KHRT ND News

K-Heart Sports – 02/13/23

K-HEART SPORTS – 02/13/23 – 0700
 
ST. GEORGE, KS (MSU) – The Minot State Beavers fell 7-6 in a 10-inning matchup to the Emporia State Hornets on Sunday, just missing out on the series sweep. Sophomore Tim Carlson (0-1) came out of the bullpen for Minot State (3-1 overall) and took the loss. Junior Gage Yost was a bright spot for the Beavers, starting the ballgame and throwing six innings, giving up three runs, two earned, on six hits, with two walks and seven strikeouts. At the plate, the Beavers were paced by senior Derek Kay, who went 2-for-5 on the day with two home runs and three RBI. Junior Gunnar Kozlowitz compiled a standout performance at the dish as well, going 2-for-4 with a home run, a walk and an RBI. Junior Javier Gutierrez also helped out for Minot State, putting together two hits in four trips to the plate while adding a home run, a walk and an RBI.
 
Trailing 1-0, the Beavers first put runs on the board in the second inning. Kozlowitz put Minot State on the board with a leadoff home run off sophomore Ian Lanik. The score stayed at 1-1 until the fourth inning, when the Beavers put runs on the scoreboard once again. Minot State scored twice on solo home runs from Kay and Gutierrez, which brought the score to 3-1 in favor of the Beavers. Emporia State narrowed Minot State’s lead to 3-2 before the Beavers stretched the advantage to 4-2 in the sixth inning. The Beavers picked up a run on junior Mark Ossanna’s two-out RBI double. The Hornets fought back, closing the gap to 4-3 until Minot State added some insurance in the eighth. The Beavers scored twice on Kay’s two-run homer, bringing the Minot State advantage to 6-3. The Beavers were unable to hold the lead, as Emporia State scored four times over the remaining two innings to grab the 7-6 win.
 
The Beavers continue a two-week, season-opening road trip through Kansas playing a single game at Washburn on Wednesday, then starting a four-game series at Newman on Thursday.
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MINOT STATE SOFTBALL
 
LUBBOCK, Texas (MSU) – Minot State was on the wrong side of a dominant pitching performance Sunday as senior Taylor Franco threw a no-hitter with five strikeouts for Lubbock Christian, leading the No. 21 Chaparrals over the Beavers 5-0. Sophomore Reegan Floyd (2-2) started and took the loss in the circle for Minot State (5-4 overall). Freshman Calley Olson was a bright spot out of the bullpen, going two shutout innings while allowing one hit, walking one and striking out one. Minot State now returns home to host its second Bubble Invitational of the season on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, opening the action at 5 p.m. on Friday hosting Bemidji State in a non-conference contest.
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NFL-SUPER BOWL 57
 
GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) — Patrick Mahomes was magical when the Kansas City Chiefs desperately needed him to pull off another Super Bowl comeback. Playing on an injured ankle, Mahomes threw two touchdown passes in the fourth quarter and scrambled 26 yards on the go-ahead drive before Harrison Butker kicked a 27-yard field goal with 8 seconds left to give the Chiefs a 38-35 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday night. The Chiefs won their second NFL title in four years and two-time NFL MVP Mahomes earned his second Super Bowl MVP award. “I thought guys just embraced the moment,” Mahomes said about rallying from a 10-point halftime deficit. “In that first half, we were playing and doing some good stuff, but I felt like the guys were getting consumed by everything around us.”
Mahomes and Jalen Hurts excelled in the first Super Bowl matchup featuring two Black starting QBs. But Mahomes turned it up in the second half after reaggravating a sprained right ankle. “It took everybody to win the game,” Mahomes shouted as red and yellow confetti littered the field. Coach Andy Reid, who couldn’t win the big game in Philadelphia, beat his former team to earn his second ring with Mahomes and the Chiefs. “We wanted to get this so bad for him,” Travis Kelce said. “His legacy in Philly lives on forever. … There’s a lot of pride in knowing that he’s had success in two different organizations, but this was the better one.”
 
With the score tied at 35-35, the Eagles tried to let the Chiefs score a touchdown with under two minutes left so they could get the ball back after a defensive holding call on cornerback James Bradberry on third-and-8 gave Kansas City a first down. But Jerick McKinnon slid at the 2, forcing the Eagles to use their last timeout. “It was holding. I tugged his jersey. I was hoping they would let it slide,” Bradberry said. After Mahomes took a knee twice, Butker nailed his kick, sending thousands of red-clad Chiefs fans into a frenzy. “It feels amazing just to see the confetti,” said Butker, who missed a 42-yarder in the first quarter. “I just tried to focus on one kick and focusing on the process.”
 
The Chiefs won their second Super Bowl following the 2019 season, 50 years after the first one. Mahomes led them back from a 10-point deficit in the fourth quarter against San Francisco in that one. It took just three years to get another Lombardi. Chiefs fans were outnumbered in the stadium, but did their part to silence the boisterous Philly fans with the tomahawk chop chant. Down 24-14 with a limping Mahomes, the Chiefs (17-3) followed up halftime with a sensational offensive outburst. Mahomes, who suffered a high ankle sprain in the divisional round, hurt it again on a 3-yard scramble late in the second quarter. He limped off the field but showed no ill effects on Kansas City’s next possession. “I knew it was pretty bad when he got up limping but I knew it wasn’t gonna be bad enough to where he was gonna pull himself off the field,” Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy said. “If we would’ve pulled him off, I would’ve had to fight him. He would’ve probably fought me. And so it wasn’t worth entertaining.”
 
Mahomes slipped — several players lost their footing on the natural grass surface — in the pocket yet somehow regained his balance and scrambled 14 yards to the Eagles 4, setting up Isiah Pacheco’s 1-yard TD run that cut the deficit to 24-21. Mahomes then tossed a 5-yard TD pass to a wide-open Kadarius Toney to give Kansas City its first lead, 28-27, early in the fourth quarter. After the Chiefs tightened up their defense, forcing Philly to punt, Toney returned a line-drive kick 65 yards to the Eagles 5 for the longest punt return in Super Bowl history. On third down from the 4, Mahomes connected with Skyy Moore to extend their lead to 35-27. Moore also was wide open on the play.
 
But the Eagles wouldn’t go away. Hurts hit DeVonta Smith for a 45-yard gain to the Chiefs 2 and ran in for his third score of the game. He also ran in for the 2-point conversion to tie it at 35-35 with 5:15 to go. As “Fly! Eagles! Fly!” reverberated throughout the stadium, Mahomes and the Chiefs went back to work. The 27-year-old Mahomes became the third player to win his second NFL MVP award before age 28. He also became the youngest QB to start three Super Bowls. Mahomes finally broke the MVP curse, becoming the first player to win the Super Bowl the same season after nine straight players lost.
 
Just five years after winning the first Super Bowl in franchise history, the Eagles (16-4) came close with a different coach and new quarterback. Nick Sirianni replaced Doug Pederson in 2021 and Hurts took over for Carson Wentz in late 2020. Hurts set a Super Bowl record with 70 yards rushing and tied a record with three rushing scores. He also threw for 304 yards and one TD. “We use this pain, we use this failure to motivate us so we can make it a strength,” Sirianni said. Hurts, who missed two games late in the season with a shoulder injury, had TD runs of 1 and 4 yards in the first half along with a 45-yard TD pass to A.J. Brown. But Hurts also made a rare mistake when he fumbled without being hit while scrambling away from pressure. Nick Bolton picked it up and raced 36 yards for a score that made it 14-14. Hurts had just eight turnovers this season, six picks and two fumbles.
 
Mahomes finished 21 of 27 for 182 yards with three TDs and no turnovers. He ran for 44 yards. Mahomes connected with Kelce on an 18-yard TD pass in the right corner to tie it at 7-7 in the first quarter. The Chiefs’ All-Pro tight end and Eagles All-Pro center Jason Kelce became the first set of brothers to play against each other in the Super Bowl. Their mom, Donna Kelce, wore a half-red, half-green jersey with No. 87 on the front for Travis and No. 62 on the back for Jason. She sat in a suite between NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and Damar Hamlin. Eagles fans turned State Farm Stadium into a sea of green, chanting “E-A-G-L-E-S!” and singing the team’s fight song after each score. But they left disappointed.
 
Reid won more games than any coach in team history during 14 seasons with the Eagles but the one knock against him was that he couldn’t win the big one. Reid finally earned his ring in his seventh season with the Chiefs. They went back the next year and lost to Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Reid, who turns 65 next month, ended any speculation about his potential retirement. “If they’ll have me, I’ll stick around,” he said. The first Super Bowl involving both No. 1 seeds since the Eagles beat the Patriots 41-33 in February 2018 lived up to its hype. It was the third-highest scoring Super Bowl and the Eagles scored the most points by a losing team.
 
 
 

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K-Heart Sports – 02/12/23

K-HEART SPORTS – 02/12/23 – 0700
 
MINOT, ND – Our Redeemer’s won their first District 12 Girls Basketball Tournament championship by defeating South Prairie-Max, 50-32 on Saturday night. The Knights came out firing as they scored the first 12 points of the game. Maya Vibeto led the charge with 18 points in the first quarter, including four made 3’s. She would finish with 32 points and eight made 3’s. It was the Knights eighth championship appearance, while the Royals were in the title game for the first time in school history.
 
High School Girls Basketball
Class B
 
District 12 Tournament – Minot Auditorium
Region Qualifier
#3 Des Lacs-Burlington def. #8 Mohall-Lansford-Sherwood, 51-41
#4 Surrey def. #7 Berthold, 47-34
Championship
#2 Our Redeemer’s def. #1 South Prairie-Max, 50-32
All District 12 Team
Berthold – Mya Neshem
Bishop Ryan – Magee Rovig
Des Lacs-Burlington – Kaylee Werner, Logan Ystaas
Glenburn – Emma Jones
Mohall-Lansford-Sherwood – Jamie Thompson
Our Redeemer’s – Elise Altringer, Aubrey Griedl, Maya Vibeto
South Prairie-Max – Scotti Beck, Azjiah Trader
Surrey – Mia Aberle
Co-Senior Athlete Of The Year
Maggie Rovig – Bishop Ryan
Elise Altringer – Our Redeemer’s
Coach Of The Year
Hart Andes – Our Redeemer’s

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District 11 Tournament – Rugby High School
Region Qualifier
#3 TGU def. #4 Westhope-Newburg, 76-68
#6 Nedrose def. #5 Drake-Anamoose, 53-31
Championship
#1 Rugby def. #2 Bottineau, 63-37
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District 15 Tournament – Williston State College
Region Qualifier
#3 Mandaree def. #5 North Shore-Plaza, 51-36
#4 Trenton def. #7 Alexander, 57-32
Championship
#1 Parshall def. #2 New Town, 45-38
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District 16 Tournament – Stanley High School
Region Qualifier
#4 Powers Lake-Burke Central def. #6 Ray, 58-29
#3 Stanley def. #5 Divide County, 53-41
Championship
#1 Kenmare-Bowbells def. #2 Tioga, 60-47
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MINOT, ND – Other scores from Saturday.
 
High School Girls Basketball
Class A
Dickinson def. Turtle Mountain, 73-65
 
 
High School Boys Basketball
Class A
Dickinson def. Turtle Mountain, 85-81
 
Class B
#9 Bowman County def. #7 Beulah, 70-55
Garrison def. New Town, 75-45
TGU def. South Prairie, 63-51
Central McLean def. Solen, 62-41
Standing Rock def. Washburn, 77-74
Haen def. Beach, 65-60
 
High School Boys Hockey
Minot High def. Mandan, 4-1
Dickinson def. Williston, 2-0
Jamestwon def. Bismarck High, 6-1
 
High School Girls Hockey
West Fargo def. Minot High, 3-0
Fargo Davies def. Dickinson, 2-0
Fargo North-South def. Williston, 4-2
 
High School Girls Gymnastics
Bismarck Public Schools Meet
1. Bismarck Century, 140.225
2. Bismarck Legacy, 135.525
3. Bismarck High, 95.075
 
All-Around: Alyson Krug of Bismarck High, 35.800
 
High School Boys Swimming & Diving
Mandan Invite
1. Minot High, 572
T2. Bismarck High, 403
T2. Bismarck Century, 403
4. Williston, 374
5. Bismarck Legacy, 263
6. Mandan, 198
 
High School Boys Wrestling
Class A
 
West Region Tournament – Williston High School
1. Bismarck High, 216.5
2. Williston, 180.5
3. Minot, 177.0
4. Jamestown, 168.0
5. Bismarck Century, 159.5
6. Bismarck Legacy, 153.5
7. Dickinson, 114.5
8. Bismarck St Mary`s, 111.5
9. Mandan, 64.5
10. Turtle Mountain, 61.5
11. Watford City, 31.0
 
Class B
 
Region 3 Tournament – Kenmare High School
1. Velva, 180.0
2. Northern Lights, 177.5
3. Kenmare-Bowbells, 177.0
4. Bishop Ryan, 131.0
5. Des Lacs-Burlington, 129.0
6. Williams County, 124.5
7. Stanley, 106.0
8. MonDak, 84.5
9. Rugby, 49.0
 
Region 4 Tournament – Beulah High School
1. New Salem-Almont, 245.0
2. Killdeer, 204.0
3. Hettinger-Scranton, 161.0
4. Beulah-Hazen, 145.0
5. Bowman County-Beach, 108.0
6. Standing Rock, 48.0
7. Alexander, 42.0
8. New Town-Parshall, 29.0
9. White Shield, 0.0
 
College Mens Basketball
Minnesota-Duluth def. Minot State, 71-63
North Dakota def. Omaha, 76-73 OT
North Dakota State def. Denver, 78-70
 
College Womens Basketball
Minnesota-Duluth def. Minot State, 63-41
North Dakokta def. Omaha, 79-61
Denver def. North Dakota State, 83-71
 
College Baseball
Minot State def. Emporia State, 3-1
Minot State def. Emporia State, 11-1
 
College Womens Softball
Lubbock Sports College Tournament – Lubbock, TX
Adams State University def. Minot State, 5-3
Texas Permian Basin def. Minot State, 8-5
 
College Womens Hockey
Minot State def. Lindenwood University, 4-1
 
College Mens Hockey
Denver def. North Dakota, 5-2
 
College Mens Wrestling
St. Cloud State def. Minot State, 24-12
 
NAHL Hockey
Aberdeen Wings def. Minot Minotauros, 4-3
St. Cloud Norsemen def. Bismarck Bobcats, 4-3
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MINOT STATE MEN’S BASKETBALL
 
DULUTH, MN (MSU) – Khari Broadway scored 20 points and Connor Hollenbeck had 18 more, but the Beavers fell to the Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs 71-63 on the road Saturday. The Beavers brought a tight offense in the first half of the game, but failed to hold the lead as the clock trickled down in the second half. At the top of the score board was Broadway who led the Beavers (10-14, 7-13) with 20 points, followed by Hollenback with 18 points, and Jaxon Gunville with eight points from the bench.
 
