The Gophers men’s basketball team looked at its berth in the National Invitation Tournament as an opportunity for a dry run toward a hopeful spot in the NCAA tournament next March.

And Minnesota earned some quality experience, especially in crunch time, in the consolation tourney on Tuesday.

Down five points with five minutes left, the unseeded U scratched back to beat fourth-seeded Butler 73-72 in the first round of the NIT at Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.

Minnesota (19-14) will play on Saturday or Sunday against either top-seed Indiana State or Southern Methodist. Those two teams play Wednesday night. The U will remain on the road this weekend, regardless of which opponent advances due to the Minnesota high school boys basketball tournament being played at Williams Arena.

Head coach Ben Johnson reminded his team about the chance they have in front of them this March.

“I want to think big picture, and we want to do our best to keep playing and keep winning and being in environments like this,” he said on KTLK-AM from Indianapolis. “We can win and grow and win a game late and win a game on the road against a hungry team and continue to play for something like a championship. That is important for our growth.”

Dawson Garcia and Bulldogs guard Jahmyl Telfort each poured in 25 points, but Telfort’s shot at the buzzer was off the mark for 4.5-point favorite Butler (18-15). Braeden Carrington forced Telfort to rainbow the attempt.

“It looked good,” Johnson admitted of the shot in the radio interview.

The Gophers weathered cold shooting down the stretch, making 1 of 9 shots over a four-minute span. But they made just enough in the last minute.

After a Garcia layup tied it 67-67 with two minutes remaining, D.J. Davis hit a 3-pointer for the lead with 1:47 remaining. In the final minute, Parker Fox added a layup, Telford made a jumper and Garcia contributed a layup to make it 72-71 with 22 seconds remaining

With 13 seconds left, the Gophers didn’t foul, and Davis’ pass was intercepted by Fox. In transition, Elijah Hawkins was fouled near the basket with five seconds remaining; he made both shots from the stripe to take a 73-72 lead.

Those clutch free throws for Hawkins went with his 15 assists, 11 points and only four turnovers.

Bulldogs coach Thad Matta, who used to be at Ohio State, called a timeout with 1.8 seconds remaining, but the buzzer beater was off.

Johnson said he saw “long faces” on Butler players in the handshake line.

“You notice guys don’t necessarily know what they have until it’s gone,” he said. “My message to them was sometimes you may feel like, ‘I don’t want to do this’ or ‘Oh, gosh, I got to get up for this.’ Then once it’s gone, you realize, ‘I woulda, shoulda, coulda.’ ”

The Gophers went on an 11-0 run midway through the first half to take a 19-11 lead, and Butler’s six turnovers aided the U’s margin. At one point, Minnesota had nine assists on nine baskets. But Butler went on its own run and ended up taking a 38-36 lead at the half.

This marks the Gophers’ first NIT appearance since they won the championship in 2014, and it’s the U’s first postseason appearance since 2019, when they advanced to the second round of the NCAA tournament.

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Members of the St. Paul school board on Tuesday night locked in new raises and benefits for district education staff, though school budget cuts are ahead.

Under a new two-year contract agreement approved by the school board, St. Paul Public Schools will increase wages and benefits for teachers and other staff represented by the St. Paul Federation of Educators by $37.5 million — a 10.1% increase over the previous contract.

About $19.2 million of that will go toward the first year and will be offset using one-time funds. But with a more than $107 million budget shortfall expected in the coming year in large part tied to the expiration of federal pandemic aid, the district will have to find other areas to reduce spending. So far, it’s identified about $71 million in possible cuts.

“This does not change the fact that there will be budget cuts, including layoffs, across the district due primarily to the expiration of American Rescue Plan funds,” said SPPS spokesperson Erica Wacker.

St. Paul schools and the teachers union arrived at a contract agreement a little over two weeks ago as a strike loomed. They were able to reach a deal after a marathon of weekend negotiations.

The new contract contains more than three times the $12.4 million in increases for education staff the school district had initially told the union it could accommodate. But it’s also significantly under the more than $112 million in additional spending the district estimated initial union requests would cost.

Even if the district didn’t go past its ceiling for teacher compensation, it would still need to make cuts to its current budget, which sits at around $1 billion.

What’s in the contract?

Three groups represented by the 3,700-member teachers union will see raises: teachers, educational assistants and community service professionals. The new two-year contract goes into effect retroactively as the last contract expired in June 2023.

