K-Heart Sports – 12/13/22

K-HEART SPORTS – 12/13/22 – 0700
 
MINOT, ND – Kenmare-Bowbells has moved up to #1 in the Class B Girls Basketball Poll after MayPortCG handed Central Cass their first loss of the season. Four Winds-Minnewaukan is the unanimous #1 in the boys poll. The polls are voted on by the North Dakota Associated Press Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association.
 
North Dakota Class B Girls Basketball Poll
 
                (First Place Votes)    Record    Points    Last Week
1. Kenmare-Bowbells (12)          4-0          170          2
2. Kindred (4)                               5-0          158         3
3. Rugby                                      4-0          136          4
4. Shiloh Christian (1)                  5-0          121          5
5. Central Cass                           2-1            86          1
6. May-Port-CG (1)                      4-0            84         RV
7. Thompson                               3-1            62          7
8. Northern Cass                         2-0            55          8
9. Central McLean                       4-0            43          10
10. Edgeley-Kulm-Montpelier       3-1           17           6
 
Others receiving votes: Carrington, Bowman County, Garrison, Westhope-Newburg, Hatton-Northwood, Oakes, Grafton, Langdon Area-Edmore-Munich, Nedrose, Tioga
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North Dakota Class B Boys Basketball Poll
 
                        (First Place Votes)    Record    Points    Last Week
1. Four Winds-Minnewaukan (18)       1-0         180           1
2. Central Cass                                   1-0          160          2
3. Bishop Ryan                                    1-0         134           3
4. Thompson                                       1-0          115           4
5. Shiloh Christian                               1-0            91           6
6. Bowman County                              0-0           90            5
7. Kindred                                            0-0            61           7
8. Grafton                                             1-0           50            8
9. North Border                                     1-0          28           RV
10. Des Lacs-Burlington                       2-0          27           RV
 
Others receiving votes: LaMoure-Litchville-Marion, North Star, Dickinson Trinity, Stanley, Hillsboro-Central Valley, Hazen, Linton-HMB, St. John
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MINOT, ND – Scores from Monday.
 
High School Boys Basketball
 
Class A
#1 Minot High def. Bismarck St. Mary’s, 91-61
#2 Bismarck Century def. Turtle Mountain, 103-64
 
Class B
Dunseith def. Mohall-Lansford-Sherwood, 67-64
Harvey-Wells County JV def. Drake-Anamoose, 47-44
North Prairie def. Bottineau, 67-64 OT
 
Lions Tournament – Stanley
First Round
Stanley def. Berthold, 85-33
Divide County def. Williston Trinity Christian, 58-57
 
 
High School Girls Basketball
 
Class A
#1 Minot High def. Bismarck St. Mary’s, 90-58
#2 Bismarck Century def. Turtle Mountain, 98-47
 
Class B
Drake-Anamoose def. Harvey-Wells County, 49-33
Bottineau def. Dunseith, 69-22
Powers Lake-Burke Central def. Parshall, 57-38
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MSU SOCCER-COACH
 
MINOT, N.D. (MSU) – Following a season that saw the Beavers set records for their defense and come within an overtime of the NCAA tournament, Minot State Athletics has removed the interim tag and named TJ Perez as the Beavers head coach. Perez, who took over leadership of the Minot State soccer team in August, led the Beavers to a 9-3-9 overall record this fall, to a fourth-place finish in the NSIC and a home playoff game, and to the NSIC Tournament championship game. Perez is the third head coach in the 13-year history of Minot State soccer program. While 2022 was the first season as head coach for Perez, the campaign was Perez’s third with the team as he spent two seasons as the top assistant with former head coach Chris Clements, who left in August to take over as Director of Athletics at Hastings College in Nebraska. In the first season under Perez’s leadership, six Beavers earned All-NSIC honors and nine players were named to the NSIC All-Academic Team. Minot State also went 10 straight games without allowing a goal, and senior goalie Maddie Kindred set single-season (14) and career (26) shutout records while earning Academic All-American honors.
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UND WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
 