After jumping out to a 16-14 advantage, Minot State went on a 9-0 run with 9:20 left in the first half, culminating in a bucket from Cam’ron Dunfee, to increase its lead to 25-14. The Beavers then lost some of that lead, but still entered halftime with a 36-32 advantage. Coming into the second half, the Beavers lost rebound advantage. Minnesota-Duluth then proceeded to take a 57-56 lead before Minot State went on a 5-0 run to seize a 61-57 lead with 5:42 to go in the contest. Minnesota-Duluth re-asserted control, outscoring the Beavers 14-2 the rest of the way to hand Minot State the 71-63 loss. Minot State got a boost from its bench in the period, as non-starters accounted for seven of its 27 total points. The men will return home to play their final home game for the season, February 16 at 5:30 p.m.
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MINOT STATE WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
 
DULUTH, MN (MSU) – Natasha Elliott and Kate Head combined to score 31 total points – 75.6 percent of Minot State’s points – but the Beavers fell to the Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs 63-41 on the road Saturday. Led by Emily Srejma’s three offensive rebounds, Minot State did a great job crashing the offensive glass, pulling down 14 boards that resulted in six second chance points.Elliott with 20 points, six rebounds and two steals and Head with 11 points led the Bavers (11-15, 7-13) in double figures, with Emma Mogen adding six points and two steals.
 
After falling behind 13-6, Minot State went on a 5-0 run with 3:20 left in the first quarter, culminating in a three from Elliott, to narrow its deficit to 13-11. The Beavers deficit remained the same as they entered the second quarter trailing 15-13. Minnesota-Duluth kept adding to that lead, building a 17-13 advantage before Minot State went on a 5-0 run, highlighted by a three from Elliott, to take an 18-17 lead. The Bulldogs then came roaring back to take a 27-22 lead heading into halftime. Minot State’s deficit continued to grow after halftime, and the Beavers faced a 42-34 disadvantage heading to the fourth quarter. Minot State knocked down three three-pointers in the quarter to score nine of its 12 total points. Minot State however could not pull any closer in the fourth, losing by a final of 63-41. Minot State took advantage of its opportunities in the post, scoring four of its seven points in the paint.
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MINOT STATE WOMEN’S HOCKEY
 
MINOT, N.D. (MSU) – Senior Day went wonderfully for the second-ranked Minot State Beavers. Senior goalie Jordan Ivanco made 24 saves to lead the way while Krissy Rink scored 54 seconds into the action, providing a nice spark for Minot State which picked up a 4-1 win over visiting Lindenwood in the home finale for the Beavers. Minot State (20-8-1 overall) wraps up the regular season next weekend playing at Midland (Neb.). Off to a fast start, the Beavers lead disappeared midway through the first, but Anna German’s first of two in the game with 6:22 gone in the second period broke the 1-1 tie and proved to be the game-winner. Senior Megan Norris then made it 3-1 with 4:49 left in the second, and German iced the win with a final goal with 5:06 gone in the third. Senior Ensley Fendelet added an assist in the win for Minot State, which celebrated the careers of seniors Alisha O’Hara, Jordan Kulbida, Denali Sigurdson, Sydney Spicer, Ivanco, Fendelet, and Norris.
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MINOT STATE BASEBALL
 
ST. GEORGE, Kan. (MSU) – Tough pitching and the long ball powered the Minot State baseball team to a sweep of host Emporia State on Saturday, keeping new head coach Sam Boisner undefeated, as well. Minot State (3-0 overall) pitchers combined to strike out 17 batters in the two games and the Beavers hit five home runs, including two by Javier Gutierrez as Minot State won 3-1 and 11-1. The two teams wrap up their four-game series today with a final game at Noon.
 
GAME 1 | Minot State 3, Emporia State 1
 
The Minot State Beavers took a 2-0 lead in the first inning and never surrendered the advantage on the way to a 3-1 victory over the Emporia State Hornets on Saturday. Junior Craig Schmich (1-0) got the win for Minot State. The right-hander went six innings, giving up one run on two hits, allowing three walks and striking out seven. Junior Austin Loeb also pitched well, going one shutout inning without allowing a hit, walking none and striking out two. Senior Derek Kay led the way offensively for the Beavers, going 2-for-3 in the ballgame with a walk and two RBI. Junior Gunnar Kozlowitz put together a noteworthy day at the plate as well, going 1-for-3 with a walk and an RBI. Junior Shane Kary also contributed, going 1-for-2 for Minot State with two walks.
 
The Beavers got the scoring started early, putting two runs on the board in the top of the first inning. Kay drove in two runs for Minot State with a single that scored junior Brent Riddle and junior Javier Gutierrez. The Beavers then held the Hornets scoreless before expanding their lead in the fifth inning. Minot State scored once on an RBI single off the bat of Kozlowitz, which brought the Beavers lead to 3-0. Emporia State put one run on the scoreboard before the game was over, but Minot State still held on for the 3-1 win.
 
GAME 2 | Minot State 11, Emporia State 1
 
Junior Javier Gutierrez put together a stellar showing at the plate Saturday, hitting two homers to help lead the Minot State Beavers past the Emporia State Hornets 11-1. Senior Bryant Bagshaw (1-0) started on the mound and picked up the win for Minot State. The right-hander went six shutout innings while giving up two hits, allowing two walks and striking out five. Junior Cameron Bagshaw also made an impact on the mound for the Beavers, throwing one shutout inning while allowing one hit, with no walks and one strikeout. Gutierrez went 2-for-4 at the plate, supplementing his two home runs with three RBIs. Junior Gunnar Kozlowitz added to Gutierrez’s awesome power-hitting performance by going 3-for-5 with a double, a home run and three RBI. Junior Brent Riddle also helped out for the Beavers, going 1-for-4 with a home run, a walk and three RBI.
 
The Beavers got on the scoreboard first, starting in the fourth inning. Gutierrez put Minot State on the board with a one-out solo home run off sophomore Cade Barton. The Hornets failed to push any runs across before the Beavers offense got back to their scoring ways the next inning. The Minot State offense exploded for four runs, highlighted by a two-run home run off the bat of Gutierrez, which brought the score to 5-0 in favor of the Beavers. Minot State kept Emporia State without a run before building their lead to 8-0 in the seventh inning. The Beavers scored three times, with a showing that included back-to-back homers from Kozlowitz and senior Derek Kay. Minot State kept the Hornets scoreless before their offense got in gear the next inning. The inning resulted in three runs for the Beavers, all of them scoring on a three-run homer from Riddle to left, bringing the score to 11-0 in favor of Minot State. Emporia State put one run on the scoreboard before the game was over, but the Beavers still coasted to the 11-1 win.
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MINOT STATE WOMEN’S SOFTBALL
 
LUBBOCK, Texas (MSU) – The Minot State softball team came up short twice on Saturday, despite grabbing early leads, as Adams State rallied late for a 5-3 win and Texas Permian Basin erased a 2-0 deficit and topped the Beavers 8-5 in the Lubbock Sports College Tournament hosted by Lubbock Christian. Minot State wraps up the five-game tournament today playing host and No. 22-ranked Lubbock Christian.
 
Texas Permian Basin 8, Minot State 5
 
Freshman Calley Olson had a strong performance in the circle on Saturday, fanning nine Texas-Permian Basin hitters over six innings of work, but it was not enough as the Minot State Beavers fell to the Falcons 8-5. In addition to her nine strikeouts, Olson (2-1) tossed six innings, giving up eight runs, five earned, on eight hits and walking four for Minot State (5-3 overall). Offensively, the Beavers were led by junior Brooklyn Morrison, who went 3-for-4 on the day with a home run and two RBI. Junior Izzy Penner furnished a standout performance at the plate as well, going 1-for-2 with an RBI. The Beavers got the scoring started early, putting runs on the board in the top of the first inning. Minot State scored twice, with one run coming across on Penner’s single. The Falcons then rallied to score seven runs and take a 7-2 lead before the Beavers got back on the board in the fifth. Minot State scored twice on Morrison’s two-run homer, which brought the score to 7-4 in favor of the Falcons. Minot State kept the Falcons off the board before narrowing the gap to 7-5 in the sixth. The Beavers were unable to get any closer, as Texas-Permian Basin added one run to their tally on the way to an 8-5 final.
 
Adams State 5, Minot State 3
 
The Minot State Beavers took a 3-0 lead into the sixth inning, but could not hang on and fell 5-3 to the Adams State Grizzlies on Saturday. Freshman Kierra Fournier (1-1) got the ball to start for Minot State and took the loss. Senior Leo Watson led the way offensively for the Beavers, going 2-for-3 in the ballgame with a home run and two RBI. Sophomore Hannah Murray provided a noteworthy performance at the dish as well, with two walks and an RBI. Freshman Paige Kellogg also chipped in, going 1-for-3 for Minot State with a double. The Beavers got on the board immediately, starting their scoring with one run in the bottom of the first inning. Watson came across to score the lone run of the inning for Minot State and get them on the board. The Grizzlies failed to push any runs across before the Beavers built on their lead in the third inning. Minot State scored twice on Watson’s two-run homer, which brought the score to 3-0 in favor of the Beavers. The Beavers were unable to hold the lead, as Adams State scored five times in the final two innings to grab the 5-3 win.
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MINOT STATE MEN’S WRESTLING
 
MINOT, N.D. (MSU) – The Beavers celebrated their seniors on Saturday, and while the visiting Huskies did steal a bit of the day’s luster, Minot State enjoyed the efforts on the mat and the Senior Day honors. Battling hard, the Beavers got a forfeit win from senior Oscar Nellis and a decision victory each from Cayden White and Jake Swirple as Minot State put in a strong showing against fifth-ranked St. Cloud State in the team’s NSIC dual, but fell 24-12 to the Huskies. Part of a day honored the Beavers six seniors: Nellis, Nathan Baca, Austin Frantzich, Joey Lopez, Alex Sandoval, Jr., and Dustin Swisher.
 
Nellis picked up a victory on senior day by forfeit in his 125-pound match. That turned out to be the final match of the dual and closed the scoring at 24-12. His win capped a late charge by the Beavers (8-9 duals, 3-6 NSIC), who fell behind 21-0 on the scoreboard before White’s 8-4 decision at 184 pounds began to close the gap. Swisher they battled at 197 pounds, trying to add a win on senior day for Minot State, only to come up just short falling 6-4 to Dom Murphy. Swirple then gutted out a 2-0 decision at heavyweight for the Beavers other victory on the day. The Beavers other seniors, Baca and Frantzich, also battled hard on the mats looking for a win on Senior Day but Baca came up short 5-0 in his 157-pound match against Blake Legred, and Frantzich lost a 12-2 major decision at 165 pounds to Jimmy Pierandozzi. Lopez and Sandoval did not wrestle on Saturday.
 
With the regular season done for the Beavers, Minot State now gets two weeks off to prepare for the NCAA Super Region V Tournament hosted by Northern State on Saturday, Feb. 25.
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MINOT STATE TRACK & FIELD
 
BROOKINGS, S.D. (MSU) – After a strong day in Minnesota on Friday, the Minot State track and field teams returned to action at the power-packed South Dakota State Indoor Classic on Saturday and turned in a couple more top times as the Beavers prepare for the NSIC Championships later this month. Francis Short Bull and Grayson Bonilla led the way with top performances in the 400 meters and the 5,000 meters for the Minot State men, while Chase Snyder and Juan Gutierrez added top-10 finishes at the meet, as well. Short Bull ran the fastest time of the season by a Beaver in the men’s 400, finishing 22nd overall in 50.19 seconds on Saturday. That also vaulted Short Bull up the NSIC standings to No. 13 in the event this winter. As for Bonilla, he clocked the fastest time this season for Minot State in the 5,000 meters finishing 66th in 16 minutes, 5.91 seconds on Saturday. While they turned in top times, adding a top finish was Snyder, who last week broke the NCAA Division II school record in the shot put. Snyder was seventh in the event at the SDSU Indoor Classic with a throw of 50 feet, 11.5 inches this Saturday. And Gutierrez was 10th in the men’s 600 meters in 1:23.82 on Saturday.
 
