K-HEART SPORTS – MONDAY – 11/13/23
WICHITA, Kan. (MSU) – Jaxon Gunville collected 21 points to help lead the Minot State men’s basketball team past the Newman Jets 73-59 on the road Sunday to wrap up the Conference Challenge. Gunville added three assists to his 21 point game to lead the Beavers (2-0 overall). Connor Hollenbeck helped out with 19 points and five assists and Khari Broadway chipped in with 14 points and six steals. Minot State out-rebounded Newman 41-33 in Sunday’s game, led by nine boards from Michael Jok. The Beavers also pulled down 12 offensive rebounds and scored eight second-chance points. After falling behind 28-22, Minot State went on a 9-0 run with 6:22 left in the first half, culminating in a bucket from Jok, to take a 31-28 lead. The Beavers then maintained that lead and entered halftime with a 39-36 advantage. Minot State took advantage of six offensive rebounds to score six second-chance points out of 39 total in the period. Following intermission, Minot State kept widening that lead, expanding it to 63-56 before going on an 8-0 run to grow the lead to 71-56 with 59 seconds to go in the contest. The Jets narrowed the margin somewhat before the game was over, but the Beavers still cruised the rest of the way for the 73-59 win. Minot State capitalized on seven Newman turnovers in the period, collecting nine points off those turnovers. The Beavers play at Montana State-Billings on Saturday.
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UND MENS BASKETBALL
GRAND FORKS, N.D. (UND) – The North Dakota men’s basketball team played its first regular season home game Sunday
afternoon, defeating the Elon Phoenix 85-68. Treysen Eaglestaff scored a career high 26 points, hitting five shots from downtown. B.J. Omot notched his first career double-double with 21 points and ten rebounds. Eli King led UND with four assists and three blocks while Deng Mayar led with three steals. Tsotne Tsartsidze hit the opening bucket from three point range in what was a very fast first seven-plus minutes in the first half. Elon led at the first stoppage behind 15 points early on from Max Mackinnon, but the Fighting Hawks chipped away at the deficit, pulling ahead later in the half at 21-20 behind Omot hitting 2-2 from the foul line. The teams gave and took the lead as the half went on but the Phoenix went into the locker room ahead 39-37. Omot had 11 points at the break, Eaglestaff had ten. NoDak started the second half on an 8-4 run, taking a lead at 45-43 following an Eaglestaff three that was held for the rest of the game. The lead swelled two ten points at 53-43 as the green and white scored 16 of the first 20 points in the second half. UND led by as many as 21 in the second half a tenacious defensive effort held the Phoenix to 25.8% shooting in the second half—outscoring the Phoenix 48-29 in the second frame. The Fighting Hawks host Valley City State on Thursday at 7 pm.
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VIKINGS-SAINTS
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — This latest stop in Minnesota on Joshua Dobbs’ seven-year, seven-team NFL journey has become his most eventful experience in less than two weeks. The Vikings have enjoyed having him even more. Dobbs kept an injury-thinned offense on track in his first start, throwing for a career-high 268 yards and contributing two touchdowns to help the Vikings build a 24-point halftime lead and hold on to beat the New Orleans Saints 27-19 on Sunday for their fifth straight victory. After an injury to Jaren Hall pressed Dobbs into action in Atlanta without any prior work with the first team offense, the former aerospace engineering major at Tennessee nicknamed “The Passtronaut” further impressed coach Kevin O’Connell and his staff with his preparation. “He had a fantastic week of practice,” O’Connell said. “I’m having fun coaching him right now.” T.J. Hockenson outgained the Saints by himself in the first half with 10 catches for 128 yards and a score for the Vikings (6-4), who stalled out after the hot start. Mekhi Blackmon and Byron Murphy had fourth-quarter interceptions of downfield heaves by Jameis Winston that ended consecutive Saints possessions, and Winston’s last-chance throw into a crowd in the end zone on the final play was knocked safely to the turf. Superstar wide receiver Justin Jefferson (hamstring) was held out for the fifth straight game, and starting wide receiver K.J. Osborn (concussion) didn’t play. Hockenson played through a painful rib injury that was aggravated multiple times. Then starting running back Alexander Mattison (concussion) was forced out of the game in the third quarter. Dobbs was only here, after all, because of the season-ending torn Achilles tendon for Kirk Cousins. But he went 23 for 34 without a turnover and rushed eight times for 44 yards, including a third-and-6 scramble that started with a 360-degree spin around the pocket to find a crease and ended with a 7-yard touchdown when he juked cornerback Alontae Taylor at the 5 and beelined inside the pylon. The Vikings play at Denver next Sunday night.
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WOLVES-WARRIORS
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Coach Chris Finch just talked to his Minnesota Timberwolves the other day about finding ways to make strides and improve doing the small things even while winning. Anthony Edwards scored 33 points and the Timberwolves overpowered the Golden State Warriors 116-110 on Sunday night for their sixth straight victory. Karl-Anthony Towns added 21 points and a season-best 14 rebounds for Minnesota in the first of two straight games between the teams in San Francisco. Stephen Curry scored 38 points, but the cold-shooting Warriors didn’t get enough other contributions to keep up with Minnesota’s fast-paced attack. Golden State shot only 12 for 43 from 3-point range. Curry has 11 straight games with four or more 3-pointers to start the season, the first time it’s been done in NBA history according to ESPN Stats & Info. His 3 with 5:15 to play pulled the Warriors to 100-89 and forced a Minnesota timeout. Rudy Gobert had 10 points, 10 rebounds and season-high five blocks as Minnesota won for the seventh time in eight games. The teams will meet again Tuesday night at Chase Center for an In-Season Tournament game.