In the new agreement, teachers will get a $3,500 pay increase for 2023-24. Since the last two-year contract expired last year, the pay increase will apply retroactively to Jan. 1. In 2024-25, teachers will see a 4% salary increase.

Community service professionals will see a raise of $3,084 for the first year, and a 4% increase in the second year.

In the first year of the new contract, insurance contributions from the district for teachers and community service professionals will increase from $870 per month to $920 for single employees, and from $1,200 to $1,375 for families. In the second year, those amounts increase to $945 and $1,450, respectively.

Educational assistants will see a raise of $2.25 an hour in the first year and a 4% raise in the second year. They will also receive higher insurance contributions.

In addition to the pay increases, the school district will maintain current class sizes and staffing for mental health teams in each school.

The district will also establish a “site council” at each school that includes educators, parents, teachers and administrators to “ensure all voices are heard in decisions on budget priorities, events and other site-level issues.”

Special education teachers will get more time to complete paperwork and early childhood special education teachers will have reduced caseloads.

This was the fourth consecutive two-year bargaining cycle where St. Paul teachers have either gone on strike or threatened to do so. In 2020, teachers walked out for four days, and in 2022, the district was within minutes of canceling class when the sides reached a deal.

In this year’s negotiations, pay and insurance were the biggest sticking points. Teachers in St. Paul Public Schools have a starting salary of about $49,000 if they have a bachelor’s degree. The district says half of its teachers make $90,000 or more.

Union and district leaders say school board members were present for much of the negotiation process, something that may have made a difference in this year’s contract discussions. At Tuesday’s school board meeting, some union members used the public comment period to thank members for their involvement.

SPFE isn’t the only union representing school employees. The school board also on Tuesday approved a new 2024-26 contract for school bus drivers. Drivers represented by the Teamsters Local 320 will get an average wage increase of 3.7% in the first year and 1% in the second year, as well as higher health insurance payments and severance pay.

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By JACQUES BILLEAUD (Associated Press)

PHOENIX (AP) — A businessman pleaded guilty Tuesday to conspiring with the leader of an offshoot polygamous sect near the Arizona-Utah border to transport underage girls across state lines, making him the first man to be convicted in what authorities say was a scheme to orchestrate sexual acts involving children.

Moroni Johnson, who faces 10 years to life in prison, acknowledged that he participated in a scheme to transport four girls under the age of 18 for sexual activity. Authorities say the conspiracy between the 53-year-old Johnson and the sect’s leader, self-proclaimed prophet Samuel Bateman, occurred over a three-year period ending in September 2022.

Authorities say Bateman had created a sprawling network spanning at least four states as he tried to start an offshoot of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, which historically has been based in the neighboring communities of Colorado City, Arizona, and Hildale, Utah. He and his followers practice polygamy, a legacy of the early teachings of the mainstream Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, which abandoned the practice in 1890 and now strictly prohibits it. Bateman and his followers believe polygamy brings exaltation in heaven.

The FBI said Bateman had taken more than 20 wives, including 10 girls under the age of 18. Bateman is accused of giving wives as gifts to his male followers and claiming to do so on orders from the “Heavenly Father.” Investigators say Bateman traveled extensively between Arizona, Utah, Colorado and Nebraska and had sex with minor girls on a regular basis. Some of the sexual activity involving Bateman was recorded and transmitted across state lines via electronic devices.

The FBI said Bateman demanded that his followers confess publicly for any indiscretions and shared those confessions widely. He claimed the punishments, which ranged from a time out to public shaming and sexual activity, came from the Lord, the federal law enforcement agency said. Authorities said Johnson was pressured by Bateman to give up three of his wives as atonement because Johnson wasn’t treating Bateman as a prophet.

Bateman was arrested in August 2022 by state police in Flagstaff after someone spotted small fingers in a door gap on an enclosed trailer. Authorities found three girls — between the ages of 11 and 14 — in the trailer, which had a makeshift toilet, a sofa, camping chairs and no ventilation.

Bateman posted bond, but he was arrested again in the next month and charged with obstructing justice in a federal investigation into whether children were being transported across state lines for sexual activity.

At the time of the second arrest, authorities removed nine children from Bateman’s home in Colorado City and placed them in foster care. Eight of the children later escaped from foster care. The FBI alleged that three of Bateman’s adult wives played a part in getting them out of Arizona. The girls were later found hundreds of miles away in Washington state in a vehicle driven by one of the adult wives.