For the Minot State women, Nicole Reeves ran her best mile time of 5:22.89, good for 44th and the second-best effort this winter by a Beaver woman, right behind Sidra Sadowsky. And Jessica Martinez clocked the second-fastest Minot State 3,000 this winter, a personal-best for her as she finished 33rd at the SDSU Indoor Classic, putting her right behind teammate Emery Smith in the event. With the season winding down and the NSIC Championships, hosted by Minnesota State, Mankato on Feb. 24-25, quickly approaching, the Beavers get one more tune-up as they compete at the Marauder Tune-up next Saturday hosted by the University of Mary.
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NORTH DAKOTA MEN’S HOCKEY
 
DENVER, Colo. (UND) – No. 4 Denver scored a trio of power play goals, all coming on a pair of major man advantages, to complete the weekend sweep over North Dakota with a 5-2 win on Saturday night from Magness Arena in Denver, Colo. Despite a great performance from Drew DeRidder in net that saw the fifth year make 32 saves, the Pioneers (23-7-0, 14-4-0 NCHC) took advantage of some penalty trouble by the Fighting Hawks (12-13-4, 6-10-2 NCHC) to capture their fourth straight win over NoDak.
 
It was a bit of a choppy start for both teams in the early going, with icings dictating most of the stoppages through the opening half of the first period. That changed mightily in the final 10 minutes of the stanza, with the teams combining for 29 penalty minutes, including a major penalty and game misconduct to Gavin Hain. Denver capitalized just five seconds into the major, as Carter King tipped home a shot to give the Pioneers a 1-0 lead. DeRidder and his penalty killers were stout for the remainder of the kill, however, stopping multiple grade-A chances to keep the deficit at just one after 20 minutes of play. Penalties again dominated the second period and Denver took full advantage to extend its lead to 3-0. Following a major penalty and game misconduct on Tyler Kleven, the Pios converted twice in the final half of the power play to carry a three-goal lead into the locker room after 40 minutes. North Dakota didn’t go quietly over the final 20 minutes, striking just 1:43 in the third on a goal by Mark Senden to get the visitors on the board and cut the lead to 3-1. The Fighting Hawks had a trio of chances on the power play over the next 10 minutes but couldn’t cash in on the opportunities before Denver increased its lead to 4-1 with just over eight minutes to play in the contest. Jackson Blake showed why he is one of the top rookies in college hockey, showing great patience to wait out the defense and the goaltender on a breakaway out of the penalty box to cut the lead to 4-2 with his 13th goal of the season. Denver closed out victory with a late goal in the final moments to complete the 5-2 victory.
North Dakota returns to action next weekend for a home series against St. Cloud State beginning on Friday night from Ralph Engelstad Arena at 7:07 p.m.
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UND MEN’S BASKETBALL
 
GRAND FORKS, N.D. (UND) – The North Dakota men’s basketball team picked up their third straight win Saturday afternoon defeating Omaha 76-73 in overtime. It is the second three game winning streak of the season for the Hawks and the first three game winning streak in Summit League play since the 2018-19 season. This was a back-and-forth game with 20 lead changes and 13 ties. Matt Norman led the Hawks with 21 points—his 11th straight game scoring in double figures. Tsotne Tsartsize scored 17 and finished one rebound short of a double-double with nine boards. Jalun Trent picked up his first double-double in a Hawks uniform as he led the team with 13 rebounds and 12 points. Brady Danielson scored 15 points and tied with Tsartsidze with three assists (which led the team). North Dakota will head back on the road next week as they go to Tulsa to take on Oral Roberts Thursday and then go to Kansas City on Saturday to take on the Roos.
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UND WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
 
OMAHA, NEB. (UND) – The University of North Dakota Fighting Hawks (15-9, 8-6 SL) complete the season sweep of the University of Nebraska-Omaha (12-14, 7-8 SL) Mavericks, 79-61. North Dakota came out hot for the second game in a row to its highest scoring first half of the season (51). The second half was a defensive battle, UND would hold Omaha to 41 points to snuff out the comeback attempt. Kacie Borowicz led with 24 points, four assists and three steals. Maggie Manson had 12 pts and shot 4-5 from the arc. Juliet Gordon led with seven rebounds and put up nine points. The Hawks came out on fire in the first half on both sides of the ball. The first quarter UND would go on 11-1 run for the first 6 minutes and 29 seconds. The strong finish of the first quarter gave the Fighting Hawks the momentum headed into the second quarter. NoDak would drop another 30 points in the second, shooting 76.9% from the floor. They scored 51 points while holding Omaha to 20. NoDak took a 31-point lead into the locker room. NoDak slowed the game down in the second half, worked to protect the lead. Omaha would work to try and chip away at the 31-point deficit. UNO would hold UND to only 28 points in the second half. The Hawk’s defensive effort would not allow for the Mavs to close the gap down to 14. North Dakota will continue Summit League play on Thursday, taking on Oral Roberts at 7 PM.
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NDSU MEN’S BASKETBALL
 
FARGO, N.D. (NDSU) – Junior Boden Skunberg poured in a career-high 30 points to lift the North Dakota State men’s basketball team to a 78-70 victory over Denver on Saturday afternoon inside the Scheels Center. NDSU improved to 8-6 in Summit League play, climbing to third in the league standings. Skunberg drained 6-of-10 from beyond the arc on his way to a career-high 30 points, and he added seven rebounds. NDSU junior Grant Nelson nearly posted a triple-double, finishing with 13 points, 11 rebounds and a career-high 8 assists. Freshman Damari Wheeler-Thomas scored 13 for NDSU. Denver led 56-55 with 7:00 remaining before Skunberg and Nelson made threes to spark an 8-0 Bison run that gave NDSU the lead for good. The Bison pushed the advantage to 10 points with just under two minutes left. The Bison hit 10-of-21 from three-point range for 48 percent. The victory was the 170th for NDSU head coach David Richman, moving him past B.C. Bentson for second on the school’s all-time win list. It was NDSU’s 11th straight victory in the series with Denver. The Bison will travel to play Kansas City (Feb. 16) and Oral Roberts (Feb. 18) on the road next week.
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NDSU WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
 
DENVER (NDSU) – Four Bison reached double digits in scoring as the North Dakota State women’s basketball team came up short at Denver, 83-71, on Saturday afternoon Hamilton Gymnasium. Heaven Hamling led the way for the Bison (14-10, 8-6 Summit) with a team-high 14 points to go along with four rebounds, three assists and two steals. Abby Graham added 12 points with five rebounds, while Elle Evans contributed 10 points with three rebounds. Kristina Ekofo Yomane netted a season-high 10 points with a team-best six rebounds to round out the top performers. As a team, NDSU shot 37.1 percent (23-62) from the field with nine different players reaching the scoring column. The Bison also tallied 32 points in the paint and the bench added in 30 points. Denver (11-15, 7-8 Summit) got off to a fast start with an 11-2 run in the first quarter. The Pioneers then pushed their advantage to 39-32 at the intermission. The Bison fought back in the second half cutting the deficit down to 73-70 with 2:33 to play in the fourth quarter after Emily Behnke netted a pair of free throws. However, the Pioneers closed the game on a 10-1 run hitting eight free throws on 10 attempts to seal the 83-71 victory. NDSU will be back in action hosting Kansas City on Thursday. Tip-off is set for 7:00 p.m.­
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NDSU TRACK-RODIN
 
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (UND) – Senior Jacob Rodin set a school record to headline the performances of the North Dakota State men’s track & field team at a pair of meets on Saturday. At the Music City Challenge hosted by Vanderbilt, Rodin lowered his NDSU indoor 800m record for the second week in a row, running 1:48.21 for fourth place in Nashville.
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WILD-DEVILS
 
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Mats Zuccarello and Frederick Gaudreau scored in a shootout and the struggling Minnesota Wild rallied to beat the red-hot New Jersey Devils 3-2 on Saturday night. Joel Eriksson Ek and Ryan Hartman scored in regulation and Filip Gustavsson stopped 27 shots for the Wild, which ended a three-game slide. Tomas Tatar had a pair of goals for the Devils, whose three-game winning streak ended, but New Jersey is 10-1-2 in its last 13 games. Vitek Vanecek had 22 saves. Minnesota is 5-2 in shootouts. The Wild host Florida on Monday night.
 
 
 
 

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K-Heart Sports – 02/11/23

K-HEART SPORTS – 02/11/23 – 0700
 
MINOT, ND – The top two seeds will play tonight in the District 12 Girls Basketball Tournament championship game. It’s the first time in school history that South Prairie-Max has been in the title game. Our Redeemer’s is making their 8th appearance in the championship, but has never won it. We’ll have complete coverage of the District 12 Tournament on 106.9 K-Heart, khrt.com, and through the Live 365 app.
 
High School Girls Basketball
Class B
 
District 12 Tournament – Minot Auditorium
Loser Out
#8 Mohall-Lansford-Sherwood def. #5 Bishop Ryan, 52-32
#7 Berthold def. #6 Glenburn, 67-66
Semifinal
#1 South Prairie-Max def. #4 Surrey, 59-42
#2 Our Redeeemer’s def. #3 Des Lacs-Burlington, 35-33 OT
 
Today’s schedule
Region Qualifier
#3 Des Lacs-Burlington vs #8 Mohall-Lansford-Sherwood, 4 pm
#4 Surrey vs #7 Berthold, 5:30 pm
Championship
#1 South Prairie-Max vs #2 Our Redeemer’s, 7 pm
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District 11 Tournament – Rugby High School
Loser Out
#5 Drake-Anamoose, bye
#3 TGU def. #7 Velva, 65-30
Semifinal
#1 Rugby def. #4 Westhope-Newburg, 68-46
#2 Bottineau def. #6 Nedrose, 68-34
 
Today’s schedule
Region Qualifier
#3 TGU vs #4 Westhope-Newburg, 4 pm
#5 Drake-Anamoose vs #6 Nedrose, 5:30 pm
Championship
#1 Rugby vs #2 Bottineau, 7 pm
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District 15 Tournament – Williston State College
Loser Out
#5 North Shore-Plaza def. #8 White Shield, 49-5
#7 Alexander def. #6 Williston Trinity Christian, 39-25
Semifinal
#1 Parshall def. #4 Trenton, 35-32
#2 New Town def. #3 Mandaree, 71-59
 
Today’s schedule
Region Qualifier
#3 Mandaree vs #5 North Shore-Plaza, 4 pm
#4 Trenton vs #7 Alexander, 5:30 pm
Championship
#1 Parshall vs #2 New Town, 7 pm
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District 16 Tournament – Stanley High School
Loser Out
#5 Divide County, bye
#6 Ray, bye
Semifinal
#1 Kenmare-Bowbells def. #4 Powers Lake-Burke Central, 48-36
#2 Tioga def. #3 Stanley, 50-47
 
Today’s schedule
Region Qualifier
#4 Powers Lake-Burke Central vs #6 Ray, 4 pm
#3 Stanley vs #5 Divide County, 5:30 pm
Championship
#1 Kenmare-Bowbells vs #2 Tioga, 7 pm
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MINOT, ND – Other scores from Thursday.
 
High School Girls Basketball
 
Class A
#1 Bismarck Century def. #5 Bismarck Legacy, 60-44
#4 Minot High def. Jamestown, 80-55
Turtle Mountain def. Watford City, 71-36
Bismarck High def. Pierre T.F. Riggs SD, 54-36
 
Class B
#5 Central McLean def. Standing Rock, 84-33
Dickinson Trinity def. Hazen, 50-40
 
High School Boys Basketball
 
Class A
#1 Bismarck Century def. #5 Bismarck Legacy, 78-56
#2 Minot High def. Jamestown, 73-67
Turtle Mountain def. Watford City, 91-52
Pierre T.F. Riggs SD def. Bismarck High, 89-67
 
Class B
#8 Shiloh Christian def. Flasher, 76-53
Garrison def. Max, 85-36
Harvey-Wells County def. New Rockford-Sheyenne, 64-51
North Prairie def. Langdon Area-Edmore-Munich, 65-43
St. John def. Dunseith, 59-56
Minot North Freshman def. Williston Trinity Christian, 77-74
 
High School Boys Hockey
Bismarck Legacy def. Hazen-Beulah, 9-2
 
High School Girls Hockey
Fargo North-South def. Minot High, 5-2
Bismarck Century def. Grand Forks, 5-3
Fargo Davies def. Mandan, 5-1
West Fargo def. Williston, 6-0
 
High School Girls Gymnastics
Jamestown Throw Back Meet
1. Dickinson, 147.725
2. Jamestown, 140.800
3. Valley City, 124.950
4. Fargo, 120.550
 
All-Around: Rylee Olson of Dickinson, 36.950
 


High School Boys Swimming & Diving

Williston def. Mandan, 113-71


High School Girls Wrestling

West Region Tournament – Williston High School
1. Minot High, 261
2. Bismarck High, 260.5
3. Bismarck Legacy, 207
4. Mandan, 130
5. Bismarck Century, 113
6. Des-Lacs Burlington, 82.0
7. Jamestown, 68.0
8. Hettinger-Scranton, 60.0
9. MonDak, 47.0
10. Dickinson, 40.5
11. Velva, 37.0
12. Beulah-Hazen, 31.0
T13. Rugby, 30.0
T13. White Shield, 30.0
15. Turtle Mountain, 26.0
16. New Salem-Almont, 25.0
17. Killdeer, 23.0
18. Williston, 18.0
19. Beach, 17.0
20. Standing Rock, 16.0
21. Stanley, 14.0
22. Hope Christian Academy, 8.0
23. Ray, 6.0
24. Northern Lights, 2.0
25. Alexander, 0.0
25. Kenmare-Bowbells-Burke Central, 0.0
25. New Town, 0.0
25. Tioga, 0.0
25. Watford City, 0.0
 
College Mens Basketball
St. Cloud State def. Minot State 107-105
 
College Womens Basketball
Minot State def. St. Cloud State, 60-58
 
College Baseball
Minot State def. Emporia State, 7-2
 
College Womens Softball
Lubbock Sports College Tournament – Lubbock, TX
Emporia State def. Minot State 3-1
Minot State def. Chadron State, 9-8 (9 innings) (Sophie Sparrow walk off RBI single)
 
 
College Womens Hockey
Minot State def. Lindenwood University, 8-2
 
 
College Mens Hockey
Denver def. North Dakota, 4-3
 
NAHL Hockey
Aberdeen Wings def. Minot Minotauros, 4-1
St. Cloud Norsemen def. Bismarck Bobcats, 5-4 OT
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MINOT STATE MEN’S BASKETBALL
 
ST. CLOUD, MN (MSU) – Connor Hollenbeck totaled 31 points and Khari Broadway added 26, but the Minot State men’s basketball team fell to the Saint Cloud State Huskies 107-105 on the road Friday. The Beavers (10-13, 7-12) had four players score in double figures, led by Hollenbeck, who secured a double-double with 31 points and 10 rebounds. Broadway trailed along with 26 points, five assists and two steals off the bench and Jalen Cook pulled off 12 points from the bench. The Minot State offense was sharply productive from the three point line, knocking down 16 threes on 34 attempts. Hollenbeck was the most prolific shooter for the Beavers, draining six treys in the contest.
 