GRAND FORKS, N.D. (UND) – In the final nonconference game of the 2022-23 season, the University of North Dakota women’s basketball team rolled to an 87-66 victory over Mayville State on Monday night from the Betty Engelstad Sioux Center. UND (7-3) notched its fifth straight win, improved to 5-0 on its home floor for the first time since 2017-18, posted the 36th consecutive victory over the Comets in 36 tries and grabbed the eighth straight win at home over a nonconference opponent. For the 10th straight game, it was Kacie Borowicz who led the way on the offensive side with a game-high 28 points on 8-of-15 shooting while also dishing out six assists and grabbing three rebounds in the win. The senior turned it on after a 1-for-6 start in the first quarter from the field, exploding for a 6-for-7 clip over the next two stanzas to cross the 1,000-point plateau for her career. North Dakota will now turn its attention to Summit League play for the first time this season, opening up league action against St. Thomas on Dec. 19 at 7 p.m. from the Betty.
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UND MEN’S BASKETBALL
 
GRAND FORKS, N.D. (UND) – Temperatures were below freezing outside, but it was sizzling inside the Betty Engelstad Sioux Center with North Dakota shooting 59.4 percent and rolling past North Central (Minn.), 99-48, on Monday night. Brady Danielson paced the Fighting Hawks (6-7) with a season-high 14 points in 13 minutes. He was 5-for-5 from the floor and 4-for-4 from deep. Tsotne Tsartsidze and Caleb Nero were next in scoring with 12 points apiece. Tsartsidze also grabbed seven boards, while Nero netted all 12 of his points in the second alone. Jalun Trent poured in 10 points, finishing 5-for-5 from the field in 16 minutes of play.
 
North Dakota scored the opening bucket off a Tsartsidze triple and led the entire way after that point. The Fighting Hawks jumped out to a 24-5 lead after a 15-0 run by the midway point of the opening period. During that same run, the Rams were scoreless for over seven minutes. UND extended its lead to 42-12 moments later with another 12-0 run and carried a 55-18 lead into intermission. The game was never closer in the second half, with North Dakota leading by as many as 57 points. The Fighting Hawks finished hitting at 59.4 percent (38-for-64) and added nine triples. North Central struggled knocking down shots, only shooting 31.8 percent in the game. North Dakota will begin Summit League play on Monday, visiting St. Thomas at 7 p.m.
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UND MEN’S HOCKEY
 
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (UND) – Fifth year goaltender Drew DeRidder was named NCHC Goaltender of the Week on Monday, as announced by the league office. DeRidder was stout in a weekend that saw the Fighting Hawks take five-of-six points at Western Michigan, grabbing a 3-2 shootout victory on Friday before a 3-0 win on Saturday to give the green and white its second unbeaten series over the last three entering the holiday break. The Fenton, Mich., native finished the two-game stretch with a 0.96 goals against average and a .962 save percentage to hold the Broncos, who entered the weekend as the nation’s top offensive team, to their lowest scoring output over a two-game stretch of the season and fewest goals at home since Jan. 2021. In Friday’s 2-2, overtime tie, DeRidder stopped 26-of-28 shots, including 10 shorthanded, to help UND go 6-for-6 on the penalty kill. He also made three saves in the ensuing shootout to allow NoDak to win it and earn the extra NCHC standings point. On Saturday, he was even better, recording his second shutout of the season and sixth of his career in a 3-0 victory. He racked up 25 saves in the whitewash against what was the nation’s top-scoring offense. North Dakota will enjoy a break over the holiday season before returning to exhibition action against the U.S. Under-18 Team on Dec. 31 from Ralph Engelstad Arena.
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FCS PLAYOFFS-SEMI
 
UNDATED (NCAA) – Defending national champion North Dakota State returns to the FCS semifinals, two wins away from its 10th title in 12 seasons. The Bison will face UIW in the semis, with the Cardinals on their longest postseason run ever. North Dakota State is dealing with a plethora of injuries, most notably in their backfield to starting running back TaMerik Williams and starting fullback Hunter Luepke. However, the Bison continue to roll despite missing key contributors, winning two playoff games by an average of 20.5 points. North Dakota State continues to dominate the lines of scrimmage, with offensive tackle Cody Mauch and defensive end Spencer Waege standing out as two of the best in the FCS.
 
On the other sideline, Incarnate Word enters the semifinals after two thrilling playoff games that came down to the final drive. The Cardinals have turned to quarterback Lindsey Scott Jr. and his elite wide receivers Darion Chafin and Taylor Grimes for clutch moments. UIW’s high-powered offense has led them to this point, with their defense making timely plays throughout the season. Linebacker Kelechi Anyalebechi often flies around the field and will need a big day in the semifinals if UIW wants to land the upset. Incarnate Word averages 584 yards of offense and 53 points per game. Kickoff is at 6 pm on Friday at the FargoDome.
 