Bateman has pleaded not guilty to state and federal charges, including conspiracy to transport a minor for sexual activity, conspiracy to commit tampering in an official proceeding and conspiracy to commit kidnapping of the girls who were placed in state child welfare agency after his arrest. Myles Schneider, an attorney representing Bateman, didn’t immediately return a call seeking comment on behalf of his client.

Bateman was ordered jailed until the resolution of his trial, now scheduled for Sept. 10.

Earlier this year, four of Bateman’s adult wives each pleaded guilty to a charge of conspiracy to commit tampering with an official proceeding, acknowledging that they witnessed Bateman engage in sexual acts with his child brides and that also they participated in the plot to kidnap the eight girls from state custody.

Charges also are pending against four other women identified as Bateman’s wives and two of his male followers, both of whom are charged with using a means of interstate commerce to persuade or coerce a minor to engage in sexual activity, among other charges. The four women and two men have pleaded not guilty to the charges.

Adam Beckman’s path to the Wild’s lineup this season has been beset by obstacles. Whether it was his salary, other players or just plain opportunities, the third third-year pro hasn’t found many minutes with the big league club in 2023-24.

But the big winger was set to get another chance on Tuesday night in Anaheim, Calif., when the Wild played the Ducks at Honda Center.

“This is an exciting time of the year to have an opportunity to play,” Beckman told reporters after Tuesday’s morning skate. “So, I just want to come in and make an impact in that game.”

Set to become a restricted free agent at season’s end, Beckman, 22, had played in only three NHL games this season before Tuesday’s 9 p.m. puck drop. At the season’s onset, he was grounded in Iowa because Minnesota’s salary cap room was so thin, it couldn’t fit his $894,000 salary.

By the time the Wild got some cap relief through long-term injured reserve, veterans Vinni Lettieri and Jack Lucchini had solid homes on the checking line. When Beckman was recalled before the March 8 trade deadline, the Wild were focused on getting 2020 second-round pick Marat Khusnutdinov into the lineup.

Coach John Hynes said Monday none of this had much to do with Beckman’s performance, and on Tuesday he was set to replace Lettieri in the lineup for at least a game — another big one for a Wild team that has been playing well since the all-star break but struggled to catch up in the Western Conference playoff race.

They started Tuesday’s games five points out of a wild card spot with two teams ahead of them and 14 regular-season games left.

“I think it’s huge,” Beckman said. “I think all the games down the stretch here are massive; obviously, all the points matter. No matter what, you’re coming out here to try and win the hockey game; I think that’s been the focus for quite some time here. I’m just excited to play in some meaningful games.”

Beckman has spent quite a bit of time with the Wild, even if he had just three appearances — and one assist — to show for it. Overall, he has played in 15 NHL games since being taken in the third round of the 2019 entry draft.

“It’s been good,” he said. “It’s been fun just to kinda be around this group of guys and kinda build some more camaraderie. I think being somewhat new here, it’s fun to have that opportunity to be around the guys.”

Reunited

Late in Saturday night’s 3-2 shootout loss at St. Louis, Hynes broke up his top line of Kirill Kaprizov, Ryan Hartman and Matt Boldy to get Kaprizov together with center Marco Rossi and wing Mats Zuccarello.

It worked. The revamped line accounted for two third-period goals as the Wild rallied to force overtime. But Hynes planned to reunite Hartman with Kaprizov and Boldy on Tuesday in Anaheim.

“We made a little tweak in the third period with Rossi and Zucc, but it wasn’t anything with Ryan,” Hynes said. “So, we’ll go back with that (Tuesday) and see if we can have those three really be a dominant factor for us.”

Hartman, who has played on every line in nearly every situation this season, was bumped back to the top line when Joel Eriksson Ek was lost to a lower body injury in a 4-1 victory over Arizona on March 12. It wasn’t out of the blue. Hartman, 29, has been playing his best hockey of the season.

Since Feb. 19, Hartman has two goals and 13 points and is a plus-10 in 17 games.

“I think when he’s playing his best game, he’s playing his game with pace. I think he’s got some offensive instincts, makes some offensive reads that make him fit in with Kirill and Boldy,” Hynes said. “And then I think that in the center position, they get some hard matchups, and I think he’s done a good job on the defensive side of the puck, just his positioning and his responsibilities in that role.”

Briefly

Filip Gustavsson was set to start his first game Tuesday since he stopped 38 of 40 shots in a 2-1 overtime loss March 8 in Colorado. Marc-Andre Fleury is scheduled to start Wednesday night against the Kings in Los Angeles.