After falling behind 13-7, Minot State went on a 12-0 run with 14:01 left in the first half to take a 19-13 lead. The Beavers then lost some of that lead, but still entered halftime with a 36-33 advantage. Minot State got a great contribution from its bench in the period, as non-starters accounted for 16 of its 36 total points. Saint Cloud State proceeded to take a 58-55 lead before Minot State went on an 8-0 run, finished off by Ben Bohl’s three, to seize a 63-58 lead with 10:17 to go in the contest. The Huskies then fought back to even things up at 89-89 sending the game to overtime. Minot State shot well from three-point range in the half, hitting 10 shots from deep to score 30 of its 53 points. Saint Cloud State then edged ahead in overtime, leaving Minot State behind 107-105 at the final buzzer.
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MINOT STATE WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
 
ST. CLOUD, MN (MSU) – Natasha Elliott hit a buzzer-beating shot as time expired to lead the Minot State women’s basketball team past the Saint Cloud State Huskies 60-58 on the road Friday. A fight to the finish. The Beavers pulled off a close game with a buzzer-beating shot the second time this season by Natasha Elliott. Head (23 points and four assists), Elliott (14 points, nine rebounds, and two steals), and Emma Mogen (three points, four steals, and two blocks) led the Beavers (11-14, 7-12) in double figures and steals. Led by Elliott’s four offensive rebounds, Minot State did a great job crashing the offensive glass, pulling down 14 boards that resulted in 13 second chance points. The Minot State defense caused its share of mistakes in Friday’s game, forcing 15 Saint Cloud State turnovers while committing 13. Those takeaways turned into 15 points on the offensive end of the floor. Mogen’s four steals led the way individually for the Beavers.
 
After jumping out to a 10-4 advantage, Minot State went on a 7-0 run with 2:42 left in the first quarter, culminating in a three from Elliott, to increase its lead to 17-4. The Beavers then lost some of that lead, but still entered the quarter break with a 17-6 advantage. Minot State capitalized on five Saint Cloud State turnovers in the period, turning them into five points on the other end of the floor. Minot State kept its first quarter lead intact before going on a 7-0 run starting at the 3:51 mark in the second period, highlighted by a bucket from Mogen, to increase its lead to 32-18, a score that would hold until halftime. Minot State dominated in the paint, scoring eight of its 15 points close to the basket. After intermission, Minot State held on to its advantage and owned a 41-30 lead heading into the fourth quarter. Minot State played well near the basket, scoring six of its nine points in the paint. The Beavers then held on for the victory in the fourth quarter. Minot State took advantage of its opportunities in the post, scoring 12 of its 19 points in the paint.
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MINOT STATE WOMEN’S HOCKEY
 
MINOT, N.D. (MSU) – Senior Weekend started with a bang for the Beavers. Gillian Gervin scored just 2 minutes, 29 seconds into the action as Minot State dominated first-period action and the Beavers rolled to an 8-2 victory over visiting Lindenwood on Friday at the Maysa Arena. The first of two games at home against the Lions, second-ranked Minot State will honor seven seniors on Saturday when the Beavers play their home finale against Lindenwood (Mo.) with puck drop at 3:45 p.m. Riley Ball pushed the Beaver lead to 2-0 with 7:19 gone, her first of two in the period, then Makena Welby made it 3-0 before Ball added one more with 1:11 left until the break. Well in control, the Beavers (19-8-1 overall) cruised despite seeing the visiting Lions (5-14-1) get the only goal in the second and close to 4-2 back early in the third. Aspen Cooper put an end to the comeback with a short-handed goal 4:01 into the third, then Krissy Rink scored 55 seconds later for a commanding 6-2 advantage. Ensley Fendelet, one of the Beavers seven seniors, scored midway through the third, padding the lead, then Olivia Opheim iced it with 34 seconds left. Fendelet added an assist in the win, while senior Sydney Spicer had two assists, and fellow seniors Megan Norris and Denali Sigurdson also had an assist each, as did Cooper, Gervin, Anna German, and Paige Ackerman. Haylie Biever finished with 22 saves in goal in the win for Minot State.
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MINOT STATE BASEBALL
 
ST. GEORGE, KS (MSU) – It didn’t take long for the Beavers to give new coach Sam Boisner his first career win. The Minot State Beavers fought back from down 2-1 in the seventh inning to knock off the Emporia State Hornets, 7-2, Friday in the season opener for the Beavers. Senior Dominick Parkhurst (1-0) picked up the victory out of the bullpen for Minot State (1-0 overall). The right-hander went four innings, giving up one run on two hits, allowing two walks and striking out four. Junior Trevyn Badger also made an impact on the mound for the Beavers, starting the ballgame and throwing five innings, giving up one run on two hits, with one walk and eight strikeouts. At the plate, the Beavers were paced by junior Brent Riddle, who went 3-for-5 on the day with a double, a home run and four RBI. Junior Gunnar Kozlowitz put together a standout day at the plate as well, going 2-for-4 with a double, a home run and an RBI. Senior Matt Malone also helped out for Minot State, putting together two hits in four trips to the plate while adding an RBI.
 
The Beavers were trailing 1-0 in the sixth inning when they first put runs on the board. Kozlowitz put Minot State on the board with a leadoff home run off junior Graham Brunner. The Hornets broke the tie and re-took the lead heading into the eighth inning, when the Beavers got back on the scoreboard. Minot State scored three runs in the frame, buoyed by a two-run homer from Riddle, which brought the Beavers lead to 4-2. Minot State kept Emporia State without a run before building their lead to 7-2 the following inning. The Beavers notched three runs in the frame, two of them coming across on a two-RBI double from Riddle. The score remained 7-2 for the rest of the game, as Minot State coasted to the win.
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MINOT STATE WOMEN’S SOFTBALL
 
LUBBOCK, Texas (MSU) – The Minot State softball team is proving to be the “Battlin’ Beavers” as they scored their third walk-off win of the season Friday. Rallying from deficits of 5-0 and 8-3, including plating three in the bottom of the seventh inning, the Minot State softball team battled back to win 9-8 in 9 innings over Chadron State (Neb.) to close out the day at the Lubbock Sports College Tournament hosted by Lubbock Christian. This after the Beavers fell 3-1 to Emporia State (Kan.) to start the day. Minot State plays Adams State at noon and Texas Permian Basin at 2 p.m. today in the tournament.
 
Minot State 9, Chadron State 8, 9 inn.
 
The Minot State Beavers needed nine innings to get the job done, but earned the 9-8 extra-innings win, walking it off on a single off the bat of sophomore Sophie Sparrow to claim victory over the Chadron State Eagles on Friday. Freshman Calley Olson (2-0) picked up the victory out of the bullpen for Minot State (5-1 overall). The right-hander went 5.2 innings, giving up three runs, zero earned, on six hits, allowing two walks and striking out three. In the batter’s box, the Beavers were paced by freshman Paige Kellogg, who went 2-for-3 on the day with a home run, a walk and four RBI. Freshman Sara Van furnished a noteworthy day at the plate as well, going 1-for-2 with a double and two RBI. Freshman Mallory Hoogensen also chipped in for Minot State, putting together two hits in two trips to the plate while adding an RBI. Trailing 5-0, the Beavers first put runs on the board in the fifth inning. Minot State’s offense started clicking and put up five runs, including a grand slam off the bat of Kellogg. The Eagles broke the tie and re-took the lead heading into the seventh inning, when the Beavers got back on the scoreboard. Minot State scored three runs in the frame, buoyed by a two-RBI double from Van Wickler, which evened the score at 8-8. The game remained tied until the bottom of the ninth, when Minot State walked it off on an RBI single off the bat of Sparrow.
 
Emporia State 3, Minot State 1
 
The Emporia State Hornets proved to be too much for Minot State on this particular day as the Beavers fell 3-1 on Friday to open the Lubbock Sports College Tournament. Sophomore Reegan Floyd (2-1) got the ball to start for Minot State and took the loss. The right-hander went six innings, giving up three runs, all of them earned, on seven hits, allowing no walks and striking out three. Junior Gabi Dawyduk led the way offensively for the Beavers, going 1-for-3 in the ballgame. The Beavers were trailing 2-0 in the fourth inning when they first put runs on the board. Junior Brooklyn Morrison came across to score the lone run of the inning for Minot State and get them on the board. The Beavers were unable to get any closer as Emporia State added one run to their tally on the way to a 3-1 final.
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NORTH DAKOTA MEN’S HOCKEY
 
DENVER, Colo. (UND) – No. 4 ranked Denver scored a pair of goals in 14 seconds in the middle frame to turn a 2-2 tie into a 4-2 lead and defeat North Dakota, 5-3, on Friday night from Magness Arena in Denver, Colo. UND (12-12-4, 6-9-2 NCHC) fired 37 shots towards the Denver cage, but goaltender Magnus Chrona was strong in the pipes to help the Pioneers grab their third straight win over the Fighting Hawks this season.
 
North Dakota looked to build some momentum in the early moments, killing off a minor without allowing a shot just 16 seconds into the contest; however, Aidan Thompson struck just moments after the power play ended to give the hosts a 1-0 lead at the 2:52 mark of the opening frame. Following the strong start for the Pios, it was UND who started to get better as the period wore on. Just past the seven minute mark of the stanza, Jackson Blake stripped his defender of the puck and fed Carson Albrecht for the goal on a 2-on-0 play to even the game at 1-1. The contest looked to be heading to the intermission tied at 1-1, but Mazur snapped home a shot from the slot to give Denver the 2-1 advantage with 2:12 to play in the first.
 
Goals were aplenty in the second period, with the teams combining for a trio of tallies in a span of 30 seconds. Ethan Frisch tied the game momentarily with a blast on the power play, but DU responded with a pair of goals in 14 seconds to give the Pios a 4-2 lead and force a goaltender change for UND. North Dakota answered back late in the frame, as Judd Caulfield deflected home a shot from Tyler Kleven for another strike on the man advantage for the nation’s top power play to cut the lead to 4-3 after 40 minutes of play. The Fighting Hawks had plenty of chances in the third period, including hitting the post a pair of times, but Mazur extended the lead with his second goal of the game to close out the 5-3 win and give the Pioneers the opener. The series finale will be tonight at 7 p.m.
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WOLVES-GRIZZLIES
 
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — Ja Morant had 32 points, nine rebounds and nine assists, Desmond Bane added 20 points and the Memphis Grizzlies built a big lead through the fourth quarter and coasted to a 128-107 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves. Santi Aldama finished with 18 points, while Jaren Jackson added 15 points and four blocks as Memphis was still shooting close to 60% when both teams emptied their benches in the fourth. Jaylen Nowell led the Timberwolves with 21 points, while Anthony Edwards scored 17 points. Taurean Prince and Kyle Anderson scored 12 points apiece for Minnesota. With Thursday’s trade deadline still working itself out, the Timberwolves pieces were available to play. Mike Conley, acquired by Minnesota from Utah at the trade deadline, started at point guard and had nine points. The Timberwolves play the Mavericks at Dallas on Monday.
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TWINS-RECOVERING FROM INJURY
 
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — When Kenta Maeda first takes the mound for Minnesota in the 2023 season, his wait between appearances will have passed 19 months. The Twins are more than eager to return the right-hander to their rotation, part of a welcome-back theme surrounding this team entering spring training after an injury-wrecked 2022. “The time flew by relatively quickly,” Maeda said recently through a translator, reflecting on his rehabilitation from Tommy John elbow surgery. “But you never know. The first pitch that I throw on the big league mound, I might get so nervous I might drill someone. So watch out.” Maeda flashed his dry sense of humor as he spoke in Japanese to reporters at the team’s annual fan festival at Target Field on Jan. 28. He declared his arm “100% ready” for camp, which formally begins for Twins pitchers and catchers on Thursday morning in Fort Myers, Florida.
 
Maeda last pitched on Aug. 21, 2021. He had the ligament replacement procedure 11 days later. He could’ve been back in game action last September, but once the Twins faded down the stretch they decided to be cautious and keep him sidelined until 2023. The AL Cy Young award runner-up in 2020, Maeda slumped to a 4.66 ERA in 21 starts in 2021 before the injury became too much. Last year, there was no opponent batting average or strikeouts-per-nine-innings rate, only an opportunity to reflect on his strategy while building up his overall body strength to be ready to go without limitation this season. “There was so much discomfort prior to the surgery. Obviously, right after surgery there are limitations to movement, but now everything is free, whether that’s throwing a baseball or just doing daily stuff,” Maeda said. “Everything feels free.”
 
Fellow starting pitcher Chris Paddack, who had just arrived in Minnesota in a trade with San Diego, joined Maeda on the Tommy John recovery track after only five starts. Paddack won’t be back until midseason, much like top position player prospect Royce Lewis in his comeback from another repair of a torn ACL. The major injuries are largely unpreventable. The smaller-scale issues are what dogged the Twins in 2022, enough of a concern that they changed head athletic trainers and hired Nick Paparesta away from Oakland. Paparesta traveled to meet in person with several players this winter. “It’s easy to say that when a guy has a particular issue that the return plan should be prescribed the same way for everybody with the same issue,” president of baseball operations Derek Falvey said. “Well, some guys have different tolerances. Some guys are able to play through certain things. So Nick getting to know the players, that’s going to be important.”
 