Top-seeded South Dakota State returns to the FCS semifinals for the third straight season and will face Montana State in a rematch of 2021’s FCS semifinal game. The last time the two programs met, the Bobcats prevailed 31-17 in Bozeman. In 2022, the Jackrabbits will host the semifinal game as the higher seed. South Dakota State has talent across the board entering the semifinal round. The Jackrabbits feature star running back Isaiah Davis and arguably the best tight end in FCS football Tucker Kraft on offense. Quarterback Mark Gronowski is coming off a quarterfinal performance where he scored three fourth-quarter touchdowns. Also in the quarterfinals, linebacker Adam Bock returned to play; he’s one of the leaders on a top-five defense in the FCS.
 
Meanwhile, Montana State has its eyes set on back-to-back FCS championship game appearances. The Bobcats are undefeated against the FCS this year, running through their opponents. Literally! Montana State averaged the most rushing yards of any non-triple-option offense in the FCS and has gained over 300 rushing yards in each of its two playoff games. Quarterbacks Tommy Mellott and Sean Chambers lead a two-QB system, and the return of star running back Isaiah Ifanse has only bolstered the offense. On defense, the Bobcats are strong too, holding opponents to a 34.68 percent third-down conversion rate. Kickoff is at 3 pm on Saturday in Brookings, SD.
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WILD-OILERS
 
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Matt Boldy had a goal and an assist, Freddy Gaudreau also scored, and the Minnesota Wild beat the Edmonton Oilers 2-1 Monday night. Marc-Andre Fleury stopped 20 shots for his 10th win of the season for the Wild, who have won eight of 11. It is the 18th time in his career that Fleury has reached double-digit wins, tying Patrick Roy and Terry Sawchuk for second all-time behind Martin Brodeur (20). Connor McDavid had an assist on Zach Hyman’s goal for the Oilers, but his career-best seven-game goal-scoring streak ended. Stuart Skinner finished with 28 saves for Edmonton, which lost for just the third time in nine games. In addition to stopping McDavid in the final seconds as the Wild were killing a 6-on-4 power play for the final 51.3 seconds, Fleury had a big save about 7 minutes into the third period when he stopped Darnell Nurse’s shot as part of a 3-on-1 with McDavid and Leon Draisaitl after a giveaway by Matt Dumba. The Oilers’ league-best power play finished 1 for 5 after going 4 for 8 in its previous two games and 8 for 17 in the previous five.
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TIMBERWOLVES-BLAZERS
 
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Damian Lillard tied his own franchise record by making 11 3-pointers and finished with 38 points, leading the Portland Trail Blazers over the Minnesota Timberwolves 133-112. Lillard shot 11 for 17 from long range and didn’t play in the fourth quarter. The Blazers never trailed and led by as many as 27. Jerami Grant had 24 points Portland and Jusuf Nurkic added 14 points and 16 rebounds. D’Angelo Russell scored 23 points for Minnesota. Rudy Gobert grabbed 20 rebounds to go with 16 points.
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NFL-MONDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL
 
GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) — Mac Jones threw for 235 yards, Raekwon McMillan had a crucial fumble return for a touchdown and the New England Patriots earned a 27-13 win on Monday night over the Arizona Cardinals, who lost starting quarterback Kyler Murray in the first quarter to a potentially serious knee injury. New England trailed 13-10 at the break but tied the game at 13-all early in the third quarter after a short field goal. The Patriots got their game-changing play and a 20-13 lead later in the third when McMillan scooped up a fumble and returned it 23 yards for a touchdown. Murray was hurt on the third play of the game, immediately changing the complexion of the evening.
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TWINS-VAZQUEZ
 
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The Minnesota Twins have added veteran catcher Christian Vázquez. He has agreed to a $30 million, three-year contract with the club. Two people with knowledge of the contract confirmed the deal to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because it was pending the completion of a physical exam. Vázquez played for Boston and Houston this season. He hit .274 with nine homers and 52 RBIs in 119 games. He was traded to the Astros on Aug. 1 and won the World Series with them.
 
 

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