Big Ten) have won four of five Axe games against Wisconsin for the first time since a strong stretch across 1984-90. The Badgers (4-8, 2-7) endured their second straight losing season in two decades.

Gophers players raced to the Axe in the north end zone as fans threw handfuls of snow in the air in triumph. Some fans stormed the field.

While Nestor led a stingy defense, running back Darius Taylor scored on a 49-yard touchdown run in the first half, and quarterback Drake Lindsey and tight end Jameson Geers combined for a 13-yard TD pass in the third quarter.

The difference between a 6-6 record and 7-5 — while possessing the Axe — felt enormous to Gophers athletics director Mark Coyle before the game.

“It feels like the Grand Canyon, doesn’t it?” Coyle said on the KFAN pregame show. “It just sets the tone for so many things. If you remember last year, we went (to Madison) and got a big win down there.”

The Gophers had a takeaway apiece in the first and third quarters, but nothing to show for it on ensuing offensive drives.

The third turnover was a charm. Nestor’s second interception of the game was returned 68 yards. Then, Lindsey found Geers for a 13-yard touchdown to make it a 17-7 lead with five minutes left in the third quarter.

Nestor’s first interception came at the start of the second half, but Minnesota went three-and-out and punted.

After a gift turnover from the Badgers in the first quarter — a shotgun snap hit in-motion receiver Vinny Anthony II and was recovered by Nestor — Minnesota kicker Brady Denaburg had a 38-yard, field-goal attempt partially blocked.

Two drives later, Denaburg made a 33-yarder to make it 3-0.

Minnesota’s biggest offensive play of the first half came on the next drive. Behind great blocks from right guard Tony Nelson, right tackle Dylan Ray and receiver Jalen Smith, Taylor busted free and had enough speed on a snowy turf to score.

The Gophers led 10-7 at the half, with the Badgers scoring a questionable touchdown with 27 seconds left.

To set the score, Badgers backup quarterback Hunter Simmons threw a 68-yard pass to Vinny Anthony II.

Then on fourth and goal from the 2, quarterback Carter Smith’s pass to Jackson Acker on the side of the end zone was ruled incomplete, but upon review it was determined Acker got at least one foot in bounds when he caught the pass.

However, the review also showed Acker stepping out of bounds before the catch, which would have been illegal touching.

A Big Ten spokesperson said illegal touching was part of the conference’s review process. “Yes, they did,” he wrote in a response to a pool-report question. “It was determined the receiver re-established after the force out.”

Gophers Maverick Baranowski was in coverage, but did not appear to apply forceable contact to Acker.

The contentious call didn’t matter much as the Gophers controlled the rivalry game in the second half.

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Bethel 51, Coe 26

Cooper Drews threw for 250 yards and three scores and ran for 69 yards and three additional touchdowns as the No. 4 Royals rolled in Arden Hills.

Albert Rundell reeled in six grabs for 135 yards and two scores, while David Geebli ran for 98 yards and a touchdown.

The game featured 1,079 yards of total offense, 576 of which came from the Royals. Bethel led 30-7 at the half before No. 24 Coe College (9-3) started to find offensive success.

Phil Conant had two sacks, two forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries for the Royals (11-0).

Bethel hosts 10th-ranked Wisconsin-Platteville next Saturday at 12 p.m.

St. John’s 49, Monmouth 15

Dylan Wheeler had 10 catches for 144 yards and four touchdowns as St. John’s rolled in Collegeville.

Johnnies quarterback Trey Feeney threw for 387 yards and six touchdowns, while Mahtomedi product Corey Bohmert ran for an additional 61 yards and a score.

Westin Hoyt had an interception and three pass breakups

St. John’s led 25th-ranked Monmouth 21-9 at the break before scoring the first 28 points of the second half.

The seventh-ranked Johnnies have scored 49-plus points in eight of their 11 contests this fall.

Wisconsin-River Falls 58, Chapman 7

Fridley High School alum Kaleb Blaha threw for 223 yards and four touchdowns, while running for 81 yards and another touchdown as the third-ranked Falcons earned their first playoff win in 30 years.

No. 3 Wisconsin-River Falls will host St. John’s at 12 p.m. Saturday.

River Falls’ five team touchdowns were caught by five different receivers.