Alex Kirilloff will have the most-watched wrist in camp. The 2016 first-round draft pick’s ascendance to the heart of the batting order has been severely hampered by his health. Each of his first two major league seasons have been halted by surgery on the wrist, a vital joint for any hitter. After a series of setbacks, Kirilloff opted last August for a shortening procedure that involved an intentional breaking and then shaving of the ulna bone to decrease the friction around it. The 25-year-old, who could wind up as either the regular left fielder or first baseman, said at TwinsFest he’s aiming for a mostly normal spring training with minimal restriction. “I’m kind of just taking it day by day. But it does feel good, and I’m very optimistic,” Kirilloff said. “They cut my bone so there’s definitely some aches and stuff to go along with that, but from a pain standpoint it feels good.”
 
Second baseman Jorge Polanco’s ailing knee limited one of the team’s true iron men to just 104 games last season after he appeared in 94% of the games over the previous three years. “Sometimes we play hurt, with a little bit of pain or something. But that kind of injury was something I couldn’t play through,” Polanco said, later adding: “I have been working on it almost every day. I’m ready to go.”
 
 
 

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K-Heart Sports – 02/10/23

K-HEART SPORTS – 02/10/23 – 0700
 
MINOT, ND – All the higher seeds won on the opening day of the District 12 Girls Basketball Tournament. We’ll have complete coverage of the District 12 Tournament on 106.9 K-Heart, khrt.com, and through the Live 365 app.
 
High School Girls Basketball
Class B
 
District 12 Tournament – Minot Auditorium
First Round
#1 South Prairie-Max def. #8 Mohall-Lansford-Sherwood, 55-26
#4 Surrey def. #5 Bishop Ryan, 48-26
#2 Our Redeemer’s def. #7 Berthold, 55-36
#3 Des Lacs-Burlington def. #6 Glenburn, 58-32
 
Today’s schedule
Loser Out
#5 Bishop Ryan vs #8 Mohall-Lansford-Sherwood, 3 pm
#6 Glenburn vs #7 Berthold, 4:30 pm
Semifinal
#1 South Prairie-Max vs #4 Surrey, 6 pm
#2 Our Redeeemer’s vs #3 Des Lacs-Burlington, 7:30 pm
———-
 
District 11 Tournament – Rugby High School
First Round
#2 Bottineau def. #7 Velva, 62-27
#6 Nedrose def. #3 TGU, 70-66 OT
#4 Westhope-Newburg def. #5 Drake-Anamoose, 64-47
#1 Rugby, bye
 
Today’s schedule
Loser Out
#5 Drake-Anamoose, bye
#3 TGU vs #7 Velva, 4 pm
Semifinal
#1 Rugby vs #4 Westhope-Newburg, 5:30 pm
#2 Bottineau vs #6 Nedrose, 7 pm
———-
 
District 15 Tournament – Williston State College
First Round
#1 Parshall def. #8 White Shield, 62-12
#4 Trenton def. #5 North Shore-Plaza, 49-19
#2 New Town def. #7 Alexander, 62-29
#3 Mandaree def. #6 Williston Trinity Christian, 63-33
 
Today’s schedule
Loser Out
#5 North Shore-Plaza vs #8 White Shield, 3 pm
#6 Williston Trinity Christian vs #7 Alexander, 4:30 pm
Semifinal
#1 Parshall vs #4 Trenton, 6 pm
#2 New Town vs #3 Mandaree, 7:30 pm
———-
 
District 16 Tournament – Stanley High School
First Round
#1 Kenmare-Bowbells, bye
#4 Powers Lake-Burke Central def. #5 Divide County, 50-27
#2 Tioga, bye
#3 Stanley def. #6 Ray, 55-53
 
Today’s schedule
Loser Out
#5 Divide County, bye
#6 Ray, bye
Semifinal
#1 Kenmare-Bowbells vs #4 Powers Lake-Burke Central, 5:30 pm
#2 Tioga vs #3 Stanley, 7 pm
———————————————————
 
MINOT, ND – Other scores from Thursday.
 
High School Girls Basketball
 
Class A
#5 Bismarck Legacy def. Jamestown, 73-55
Bismarck High def. Bismarck St. Mary’s, 81-66
Mandan def. Williston, 70-62
 
Class B
#8 Shiloh Christian def. #7 Garrison, 62-47
Washburn def. Flasher, 41-39
Beulah def. New England, 63-50
Harvey-Wells County def. Dunseith, 59-56
North Prairie def. Benson County, 65-31
St. John def Warwick, 86-l46
 
High School Boys Basketball
 
Class A
Williston def. #3 Mandan, 100-93
#5 Bismarck Legacy def. Jamestown, 69-59
Bismarck High def. Bismarck St. Mary’s, 82-69
 
Class B
#7 Beulah def. Dickinson Trinity, 71-70 OT
#8 Shiloh Christian def. Kenmare-Bowbells, 74-60
Stanley def. South Prairie, 69-44
Washburn def. Hettinger-Scranton, 62-59
 
High School Boys Hockey
Minot High def. Bismarck Legacy, 1-0
Bismarck Century def. Bottineau-Rugby, 4-1
Fargo North def. Jamestown, 5-1
 
High School Girls Hockey
Dickinson def. Jamestown, 3-2 SO
 
High School Girls Gymnastics
Dickinson Meet
1. Dickinson, 149.425
2. Bismarck Century, 135.075
3. Bismarck Legacy, 132.275
4. Mandan, 130.575
5. Bismarck High, 95.425
6. Northwest Stars, 89.275
 
All-Around: Reygan Strommen of Dickinson, 37.750
 
High School Boys Swimming & Diving
Minot High def. Bismarck Century, 126-59
———————————————————-
 
UND MEN’S BASKETBALL
 
GRAND FORKS, N.D. (UND) – The North Dakota men’s basketball team got consecutive wins for the second time this season as they defeated the University of Denver Thursday night 86-63. It is their second straight win after defeating South Dakota on Saturday. Four Hawks scored in double figures, led by B.J. Omot with 16 points and Matt Norman racked up 15 for his tenth straight game in double figures. The last player to score in double figures ten straight games was Filip Rebraca in 2020. Tsotne Tsartsidze also scored 15 and Jalun Trent scored 14. Omot led the team in rebounds with nine, coming one board short of his first double-double and Treysen Eaglestaff dished out a season high six assists to lead the Hawks. The Hawks led the whole game, an inversion of the game in Denver between the two when the Pioneers never trailed. North Dakota will host Omaha Saturday afternoon at 1 p.m.
———————————————————–
 
UND WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
 
DENVER, COLO. (UND) – The University of North Dakota Fighting Hawks (14-9,7-6 SL) end the road losing streak against the Denver Pioneers (10-15, 6-8 SL) 82-67 for their first Summit League road win of the season. A hot first half gave UND an advantage, DU was outscored 47-31. UND has its best shooting percentage of the season 48.2 and 95.5 from the line. Juliet Gordon led with a career high of 19 pts and 10 rebounds (2 OR, 8 DR). This is her third double- double on the season and second in as many games. She had this to say on tonights win. Claire Orth had 15 points and led with three steals. Kacie Borowicz continues her 32 double digit game scoring streak with 12 and went a perfect 6-6 from the line. She led with five assists. North Dakota will continue Summit League play on Saturday, taking on Omaha at noon.
———————————————————-
 
NDSU MEN’S BAKETBALL
 
FARGO, N.D. (NDSU) – The North Dakota State men’s basketball team opened up a 30-point lead in the first half and cruised to an 84-58 win over Omaha in Summit League play Thursday night. Junior Grant Nelson led NDSU with 19 points, 13 rebounds, five assists, and two blocks. Sophomore Andrew Morgan added 16 points on 6-of-8 shooting for the Bison. All five NDSU starters scored in double figures, with Tajavis Miller (13), Boden Skunberg (12) and Damari Wheeler-Thomas (12) joining Nelson and Morgan. Miller and Skunberg both grabbed seven rebounds. The Bison used a 22-2 run to go ahead 38-11 with just under five minutes left in the first half. NDSU pushed the margin to 30 at 47-17 at halftime. NDSU led by as many as 38 points in the second half. The Bison shot 52 percent overall and limited Omaha to 35-percent shooting. It was the sixth time in the past eight games that NDSU shot better than 51 percent from the floor. The Bison improved to 7-6 in conference play, while Omaha fell to 3-11. It was NDSU’s ninth straight victory in the series with Omaha. NDSU will host Denver at 1 p.m. on Saturday in the Scheels Center.
————————————————————
 
NDSU WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
 
OMAHA, Neb. (NDSU) – The North Dakota State women’s basketball team fell short in the final minutes at Omaha, 63-58, on Thursday night at Baxter Arena. After entering the fourth quarter trailing 52-40, NDSU (14-9, 8-5 Summit) surged back with seven straight points to pull within five, 52-47, following a free throw from Heaven Hamling. After Omaha (12-13, 7-7 Summit) connected on a triple, the Bison once again assembled a 6-0 run capped off by a layup from Elle Evans to cut the deficit down to two, 55-53, with 3:57 to play. However, NDSU couldn’t cut the deficit down any further and dropped the contest, 63-58. Evans registered her first career double-double with 16 points and a season-best 15 rebounds. Her 15 rebounds were the most by a Bison player since 2020. Evans shot 7-of-14 from the field and added two steals, one block and one assist to her stat line. Hamling reached double digits in scoring with 10 points to go along with six rebounds, game-high four assists and game-best five steals. Emily Behnke just missed a double-double with eight points and seven rebounds. As a team, NDSU shot 35.3 percent (24-68) from the field and 70.0 percent (7-10) from the free throw line. The Bison snatched 42 rebounds with seven different players contributing at least one. NDSU will be back in action at Denver on Saturday. Tip-off is set for 2:00 p.m. CT
————————————————————–
 
WILD-GOLDEN KNIGHTS
 
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Jack Eichel had a goal and an assist for Vegas to hasten a mid-game meltdown by Minnesota, and the Golden Knights cruised past the sputtering Wild 5-1 on Thursday night. Nicolas Roy, Alex Pietrangelo, Paul Cotter and Reilly Smith also scored against former Golden Knights goalie Marc-Andre Fleury, who had little help in front of him and lost his cool after giving up Eichel’s goal that was the fourth of the second period for the visitors. Kirill Kaprizov scored on a power play for the Wild against Vegas goalie Logan Thompson, who made 23 saves before a non-contact injury early in the third period left him unable to put any weight on his left leg as teammates helped him off the ice. Undisciplined play has been a major problem for the Wild, and the absence of defenseman Jonas Brodin (lower-body injury) for a second straight game didn’t help. The Wild, who lost 3-2 at Arizona on Monday and 4-1 at Central Division leader Dallas on Wednesday, were booed as the final seconds ticked off the clock. The Wild host New Jersey on Saturday night.
————————————————————-
 
WOLVES-CONLEY
 
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Three years after the Minnesota Timberwolves acquired D’Angelo Russell for what then was their dream pairing with Karl-Anthony Towns, they traded him for a much older point guard. In an NBA with so few teams settled on their stars, the Wolves made yet another alteration of their core in their latest attempt to keep up in the crowded Western Conference race. Out goes Russell and the best shooting of his eight-year career, and in comes Mike Conley and his proven experience as a distributor on the floor and a mentor off of it. “We got a really good passer, and we had to move a really good passer,” Timberwolves president of basketball operations Tim Connelly said on Thursday night after the three-team, eight-player, four-draft pick deal with the Los Angeles Lakers and Utah Jazz was finalized. “The thing that jumped out with Mike is the package of player and person. We saw it was the best way to continue to grow this team and how can we best complement some of our core pieces. Again, D-Lo did that at a very high level. We’re hoping we identified another guy who can do it in a different way in Mike.”
 
Money played a role, with Russell’s contract expiring this summer and more than $31 million set to come off Minnesota’s salary cap charge. Conley is signed through the 2023-24 season, making about $9 million less. He’s more than 8 years older. Conley’s previous success throwing lobs to and running pick-and-rolls with Rudy Gobert with the Jazz was also attractive to the Wolves. Minnesota paid a big price to get Gobert entering this season, but Russell never meshed with the big man. Ultimately, there’s an immaturity the inconsistent Wolves are carrying that Connelly was clearly motivated to address by bringing in a well-regarded leader like Conley even though he has been limited by injuries in his 30s and isn’t nearly as quick at 35 as he once was. “Mike as a rookie had elite habits, and they got better and better and better. You don’t play at this level at this age without taking care of yourself, without having a tremendous attention to detail both on and off the court,” Connelly said.
 
Conley and Nickiel Alexander-Walker — the other guard acquired in the deal from the Jazz — were listed as questionable to play at Memphis on Friday, with completion of their physical exams still pending. Conley played 12 seasons for the Grizzlies before joining the Jazz, adding to the intrigue around his debut. The Wolves also got Utah’s 2025 and 2026 second-round picks and a 2024 second-round pick from the Los Angeles Lakers in the deal. To make roster space, they waived guard Bryn Forbes. With Gobert still trying to fit in offensively with the Wolves — and vice versa — and Towns still sidelined by a severe calf strain, the trade has added yet more transitional challenges for coach Chris Finch and his staff with the cut line for the playoffs looming just one loss away. The Wolves are also just a few wins away from a top-four seed. “A lot of teams certainly added talented players. To get good players, you have to trade good players away. How quickly can you hit the ground running? So it’ll be fun,” Connelly said.
 
