K-Heart Sports – 03/16/23

K-HEART SPORTS – 03/16/23 – 0700
 
MINOT, ND – The high school sports season come to an end this weekend with the State Class B Boys Basketball Tournament at the Bismarck Event Center. We’ll broadcast the Powers Lake-Burke Central games and Des Lacs-Burlington games on 106.9 K-Heart, online at khrt.com, and through the Live 365 app.
 
High School Boys Basketball
Class B
 
State Tournament – Bismarck Event Center
First Round
#2 Shiloh Christian vs Powers Lake-Burke Central, 1 pm (HEARD ON 106.9 FM)
#3 Beulah vs Medina-Pingree-Buchanan, 2:45 pm
#1 Central Cass vs Warwick, 6:30 pm
#4 Thompson vs #5 Des Lacs-Burlington, 8:15 pm (HEARD ON 106.9 FM)
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MINOT, ND – The North Dakota Associated Press Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association has named their finalist for North Dakota Mr. Basketball. The award is given annually to the top senior basketball player in the state. It will be awarded on Saturday night following completion of the championship game at the State B.
 
– Darik Dissette, Minot High
– Alex Dvorak, Dickinson
– Tyson Enget, Powers Lake-Burke Central
– Ryan Erikson, Bismarck Century
– Zach Kraft, Grand Forks Red River
– Ayden Stainbrook, North Border
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MSU WOMEN’S HOCKEY
 
BOSTON, Mass. (MSU) – The quest for a National Championship begins tonight for the Minot State women’s hockey team. Ranked third in the ACHA, the Beavers (21-10-2 overall) open the ACHA Division I National Tournament at 6 p.m. (CT) in a first-round match-up against No. 10-ranked Miami (Ohio) (16-8-1) at the New England Sports Center. The winner advances to the quarterfinals on Saturday while the loser plays an elimination game on Friday.
 
This is the third meeting between the Beavers and Redhawks, but the first since Minot State won twice in Oxford, Ohio back in January of 2020. The Redhawks are led by a trio of double-digit scorers in Bryn Jones (13 goals, 9 assists), Stephanie Smith (13 goals, 7 assists), and Cailin Schwarzer (12 goals, 2 assists), and goalie Maya Gonzalez, who has played in 31 of the team’s games with five shutouts, a 15-6-0 record, a 2.40 goals against average, and a.933 save percentage.
 
As for the Beavers, they’re led by ACHA Second-Team All-American and senior forward Jordan Kulbida, along with Anna German, an All-WMCH Second Team honoree. Kulbida has 18 goals and 13 assists to lead Minot State’s scoring, while German has 8 goals and 18 assists. German is tied in scoring with teammate and senior forward Megan Norris, who has 8 goals and 18 assists and recorded her 100th collegiate point in February, and the Beavers also get big contributions on offense from senior forward Sydney Spicer (14 goals, 8 assists), junior forward Gillian Gervin (15 goals, 6 assists), and 2021-22 ACHA First-Team All-American and senior forward Ensley Fendelet (7 goals, 11 assists). In goal, the Beavers are led by the tandem of junior Haylie Biever, who has a 6-5 record with one shutout, a 2.64 GAA, and a .908 save percentage, and senior Jordan Ivanco, Minot State’s all-time career shutout leader (16) and a 2020-21 ACHA First-Team All-American who is 8-4-1 with three shutouts this season, a 2.12 GAA, and a .924 save percentage.
 
Other first-round matchups today feature No. 7 seed Arizona State vs No. 6 Maryville, No. 8 McKendree vs No. 5 Indiana Tech, and No. 9 Michigan vs No. 4 Adrian. With a win Thursday, the Beavers would next play at noon (CT) on Saturday against the third-lowest remaining seed. No. 2 seed Midland and No. 1 seed Liberty both received byes into Saturday’s quarterfinals and play the second-lowest and lowest remaining seeds, respectively, on Saturday. The semifinals are set for Sunday at 3 and 6 p.m. (CT), and the title game is Monday at noon (CT).
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WOLVES-CELTICS
 
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Jaylen Brown scored 35 points and Jayson Tatum added 22 as the Boston Celtics held on to beat the Minnesota Timberwolves 104-102. The Celtics remained a game ahead of Philadelphia for second place in the Eastern Conference and closed within 2 1/2 games of Milwaukee for first. Anthony Edwards had 28 points and 10 rebounds for Minnesota, which has lost three of four. The Timberwolves started the day seventh in the West, one game ahead of Oklahoma City, Dallas and the Los Angeles Lakers.
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WOLVES-TOWNS
 
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Injured star Karl-Anthony Towns is expected to return to action “in the coming weeks,” the Minnesota Timberwolves announced Wednesday. Minnesota’s game against Boston on Wednesday night marks the 49th consecutive game missed by the three-time All-Star big man with a severely strained right calf muscle. Towns was hurt on Nov. 28 in a game at Washington. He recently began ramping up his on-court basketball activity, but there are only 3 1/2 weeks remaining in the regular season with the Timberwolves in the thick of the Western Conference playoff race. The Timberwolves in their statement said further updates would be “provided when available” but announced no specifics.
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VIKINGS-SIGNINGS
 
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – The Minnesota Vikings have made former Arizona cornerback Byron Murphy a key piece of their latest defensive revamp. The Vikings finalized agreements with Murphy, former New Orleans outside linebacker Marcus Davenport and former Miami tight end Josh Oliver on Wednesday, the first day of NFL free agency. The deals will be signed after completion of their physical exams, and the Vikings planned an introductory news conference for Thursday at team headquarters. The 25-year-old Murphy replaced Patrick Peterson in the Cardinals’ starting lineup in 2021 when Peterson joined the Vikings. Now, the 2019 second-round draft pick will take over for Peterson again. Murphy was limited to nine games in 2022, when he was hampered by a back injury. He had a career-high four interceptions in 2021. As the Vikings transition their scheme under new defensive coordinator Brian Flores away from the zone-heavy strategy they used last year, Murphy ought to fit well with man-to-man coverage skills. Peterson departed for Pittsburgh. Murphy, a native of Scottsdale, Arizona, will get a two-year deal. He played in college at Washington.
 
The Vikings also cut cornerback Cameron Dantzler Sr. last week, and Duke Shelley, Chandon Sullivan and Kris Boyd are set to become unrestricted free agents. They’re counting on major roles for Andrew Booth Jr. and Akayleb Evans, whose rookie seasons in 2022 were largely limited by injuries. Booth was drafted in the second round and Evans was drafted in the fourth round last year. With the departures of free agents Peterson and defensive end Dalvin Tomlinson and the release of linebacker Eric Kendricks, the Vikings are in the midst of a significant redo of a defense that was one of the league’s worst in 2022. Davenport will be a key piece as an edge rusher opposite Danielle Hunter. Za’Darius Smith remains on the roster, but he’s carrying a hefty cap hit and has already posted a thank you message to Vikings fans on Twitter that had a farewell vibe.
 
With Davenport, Murphy and Oliver, the Vikings in their second year under general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah have targeted younger free agents with higher upside on buy-low deals, with all three of those players having either underperformed in recent years or been set back by injuries. The Vikings also re-signed two restricted free agents on Wednesday: tight end Ben Ellefson and outside linebacker Kenny Willekes. They reached agreements on Tuesday with four of their players who were eligible for unrestricted free agency: center Garrett Bradbury, kicker Greg Joseph, long snapper Andrew DePaola and backup quarterback Nick Mullens.
 
 
 

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