The Falcons scored on nine of their 12 drives Saturday while amassing 492 yards of offense. The victory marked the sixth time Wisconsin-River Falls has scored 50-plus points this season.

Noah Nusbaum had 12 tackles for the Falcons, while Riley Ashburn, Jared Schultz and Braden Jones all tallied interceptions. The Falcons (10-1) held Chapman to just 2 for 16 on third-down attempts.

Wisconsin and Minnesota schools went a combined 5-1 on Saturday, with only Wisconsin-Whitewater falling to DePauw.

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Cottage Grove’s mayor says providing ambulance services to neighboring towns is costing his citizens money.

The city of Cottage Grove provides emergency medical services for its own residents along with Grey Cloud Island Township, St. Paul Park and Newport. The services, Mayor Myron Bailey said, are currently costing the city money because of inadequate reimbursements from Medicare and Medicaid.

“The service runs at a loss, and the residents of Cottage Grove are subsidizing the service,” Bailey said.

Bailey laid out his concerns in a recent Facebook post and said he had asked his fellow city leaders to contribute to the tune of $51,734 for St. Paul Park, $49,064 for Newport and $7,000 for Grey Cloud Island Township. He also said if the other cities would not contribute, Cottage Grove would consider handing the territory over to someone else who might not be able to provide as prompt service.

Neighboring city responses

Newport Mayor Laurie Elliott said the situation is complex and nuanced.

“At this time, our position remains that this is a Cottage Grove enterprise, and that management and operations of EMS fall under Cottage Grove’s direction and authority,” Elliott said.

She also said that she believes the matter should not have been “debated or negotiated” through social media. Doing so does not lend itself to productive policymaking, she said.

St. Paul Park Mayor Keith Franke echoed Elliott’s sentiment, as did Phil Dupre, Grey Cloud Island Township’s board chairman.

“St. Paul Park is disappointed that the Cottage Grove mayor has resorted to social media to discuss this important issue,” Franke said.

“It’s just unnecessary to debate this in a public forum,” Dupre said. “It’s just not right. Then you get people all riled up and afraid they’re gonna lose their ambulance service.”

Franke said that the situation has been an ongoing issue since the 1990s, after Cottage Grove took on providing EMS services to all four communities.

“We are very empathetic to Cottage Grove’s statutory and financial responsibility to provide EMS coverage for the city of St. Paul Park, as they themselves applied for the licensing and designation of this area to be their Primary Service Area,” Franke said. “With that designation comes the requirement to provide EMS service and enjoy the revenues obtained and the costs incurred over the years.”

Franke said that because Cottage Grove chose to provide the coverage, it cannot legally “stop services.” Instead, it can reduce costs, subcontract services and retain ownership of the service area, retract services and let another provider take over or “re-engage with the cities to work out a better solution and potential cost-sharing model,” he said.

He stated that St. Paul Park, Newport and Grey Cloud Island Township have never agreed to provide reimbursements for EMS services to Cottage Grove, since the disbanding of SoWashCo EMS in 1999.

Next steps

According to Elliott, Cottage Grove submitted a contract to all three cities, which raised several concerns.

“We were told the agreement was intended to help pay for a new ambulance, with 77% of the cost assigned to the three communities, even though we account for roughly 30% of the calls,” Elliott wrote in a response on the city’s website, newportmn.gov.

She went on to state that the contract also fails to guarantee EMS service in the future, states that Newport already has an existing flat-fee EMS agreement with Cottage Grove and more.

Franke said St. Paul Park’s legal counsel is reviewing the contract.

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“The contract has not included St. Paul Park staff concerns and the nature of the expense is not ours to bear,” Franke said.

Bailey said he does not want to end EMS coverage to the surrounding communities, but is instead hoping to find a financial solution.

All three communities have been in conversation with Cottage Grove to discuss solutions. Dupre said finding one will require the city of Cottage Grove to work with the other three communities in striving to reach a compromise. Franke also believes a solution is possible if changes are made to the proposals.

“We remain willing to review options with Cottage Grove and further review of the proposed contract,” Franke said. “This is a complex challenge that can be addressed if the Cottage Grove Mayor and council would allow staff to work through the nuances and challenges of their PSA dilemma.”