 
 

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K-Heart Sports – 02/09/23

K-HEART SPORTS – 02/09/23 – 0700
 
MINOT, ND – Bismarck Century remains atop both Class A Basketball Polls. The polls are voted on by the North Dakota Associated Press Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association.
 
North Dakota Class A Boys Basketball Poll
 
       (First Place Votes)    Record    Points    Last Week
1. Bismarck Century (17)   17-0         85            1
2. Minot High                       15-2         64            2
3. Mandan                           15-2         48            3
4. Fargo Davies                  15-2         41            4
T5. Fargo North                  11-5           6             5
T5. Bismarck Legacy         11-6           6             RV
Others receiving votes: Devils Lake (11-6)
———-
 
North Dakota Class A Girls Basketball Poll
 
            (First Place Votes)    Record    Points    Last Week
1. Bismarck Century (15)        14-2         82           1
2. Fargo Davies (2)                  15-1         67           2
3. Grand Forks Red River        16-1         53          3
4. Minot High                             14-3         36          4
T5. Bismarck Legacy               13-3           8          5
T5. West Fargo                        14-3           8          RV
Others receiving votes: Bismarck High (14-4)
————————————————————
 
MINOT, ND – District tournaments for Class B girls basketball begin today. South Prairie-Max has the #1-seed at the District 12 Tournament for the first time in school history. We’ll have complete coverage of the District 12 Tournament on 106.9 K-Heart, khrt.com, and through the Live 365 app.
 
High School Girls Basketball
Class B
 
District 12 Tournament – Minot Auditorium
 
First Round
#1 South Prairie-Max vs #8 Mohall-Lansford-Sherwood, 3 pm
#4 Surrey vs #5 Bishop Ryan, 4:30 pm
#2 Our Redeemer’s vs #7 Berthold, 6 pm
#3 Des Lacs-Burlington vs #6 Glenburn, 7:30 pm
———-
 
District 11 Tournament – Rugby High School
 
First Round
#2 Bottineau vs #7 Velva, 4 pm
#3 TGU vs #6 Nedrose, 5:30 pm
#4 Westhope-Newburg vs #5 Drake-Anamoose, 6 pm
#1 Rugby, bye
———-
 
District 15 Tournament – Williston State College
 
First Round
#1 Parshall vs #8 White Shield, 3 pm
#4 Trenton vs #5 North Shore-Plaza, 4:30 pm
#2 New Town vs #7 Alexander, 6 pm
#3 Mandaree vs #6 Williston Trinity Christian, 7:30 pm
———-
 
District 16 Tournament – Stanley High School
 
First Round
#1 Kenmare-Bowbells, bye
#4 Powers Lake-Burke Central vs #5 Divide County, 5:30 pm
#2 Tioga, bye
#3 Stanley vs #6 Ray, 7 pm
———————————————————
 
MINOT STATE HOCKEY-POLLS
 
MINOT, N.D. (MSU) – Riding a three-game win streak that started with a road upset of top-ranked Liberty, the Minot State women’s hockey team jumped to No. 2 in this week’s ACHA Division I Women’s Ice Hockey Poll. Meanwhile, a road split for the top-ranked Minot State men’s team didn’t hurt the Beavers as they remained No. 1 in this week’s ACHA Division I men’s poll.
 
The No. 2 ranking is the highest for the Minot State women this season as the Beavers have consistently been ranked in the Top 5 in the nation. The Beavers (17-8-1 overall) trail just No. 1-ranked Liberty (Va.), who Minot State beat 4-3 on January 28. The Beavers also have wins over the other teams in the top five, having beaten No. 3 Midland 4-3 in overtime on December 3, besting No. 4 Indiana Tech 5-0 on January 14, and topping No. 5 Adrian 2-1 on January 6. The Minot State women host Lindenwood (Mo.) this weekend on Friday and Saturday at 3:45 p.m. at Maysa Arena for Senior Weekend, the final two home games of the season for the Beavers.
 
As for the Minot State men (26-2-0), who fell 5-3 at then fourth-ranked Ohio on Friday, the Beavers bounced back for an 8-5 victory over the Bobcats on Saturday which helped them remain No. 1 in the current rankings. The Beavers have been No. 1 for eight consecutive polls. Ohio, aided by the split with Minot State, climbed to No. 3 in the current poll, with Adrian (Mich.) checking in at No. 2. UNLV was No. 4 and Liberty, which hosts Minot State on Feb. 24-25, was No. 5. The Minot State men are off this weekend and next hit the ice playing at Mary on Saturday, Feb. 18, then at home at the Maysa Arena hosting 8th-ranked Jamestown on Sunday, Feb. 19, at 5 p.m.
—————————————————————
 
WILD-STARS
 
DALLAS (AP) — Captain Jamie Benn broke a scoreless tie 23 seconds into the second period of his 1,001st career game, and the Dallas Stars beat the Minnesota Wild 4-1. Benn’s 20th goal on a perfect feed from 19-year-old rookie Wyatt Johnston started a three-goal second for the Western Conference-leading Stars. Radek Faksa’s one-timer on a precision 2-on-1 pass from Tyler Seguin came five minutes later, and Jani Hakanpaa tipped in a shot from Roope Hintz. Joel Eriksson Ek scored on a power play to get Minnesota within 3-1 late in the second period. The Wild had Ryan Hartman’s goal just 30 seconds later called off for goalie interference against Jordan Greenway.
————————————————————–
 
WOLVES-JAZZ
 
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Anthony Edwards scored 31 points and Jaylen Nowell added a career-high 30 to lead Minnesota to a 143-118 win over Utah on Wednesday night amid word the Timberwolves, Jazz and Los Angeles Lakers were part of an eight-player swap hours ahead of the NBA trade deadline. Luka Garza scored a career-high 25 points and the Timberwolves made 23 3-pointers at a 54 % shooting clip, tying their highest output of the season. Lauri Markkanen scored 21 points and Collin Sexton had 20 in Utah’s worst home loss of the season. Playing loose, the Timberwolves set a season high with 79 points in the first half and led 107-80 midway through the third quarter, helped by 64% shooting from the field and 61% from 3-point range.
 
In the deal, the Timberwolves sent D’Angelo Russell to the Lakers, where he played his first two NBA seasons from 2015-17. Utah shipped Nickeil Alexander-Walker and Mike Conley to Minnesota and dealt Jarred Vanderbilt and Malik Beasley to the Lakers. The Jazz received Russell Westbrook, Juan Toscano-Anderson and Damian Jones from the Lakers, as well as a first-round draft pick in 2027. UP NEXT Timberwolves: At Memphis on Friday.
————————————————————–
 
NBA-DURANT TRADED
 
NEW YORK (AP) — Kevin Durant’s time in Brooklyn has ended. The Nets agreed to trade him to the Phoenix Suns, a person with knowledge of the details says. The Suns will send Cam Johnson, Mikal Bridges, Jae Crowder, four first-round picks and additional draft compensation to the Nets for the 13-time All-Star. The Suns also receive forward T.J. Warren in the deal, the person told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the trade is not yet official. Durant was moved just days after the Nets traded Kyrie Irving from Dallas, a stunningly fast end to the superstar era in Brooklyn. The 34-year-old Durant is still playing at an elite level, averaging nearly 30 points per game this season. He asked for a trade last summer and the Suns were interested, and finally got him before today’s 3 p.m. EST trade deadline. He is recovering from a sprained knee ligament, and when he returns it will be to a Phoenix lineup that suddenly could be one of the best in the Western Conference.
 
 
 

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K-Heart Sports – 02/08/23

K-HEART SPORTS – 02/08/22 – 0700
 
MINOT, ND – Kenmare-Bowbells defeated Mohall-Lansford-Sherwood 64-50 last night in a game we broadcast on K-Heart. The Mavericks led 5-4, but the Honkers would go on a 12-2 run to end the first quarter and never trail again. Jack Zimmer led Kenmare-Bowbells with 26 points, including making 8 of 9 freethrow attempts. Luke Crosby added 14, while Jacob Livington chipped in with 10 points. The Mavericks were led in scoring by Kellan Henry with 21 points, including 9 of 9 from the freethrow line. Cordell Sjokvist added 11 as the Mavericks drop to 7-9 overall. The Honkers improve their record to 9-7.
 
Other scores from Tuesday:
 
High School Boys Basketball
 
Class A
#1 Bismarck Century def. Jamestown, 74-59
#2 Minot High def. Bismarck Legacy, 71-60
#3 Mandan def. Dickinson, 89-64
Bismarck St. Mary’s def. Watford City, 72-60
Turtle Mountain def. Williston, 97-83
 
Class B
#5 Bishop Ryan def. Westhope-Newburg, 71-46
#7 Beulah def. Our Redeemer’s, 56-32
Surrey def. Nedrose, 67-34
Velva def. South Prairie, 66-52
Bottineau def. Glenburn, 83-44
Drake-Anamoose def. Max, 72-59 2OT
St. John def. Cavalier, 73-52
Powers Lake-Burke Central def. Parshall/North Shore-Plaza, 62-59
Stanley def. New Town, 72-51
Tioga def. Ray, 68-62
Trenton def. Divide County, 49-44
Hazen def. Richardton-Taylor, 75-36
 
High School Girls Basketball
 
Class A
#1 Bismarck Century def. Jamestown, 51-49
Mandan def. Dickinson, 77-49
Bismarck St. Mary’s def. Watford City, 79-57
Turtle Mountain def. Williston, 78-51
 
Class B
#5 Central McLean def. Center-Stanton, 74-24
#6 Shiloh Christian def. Washburn, 61-36
#7 Garrison def. New Salem-Almont, 59-28
Four Winds-Minnewaukan def. St. John, 58-54
North Prairie def. Nelson County, 64-24
Dunseith def. Warwick, 66-60
 
High School Boys Hockey
Minot High def. Williston, 9-2
Bismarck Century def. Bismarck High, 5-0
Jamestown def. Mandan, 3-2
Dickinson def. Hazen-Beulah, 7-2
 
High School Girls Hockey
Minot High def. Williston, 5-0
Mandan def. Jamestown, 4-3
Bismarck High-Legacy def. Bismarck Century, 3-1
———————————————————–
 
MINOT STATE WOMEN’S HOCKEY-SIGNING
 
MINOT, N.D. (MSU) – Busy balancing recruiting with his duties behind the bench as head coach, Minot State head man Ryan Miner has continually added talent to his roster for the future. Last week, the Beavers coach added yet another star prospect, this time in goal as Coach Miner is pleased to announce that goalie Chloe Sorenson has signed a National Letter-of-Intent and will be a freshman on the ice and in the classroom at Minot State starting this coming fall. A 5-foot-11 netminder from Beinfait, Saskatchewan, Sorenson has racked up 20 wins and six shutouts over the last two seasons with the U18 AAA Regina Rebels. A standout in goal, she also was named to the Honor Roll at Martin Collegiate and was MVP last season in flag football.
————————————————————
 
NBA-SCORING RECORD
 
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Bronny James stepped over to his dad’s locker and played the phone video he had taken of Tuesday night’s biggest moment. The NBA’s new scoring king tipped his head back in a rich, full-throated laugh when the audio revealed Bronny had anticipated that the historic basket would come on a fadeaway jumper. “That’s tough, that’s tough,” LeBron James said. “That’s funny.” For James, the greatest cost of nearly two decades in the NBA is the family time he misses. When he reached arguably the greatest individual basketball milestone of all by passing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s career scoring record, James’ mother, wife and three children all witnessed the coronation. They were right at courtside in a building packed with stars and roaring fans who rose in waves of anticipation every time he touched the ball.
 
With a stepback jumper with 10.9 seconds left in the third quarter of the Los Angeles Lakers’ game Tuesday night against Oklahoma City, James pushed his career total to 38,388 points and broke the record that Kareem Abdul-Jabbar held for nearly four decades. Abdul-Jabbar became the league’s all-time leading scorer on April 5, 1984 and wound up retiring in 1989 with 38,387 points. The game stopped for a ceremony after James broke the record and he had tears in his eyes as he thanked the crowd, Abdul-Jabbar, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver and others. James finished with 38 points in the Lakers’ 133-130 loss and stands at 38,390.
 
James has been thriving under formidable pressure his entire adult life, and this was nothing the King couldn’t handle — although the man who says he almost never cries had tears in his eyes after he made history with that nimble step-back shot in the third quarter. “I had a moment when it happened, and I embraced that moment,” James said afterward. “Seeing my family and friends, the people that’s been around me since I started this journey to the NBA, definitely very emotional right there. Just a kid from a small town in Ohio. I had a moment there, but I don’t think it’s really hit me, what just transpired.”
 
When James surpassed Abdul-Jabbar’s record 38,387 points, a crowd that had roared for his every basket went the craziest of all. “A lot of people wanted me to go to the skyhook to break the record, or one of the signature dunks,” James said with a grin. “But the fadeaway is a signature play as well.” The Los Angeles crowd screamed and stomped with every point while James steadily surged toward the mark held since April 1984 by Abdul-Jabbar, who watched the game from a baseline seat near the Los Angeles bench. With four championship rings and nearly every other honor available to a basketball player, the 38-year-old James closed in on this next moment in history with the confidence of a player who has been even better than anyone could have expected two decades ago when the kid from Akron, Ohio, reached the NBA. “The expectations were all the way out to Pluto, and he went ahead and created his own galaxy,” Lakers coach Darvin Ham said before his team’s 133-130 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder.
 
