K-HEART SPORTS – MONDAY – 11/20/23
ROMEOVILLE, Ill. (MSU) – A fast start wasn’t enough for the top-ranked Beavers on Sunday as a 3 ½ minute stretch changed the game. No. 11 Ohio scored three goals in 3 minutes, 30 seconds midway through the second period to turn a deficit into a lead as the Bobcats skated to a 5-2 comeback win over the No. 1 Minot State men’s hockey team in the ACHA Showcase. The Beavers (12-3-0 overall) now get Thanksgiving week off before returning to the ice with a road game Monday, Nov. 27, at 3:30 p.m. at Jamestown.
Things started well Sunday for Minot State as Christian Kadolph broke open the scoring with 2:37 left in the first period, finishing off assists from Logan Cyca and Walker Jerome to put the Beavers on top 1-0. Reid Arnold then pushed Minot State’s lead to 2-0, putting home a goal with 7:39 gone in the second, and things looked great for Minot State. Jay Buchholz and Sheldin Howard assisted on Arnold’s goal. But the Bobcats (10-5-2) answered with their first of the game just 2:19 later, igniting a 3 ½ minute stretch that changed the game as Ohio scored three times in that span to take the lead. One more goal, later in the second period, and a final goal in the third iced the victory for the Bobcats. Jake Anthony finished with 25 saves in goal for Minot State in the setback.
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UND WOMENS BASKETBALL
GRAND FORKS, N.D. (UND) – A comeback effort from the North Dakota women’s basketball team fell short Sunday against Montana State in the Betty Engelstad Sioux Center. The Fighting Hawks surged in the third quarter but would ultimately fall 60-53 to the Bobcats.
It was all Bobcats to start the game, as they scored the first 12 points of the contest in the opening three minutes. Montana State shot .600 percent from the field and grabbed a 20-8 lead following the first 10 minutes. NoDak’s offensive woes continued in the second quarter and was held to 18 points in the first half. However, the UND defense began to settle in and held the Bobcats to a .313 shooting percentage in the second frame. UND ramped up its defensive pressure in the third quarter, forcing seven Montana State turnovers that translated to six points. Kacie Borowicz led the Hawks with six points in the quarter, but it was the bench unit that provided the offensive spark with 13 points. Kiyah Hurst scored five, while Nevaeh Ferrara Horne and Kiera Pemberton had four points each in the third. UND outscored Montana State 19-4 to open the third and took its first lead of the game, 37-36, following two Ferrara Horne free throws at the two-minute mark. The lead changed hands twice and the score was tied twice in the fourth quarter, but it was the Bobcats who held the lead for the final three minutes to take the 60-53 decision. Borowicz poured in 12 of the Hawks 14 points in the fourth quarter and went 4-for-5 from the free throw line. Rakiyah Beal scored the other two points for UND. The Hawks forced five turnovers in the final period, while only committing one but were unable to convert Bobcat miscues to points. Montana State controlled the boards over the final 10 minutes with 12 defensive rebounds.
Borowicz scored 22 points, grabbed five rebounds and had four steals to lead the Hawks. She was followed by Hurst’s seven points and nine rebounds. Sammiyah Hoskin and Pemberton were active on the offensive glass grabbing a combined seven offensive rebounds. The Fighting Hawks travel to Hattiesburg, Miss. for the Lady Eagle Thanksgiving Classic Friday and Saturday. UND faces Southern Miss on Friday at 11:00 a.m. and North Texas on Saturday at 8:00 a.m.
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FCS PLAYOFFS
FARGO, ND – The bracket for the FCS Playoffs was announced on Sunday. Both NDSU and UND will host games in the first round. North Dakota State (8-3) will face Pioneer Football League champion Drake (8-3, 8-0 PFL) at 2:30 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 25, at Gate City Bank Field at the Fargodome. The winner advances to play No. 6 national seed Montana State (8-3, 6-2 Big Sky) in the second round Saturday, Dec. 2. UND will host Sacramento State on Saturday, Nov. 25 at Noon (CT) in the opening round, with the winner heading to No. 3 seed South Dakota the following weekend. Defending champion South Dakota State received the overall #1-seed.
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VIKINGS-BRONCOS
DENVER (AP) — Stymied all night by the Minnesota Vikings’ smothering defense, Russell Wilson never lost faith in his sputtering offense whose first nine drives ended with Wil Lutz kicking five field goals and Riley Dixon punting four times. Courtland Sutton’s leaping 15-yard touchdown catch with 1:03 remaining was the difference for Denver (5-5), which now owns the league’s longest winning streak at four. Danielle Hunter’s tackle of Javonte Williams on the 2-point try kept the Vikings within a point and needing a field goal by Greg Joseph in Denver’s thin air to win it. The Broncos’ defense — which produced three more takeaways, giving Denver a dozen over its last three games — didn’t allow the Vikings (6-5) to get out of their own side of the field on Minnesota’s desperation drive in the final minute, however. Denver forced Joshua Dobbs into an intentional grounding that brought up fourth-and-25 before Dobbs threw one final incompletion from the Vikings 21 with 16 seconds left. Dobbs threw for 221 yards and a touchdown and ran for another but lost with the Vikings for the first time since they acquired him in an emergency trade with Arizona. Still, he became the first quarterback in NFL history to have both a touchdown throw and a touchdown run in his first three games with a team. Wilson went 27 of 35 for 259 yards without an interception for Denver. The Vikings host Chicago next Monday.
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WILD-MAPLE LEAFS
STOCKHOLM (AP) – William Nylander scored at 3:09 of overtime, and the Toronto Maple Leafs extended their winning streak to four games with a 4-3 victory over the Minnesota Wild on Sunday in the final game of the NHL’s Global Series in Sweden. Nylander collected the puck, skated toward the net and fired a shot past Marc-Andre Fleury for his 12th goal of the season. He also extended his franchise-record, season-opening point streak to 17 games. Nylander had five points (two goals, three assists) in Toronto’s two games in Stockholm. Auston Matthews added a goal and an assist for Toronto. He tied Kyle Connor of the Winnipeg Jets for the league lead with 14 goals. Matthew Knies scored his fifth of the season, Morgan Rielly added a goal and two assists and Joseph Woll stopped 33 shots for Toronto. Mats Zuccarello had a goal and an assist and defensemen Jon Merrill and Jake Middleton also scored for Minnesota, which lost its fifth straight (0-3-2). Fleury stopped 21 shots.