The crowd was in its seats far earlier than normal in Los Angeles, and James got numerous ovations before the Lakers and Thunder got rolling. Lakers fans turned out in droves for the chance to see a once-in-a-generation achievement, with tickets going for thousands on the secondary market. The moment was irresistible to fans like Aaron Sanchez, one of the hundreds of jersey-clad Lakers faithful patiently taking turns posing in front of the statue of Abdul-Jabbar that stands on the plaza in front of the Lakers’ downtown arena. Sanchez shares a set of two season tickets with a few friends and family, and he already had the seats for Tuesday’s game months before anyone could predict the magic day. He turned down a friend’s offer of $200 to swap the Thunder seats, but he knew he would be out of luck if James waited until Thursday to break the record, since those tickets belong to a different friend. “It’s basketball history, and that’s what the Lakers are all about,” Sanchez said. “LeBron is already one of the greatest Lakers ever, and getting this record in a Lakers uniform just makes it more certain. He was our leader after Kobe (Bryant) died, and he’s our leader now.”
 
Indeed, James has already earned a special place in Lakers fans’ hearts over his five seasons in purple and gold. Several months before he won the franchise’s 17th championship in the Florida pandemic bubble, he became a part of Lakers lore with his inspirational words and steady leadership in the wake of Bryant’s death in a helicopter crash. Inside the building, dozens of celebrities gathered to witness history: Denzel Washington, Jay-Z, Bad Bunny, LL Cool J, Usher, Andy Garcia and countless others. Dozens of basketball greats also turned out, including Lakers heroes James Worthy and Bob McAdoo along with Dwyane Wade. The biggest star in the crowd was Abdul-Jabbar, who has verbally sparred with James in public over issues not directly related to basketball. The Lakers legend known to all as Cap wasn’t about to miss history, and he shared a warm hug with James before ceremonially exchanging a basketball in a simple, touching gesture. Although the final score chafed him, James said he’ll never forget this stop on his two-decade journey. “This ride has been fantastic,” James said.
 
 

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K-Heart Sports – 02/07/23

K-HEART SPORTS – 02/07/22 – 0700
 
MINOT, ND – Boys basketball is on the air tonight as Mohall-Lansford-Sherwood will host Kenmare-Bowbells. Both teams are coming off a loss on Monday night. The Mavericks at currently 7-8 on the season while the Honkers are 8-7. Pregame is set for about 7 pm on 106.9 K-Heart, khrt.com, and through the Live 365 app.
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MINOT, ND – Thompson and Four Winds-Minnewaukan remain atop this week’s Class B basketballs. 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. Thompson (16)                16-1        169           1
2. Kenmare-Bowbells          17-2        138           4
3. Rugby                               16-2        120           2
4. Central Cass                    14-3        104           5
5. Central McLean                17-3          97           3
6. Shiloh Christian                15-2          91           6
7. Garrison                            18-1          84           7
8. Bowman County               18-1          48           9
9. Oakes                                16-2         46            8
10. May-Port-CG                   15-3          32          10
 
Others receiving votes: Northern Cass (14-4), Carrington (14-4), Kidder County (15-3)
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North Dakota Class B Boys Basketball Poll
 
                    (First Place Votes)    Record    Points    Last Week
1. Four Winds-Minnewaukan (16)  13-0         170           1
2. Central Cass                               15-0        152           2
3. Sargent County                           15-0         133           4
4. Ellendale                                      15-0         115          5
5. Bishop Ryan                                13-2           87          3
6. Thompson                                    11-3           85          6
7. Beulah                                          12-1           82          7
8. Shiloh Christian                            12-3           55          8
9. Bowman County                          13-2            26         10
10. Grafton                                         9-4            14          9
 
Others receiving votes: North Border (13-2), North Prairie (14-2), Dickinson Trinity (11-5)
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MINOT, ND – Scores from Monday:
 
High School Boys Basketball
 
Class B
#1 Four Winds-Minnewaukan def. Rugby, 87-38
#8 Shiloh Christian def. Center-Stanton, 82-36
Garrison def. Berthold, 81-31
Max def Ray, 64-53
Powers Lake-Burke Central def. Velva, 75-70
Des Lacs-Burlington def. Nedrose, 66-33
TGU def. Glenburn 77-34
Stanley def. Mohall-Lansford-Sherwood, 53-37
Divide County def. Kenmare-Bowbells, 54-47
North Prairie def. Westhope-Newburg, 61-48
Harvey-Wells County def. St. John 66-51
Dunseith def. New Rockford-Sheyenne, 76-59
 
High School Girls Basketball
 
Class A
#4 Minot High def. #5 Bismarck Legacy, 62-60    (Minot freshman Maggie Fricke surpasses 1,000 career points)
 
Class B
Westhope-Newburg def. Surrey, 64-58
Killdeer def. Parshall, 62-49
Beulah def. Hettinger-Scranton, 49-35
Mott-Regent/Grant County def. Hazen, 56-40
Carrington def. Harvey-Wells County, 62-30
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MINOT STATE-HONOR
 
MINOT, N.D. (MSU) – The NSIC announced late last week that Minot State senior women’s basketball player Breianna Smestad has been named an NSIC Myles Brand All-Academic with Distinction Award winner. The award is one of the most prestigious honors bestowed on student-athletes by the NSIC. Smestad joins fellow Beaver student-athletes and teammates Natasha Elliott and Kennedy Harris, along with baseball players Garrett Nicholson and Dominick Parkhurst, soccer player Daniela Nardelli, and softball player Jaycie Rostad in earning the honor this year. Smestad is a senior guard for the Beaver women’s basketball team from Plymouth, Minnesota who is majoring in Biology. The honor, named for the late NCAA President Dr. Myles Brand, is bestowed to senior or graduate-student NSIC student-athletes who have a cumulative grade point average of 3.75 or higher, are exhausting their athletic eligibility this academic year, and are on track to graduate or have graduated with their bachelor’s degree.
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WILD-COYOTES
 
TEMPE, Ariz. (AP) — Jakob Chychrun had two goals, Jack McBain scored the tie-breaking goal on a breakaway with seven minutes remaining and the Arizona Coyotes beat the Minnesota Wild 3-2 on Monday night. McBain put a back-hander past Marc-Andre Fleury moments after the Coyotes killed off an abbreviated 55-second power play. Karel Vejmelka had 33 saves for his career-best third straight victory. Jonas Brodin gave the Wild a 2-1 lead 1:40 into the third period on a wrist shot from the left circle through a screen in front before Chychrun tied it at 2 with his second goal of the game at 9:35. Kirill Kaprizov also scored for the Wild and Fleury had 33 saves for the Wild, who had won two straight and five of eight. The Coyotes are 4-3-1 in their last eight games.
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VIKINGS-FLORES
 
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The Minnesota Vikings hired Brian Flores as their defensive coordinator on Monday, their first step toward trying to revive a once-dominant unit that ranked among the NFL’s worst last season. Flores was a senior defensive assistant and linebackers coach this season for Pittsburgh, after three years as head coach in Miami. Prior to being hired by the Dolphins, Flores was an assistant for 11 seasons for New England, the last eight on the defensive side. The Patriots won four Super Bowls during his time there, which included four years as a scout. The last of those was in the 2018 season, which was Flores’ first as the defensive play-caller. The Patriots jumped from 17th to seventh in the league that year in opponent passer rating (85.4) and were tied for fifth with 28 takeaways. After he was fired by the Dolphins, Flores, who is Black, filed a class-action lawsuit alleging racial discrimination by the team and the NFL. The case is still tied up in the court system. With the Steelers, the 41-year-old Flores drew rave reviews from players who saw him as an extra head coach on Mike Tomlin’s staff. The Steelers were tied with the Patriots this season for the fewest rushing touchdowns (seven) allowed in the league.
 
Flores replaces Ed Donatell, who was fired last month after one year with head coach Kevin O’Connell. The Vikings were second-worst in the league in yards allowed and fourth-worst in points allowed during the regular season. The NFC North champions were then ousted from the playoffs in the wild-card round by the New York Giants as quarterback Daniel Jones threw for 301 yards and rushed for 78 more.
 
The Vikings also interviewed Seattle associate head coach Sean Desai, Pittsburgh senior defensive New Orleans co-defensive coordinator Ryan Nielsen and their own assistant head coach Mike Pettine, who was Green Bay’s defensive coordinator from 2018-20 and also the head coach for Cleveland from 2014-15. Nielsen was hired as Atlanta’s defensive coordinator. Desai withdrew from consideration. The Vikings also had interest in former Denver defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero, but he made a lateral move to take the job with Carolina and never wound up interviewing with Minnesota.
 
The Vikings under Donatell favored a four-man rush with two high safeties backing their zone pass coverage, but over their last eight regular-season games they forced only seven turnovers and totaled 12 sacks. Jones picked them apart underneath in the playoff game, going 24 for 35. Four cornerbacks will be free agents next month: primary starters Patrick Peterson, Duke Shelley and Chandon Sullivan and backup Kris Boyd. The Vikings also have four core defensive players carrying eight-figure salary-cap hits: safety Harrison Smith, outside linebackers Za’Darius Smith and Danielle Hunter and inside linebacker Eric Kendricks. Only Hunter has not reached his 30s.
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TWINS-CORREA
 
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The Minnesota Twins and Carlos Correa made a mutual decision that the shortstop will skip the World Baseball Classic for family reasons, with his wife expecting a baby during the tournament. The Twins announced Monday that Correa will not participate with the Puerto Rico national team for the fifth edition of the event, which was last played in 2017. Correa’s wife, Daniella, is due with the couple’s second child on March 11. The WBC begins on March 8. “This was a challenging decision for Carlos. He takes so much pride in representing his country and truly considered ways to make this work,” Twins president of baseball operations Derek Falvey said. “We all acknowledged that the back and forth flying combined with multiple days off from baseball activity didn’t set Carlos up for jumping into meaningful games upon his return.” Twins position players are scheduled to report for spring training by Feb. 19. Correa signed a six-year, $200 million contract with the club on Jan. 11. The deal is structured with the potential to pay Correa as much as $270 million over 10 seasons if he stays healthy.
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TWINS-RADCLIFF OBIT
 
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Mike Radcliff, who was scouting director for 14 of his 35 years evaluating prospects for the Minnesota Twins, died Friday at age 66 after a nearly four-year bout with pancreatic cancer. The Twins said Radcliff died in suburban Kansas City, where he and his wife, Sherry, kept their home. He was hired by the club in 1987 and became scouting director in 1993. He was the longest-tenured scouting director in Major League Baseball in 2007, when he was promoted to vice president of player personnel. Radcliff received several scouting awards from his peers over his career and was credited within the Twins organization for his confidence in making Joe Mauer the No. 1 overall pick in the 2001 draft over Mark Prior and Mark Teixeira. “He had a good idea of what he was looking for. He had a good idea of how to go about his business, with a total respect for the game and his coaches,” former Twins general manager Terry Ryan said. “There wasn’t any player or team or assignment that was too trivial for him.”
 
 

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K-Heart Sports – 02/06/23

K-HEART SPORTS – 02/06/23 – 0700
 
MINOT, N.D. (MSU) – For the second straight game Minot State’s “Battlin’ Beaver” softball team scored a walk-off win, sparking a pair of victories Sunday to wrap up the MSU Bubble Invitational. Minot State plated three runs in the bottom of the seventh for an 8-7 win over Dakota Wesleyan to start its day, then held on to top Valley City State 10-7 in game two to keep new head coach Bailey Gaspar unbeaten. The Beavers (4-0 overall) next head to Texas for five games next weekend in a tournament hosted by Lubbock Christian.
 
College Women’s Softball
Bubble Invite – Minot State
University of Mary def. Carroll College, 6-1
Carroll College def. Dakota Wesleyan, 13-7
Minot State def. Dakota Wesleyan, 8-7
Minot State def. Valley City State, 10-7
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MINOT STATE WOMEN’S HOCKEY
 
MINOT, N.D. (MSU) – The Minot State women’s hockey team erupted for six goals, this time from six different players, as they completed a season-sweep of in-state rival Jamestown on Sunday. Scoring three first-period goals and never looking back, the 4th-ranked Beavers beat host and 13th-ranked Jamestown 6-1. Olivia Opheim scored just 1 minute, 53 seconds into the contest for the Beavers, who then got a goal from Gillian Gervin with 7:33 gone that proved to be the game-winner. Saturday, Gervin netted four goals in Minot State’s 6-2 win at Jamestown. Sydney Spicer pushed the lead to 3-0 with 2:46 left in the first, then Denali Sigurdson added a goal 6:58 into the second for a commanding 4-0 lead. Jamestown snapped the shutout midway through the second but got no closer as Minot State got a late second-period goal from Anna German, then a final goal from Jordan Kulbida in the third period for the comfortable margin of victory. Riley Ball, Abby Tallman, Paige Ackerman, Megan Norris, German, Spicer, Opheim, and German each added an assist for Minot State, which got 16 saves in goal from Morgan Baker for the win. Minot State now closes out its home schedule hosting Lindenwood (Mo.) this coming Friday and Saturday at the Maysa Arena with puck-drop scheduled for 3:45 p.m. each day.
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NDSU TRACK-RODIN RECORD
 
FARGO, N.D. (NDSU) – Senior Jacob Rodin broke his own North Dakota State indoor 800m record, headlining the efforts of the Bison men’s track & field team on Saturday. The Kenmare-native clocked 1:48.23 at the Iowa State Classic in Ames, Iowa, trimming 0.29 seconds off his previous record from last season. Rodin now stands within the Top 25 in the NCAA this year.
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WOLVES-NUGGETS
 
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — D’Angelo Russell had 14 of his 18 points in the first quarter and added 10 assists, Anthony Edwards scored 20 and the Minnesota Timberwolves cruised to a 128-98 win against the Denver Nuggets, who were missing two-time MVP Nikola Jokic and three other starters on the second night of a back-to-back. Along with Jokic (left hamstring tightness), Denver was without Jamal Murray (left knee injury management), Aaron Gordon (left ankle sprain) and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (right ankle sprain). Michael Porter Jr., the lone regular starter in the lineup, led Denver with 22 points. Rudy Gobert had 16 points for Minnesota, which never trailed and opened a 20-point advantage in the second quarter on the way to a seventh win in 10 games. Meanwhile, Minnesota did what it needed to do against a short-handed team, controlling play from the beginning. The Timberwolves went on a 25-5 run from the end of the first quarter and start of the second, and never looked back. The Nuggets finished with a season-high 21 turnovers leading to 32 points for Minnesota.
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NFL-PRO BOWL
 
LAS VEGAS (AP) — For Kirk Cousins, it wasn’t quite the NFL-record 33-point comeback against the Indianapolis Colts to win the NFC North. However, Cousins was the quarterback for the third and final flag football game at the Pro Bowl on Sunday for a reason. NFC coach Eli Manning wanted Cousins in that spot to decide the overall winner, and the Minnesota Vikings QB responded by throwing three touchdowns passes to rally the NFC to a 35-33 victory over the AFC in the Pro Bowl Games and end that conference’s five-game losing streak. Cousins completed 15 of 19 passes for 150 yards in the NFL’s reformatted all-star contest, which gave the NFC the victory. “It’s hard to wait around that long to play, but I appreciate Eli letting me be the third guy and fun to go in there and be the closer,” Cousins said.
 
Based on the earlier flag games and skills competitions, the AFC took a 21-15 lead into the final flag game. The Pro Bowl changed its format this season, eliminating the traditional game and replacing it with three flag games played on a 50-yard field and a series of skills competitions. Each of the first two flag games was worth six points and each skills event was three. The total points were accumulated to form the score entering the final flag game. “I thought it was awesome,” San Francisco 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey said. “Guys had fun. It got intense there at the end.” Las Vegas Raiders wide receiver Davante Adams noticed the NFC took the game more seriously than expected, such as sending Cowboys safety KaVontae Turpin at the quarterback. “Hopefully, next year the NFC will actually play some man and not sit back in Cover-2 the whole time and blitz one of the fastest men in the league,” Adams said. “Interesting technique by them, but it was still a good time.”
 
BROTHERLY COMPETITION
Brothers Eli and Peyton Manning each have two Super Bowl rings, but Eli has this Pro Bowl victory over his older sibling. “I am the greatest coach of the Mannings,” Eli said tongue-in-cheek on the NFL’s Twitter account. “I am so much better at coaching than Peyton, it’s unbelievable.” He wasn’t the only brother to earn bragging rights. Dallas Cowboys cornerback Trevon Diggs intercepted a pass off a trick play from Buffalo Bills wide receiver Stefon Diggs.
 
MYLES GARRETT INJURED
The Cleveland Browns, however, announced defensive end Myles Garrett dislocated a toe Sunday, but X-rays were negative. Garrett played with a sprained shoulder this season from a car accident in September, but still had a team-record 16 sacks. Injuries were something the NFL hoped to avoid by switching to this new format. Though tackling wasn’t allowed, Los Angeles Rams cornerback Jalen Ramsey leveled Miami Dolphins wide receiver Tyreek Hill at the goal line.
 
PLAYGROUND FOOTBALL
Cousins said he hopes youngsters watching the Pro Bowl will want to participate in flag football and help that version of the sport grow. The change to a flag game took some getting used to, but Cousins said that also made it more fun. “You’re kind of drawing stuff up in the dirt,” he said. “It’s not as defined of a plan, so some of our guys were coming into the huddle saying, ‘Hey, I think if we did this.’ You try to listen to them and incorporate it. So it was fun, but also a little hectic.” McCaffrey agreed. “Learning the rules was a little tricky because this was so different,” McCaffrey said. “But I think everybody learned pretty quick and had fun.”
 
FANS COME OUT
The Pro Bowl has received quite a bit of criticism in recent years, but the NFL keeps the event for a reason — fans pay attention. The announced crowd of 58,331 was more than 2,000 more than last year, also played at Allegiant Stadium. No site has been announced for next year’s Pro Bowl, but it’s unlikely the NFL will want that event to be played in the same venue just before the Super Bowl, which will be in Las Vegas.
 
 
 

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K-Heart Sports – 02/05/23

K-HEART SPORTS – 02/05/23 – 0700
 
MINOT, ND – Scores from Saturday:
 
High School Boys Basketball
Class A
#3 Mandan def. Watford City, 86-54
Bismarck Legacy def. Williston, 88-75
Jamestown def. Turtle Mountain, 75-70
 
Class B
Dickinson Trinity def. #3 Bishop Ryan, 68-64
#8 Shiloh Christian def. Washburn, 85-47
Garrison def. Standing Rock, 81-71
White Shield def. Parshall/North Shore-Plaza, 60-56 OT
Powers Lake-Burke Central def. Williston Trinity Christian, 62-59
Heart River def. Trenton, 68-36
Harvey-Wells County def. Carrington, 65-51
 
 
High School Girls Basketball
Class A
#5 Bismarck Legacy def. Williston, 92-44
Turtle Mountain def. Jamestown, 78-77
Mandan def. Watford City, 68-39
 
Class B
#2 Rugby def. North Star, 55-23
#6 Shiloh Christian def. Carrington, 66-55
#9 Bowman County def. Beulah, 60-49
Kindred def. Stanley, 70-44
North Prairie def. TGU, 70-62
South Prairie-Max def. Washburn, 46-33
Dickinson Trinity def. Bishop Ryan, 46-32
Mohall-Lansford-Sherwood def. Ray, 46-43
Minot Sophmores A def. Divide County, 75-41
Heart River def. Trenton, 46-38

High School Boys Hockey
Minot High def. Dickinson, 3-0
Mayville-Portland def. Bottineau-Rugby, 3-2 OT
Mandan def. Williston, 7-3
West Fargo def. Jamestown, 7-5
 
 
High School Girls Hockey
Mandan def. Williston, 3-1
Fargo North-South def. Bismarck High-Legacy, 3-2

High School Boys Swimming & Diving
Century Invite – Bismarck
1. Minot High, 378.5
2. Bismarck Century, 258.5
3. Moorhead MN, 256.50
4. Bismarck High, 251
5. Williston, 210.5
6. Grand Forks, 206
7. Fargo Davies, 192
8. Fargo South, 170.5
9. Bismarck Legacy, 149
10. Mandan, 90
11. Dickinson, 72.5
 
 
High School Boys Wrestling
Class A
Bismarck Century def. Williston, 35-20
Bismarck Century def. Dickinson, 46-15
Bismarck Century def. Watford City, 69-9
Bismarck High def. Turtle Mountain, 71-10
 
Class B
 
Region 3 Duals – Velva Public School
First Round
Kenmare-Bowbells def. MonDak, 69-6
Williams County def. Des Lacs-Burlington, 4034
Northern Lights def. Stanley, 54-27
Velva def. Bishop Ryan, 42-33
Consolation
Des Lacs-Burlington def. MonDak, 39-18
Bishop Ryan def. Stanley, 54-28
Semifinal
Kenmare-Bowbells def. Williams County, 53-24
Northern Lights def. Velva, 37-34
Consolation
Velva def. Des Lacs-Burlington, 42-39
Williams County def. Bishop Ryan, 37-36
3rd Place
Velva def. Williams County, 54-24
Championship
Northern Lights def. Kenmare-Bowbells, 34-33
 
 
High School Girls Wrestling
Bismarck Century def. Dickinson, 34-16
 
 
College Mens Hockey
Minot State def. Ohio University, 8-5
 
 
College Womens Softball
Bubble Invite 1 – Minot State
Minot State def. University of Mary, 17-6
Valley City State def. University of Mary, 17-12
Carroll College def. Valley City State, 7-6
Minot State def. Carroll College, 8-7 (8 innings)
Valley City def. Dakota Wesleyan, 12-9
 
NAHL Hockey
Minot Minotauros def. Aberdeen Wings, 2-1
Bismarck Bobcats def. St. Cloud Norsemen, 2-1 SO
 
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MINOT STATE MEN’S BASKETBALL
 
MINOT, ND (MSU) – The Minot State men’s basketball team kept Minnesota-Crookston to just 20 percent from 3-point range in a 4-for-20 shooting performance on the way to an 87-53 win over the Golden Eagles at home Saturday. Leading the game in double figures for the Beavers (10-12, 7-11) were Jalen Cook, with 12 points. Caleb Van De Griend with 11 points and nine rebounds off of the bench, and Khari Broadway who kept things hot with 11 points. Minot State collected 41 rebounds in Saturday’s game compared to Minnesota-Crookston’s 24, led by Van De Griend’s nine boards. The Beavers also cleaned up the offensive glass, turning 12 rebounds into 20 second chance points. Minot State forced 15 Minnesota-Crookston turnovers while committing 11 themselves in Saturday’s game. The Beavers turned those takeaways into 24 points on the offensive end of the floor. Javeon Tolliver led the way individually with two steals. Three seniors, Cam’ron Dunfee, Drew Pearson (4/4 FT), and Eduardo Fiorotto (1/2 FT) also contributed to Minot State’s Victory.
 
It was all like a blur.. Minot State jumped out to to a 9-7 advantage, went on a 15-0 run with 15:36 left in the first half, added in a three from Ben Bohl to increase its lead to 24-7 and then added 11 points to that lead by the end of the period and entered halftime with a 46-18 advantage. Minot State got a great contribution from its bench in the period, as non-starters accounted for 20 of its 46 total points. Coming back into the second half; Minot State kept its lead intact before going on a 10-0 run to grow the lead to 70-33 with 8:16 to go in the contest. The Golden Eagles narrowed the margin somewhat before the game was over, but it was clear as the Beavers cruised the rest of the way that the victory was Minot State’s today! (87-53). Minot State shot well from three-point range in the half, hitting six shots from deep to score 18 of its 41 points.
 
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MINOT STATE WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
 
MINOT, ND (MSU) – Seniors Kennedy Harris (28 points) and Kate Head (20 points) drove the Beavers to a sliding 86-68 victory against the Minnesota-Crookston Golden Eagles 86-68 at home Saturday. Leading in double figures for the Beavers (10-14, 5-12) were Harris, who had 28 points and three steals, Head with 20 points, four assists and three steals and Natasha Elliott with 14 points and four steals. On the offensive rebounds, freshman Vilborg Jonsdottir’s pulled down seven. Minot State also did a great job crashing the offensive glass, pulling down 13 boards that resulted in 19 second chance points. The Minot State defense was effective at taking away the basketball in Saturday’s game, forcing 21 Minnesota-Crookston turnovers while committing 14. Those takeaways turned into 19 points on the other end of the floor. Elliott’s four steals led the way individually for the Beavers.
 
After jumping out to a 22-16 advantage, Minot State went on a 7-0 run with 1:53 left in the first quarter, culminating in a three from Lorelei McIver, to increase its lead to 29-16, a score that would hold for the rest of the period. Minot State got a great contribution from its bench in the period, as non-starters accounted for nine of its 29 total points. Minot State kept its first quarter lead intact before going on a 7-0 run starting at the 9:38 mark in the second period, highlighted by a three from Harris, to increase its lead to 36-16. The Golden Eagles cut into that lead, but the Beavers still enjoyed a 51-33 advantage heading into halftime. Minot State dominated in the paint, scoring 12 of its 22 points close to the basket. Minot State continued to preserve its halftime lead before going on a 6-0 run, punctuated by a basket from Harris, to expand its lead further to 57-38 with 5:53 to go in the third. Before the conclusion of the third period, the Golden Eagles had cut into that lead somewhat, but the Beavers still entered the fourth quarter with a 62-53 edge. Minot State’s bench made the most of its minutes in the period, as non-starters totaled three of the team’s 11 third-quarter points. Minot State kept widening that lead, expanding it to 76-64 before going on an 8-0 run, finished off by Harris’ layup, to grow the lead to 84-64 with 1:38 to go in the contest. The Golden Eagles narrowed the margin somewhat before the game was over, but the Beavers still cruised the rest of the way for the 86-68 win. Minot State took advantage of its opportunities in the post, scoring 14 of its 24 points in the paint.
 
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MINOT STATE WOMEN’S HOCKEY
 
JAMESTOWN, N.D. (MSU) – Riding the momentum of a win at No. 1-ranked Liberty last weekend, the fourth-ranked Minot State women’s hockey team cruised past host Jamestown powered by the most goals by one player in the past 4 years. Gillian Gervin recorded her first collegiate hat trick, netting four goals in the Beavers’ 6-2 win Saturday. The two teams meet again Sunday at 12:30 p.m. at Jamestown. After seeing the host and 13th-ranked Jimmies take a 1-0 lead early in the second, Gervin erased that deficit and put her team in front scoring back-to-back goals to ignite her huge performance. Jordan Kulbida added a goal late in the second period for a 3-1 Minot State (17-8-1 overall) advantage, but Jamestown (8-15-0) answered early in the third making it briefly interesting. Gervin then completed her hat trick with 8 minutes, 3 seconds left in the third before Riley Ball pushed Minot State’s lead to 5-2 with a goal of her own. Gervin then finished off her phenomenal game with a fourth and final goal with 2:43 left on the clock for the 6-2 win. Jordan Ivanco made 19 saves in goal in the win for Minot State.
 
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MINOT STATE WOMEN’S WRESTLING
 
DES MOINES, Iowa (MSU) – Annika Gotlieb came within a win of the Beavers first title on Saturday, racking up three wins by pin to earn a spot in the 136-pound final at the Grand View Open tournament. Gotlieb pinned Paige Baker from North Iowa Area Community College in 1 minute, 20 seconds, pinned Madison Wilcox of Quincy in 1:16, and pinned Corrie Williams from Snow College in 1 minute to earn her title shot before falling by pin in the second round. Her runner-up finish was the top performance for Minot State in the women’s wrestling team’s regular-season finale. Next up, Minot State competes at regionals in Colorado, Feb. 18-19. Also turning in a strong effort at 123 pounds was Jazmin Gorder who was fourth as she picked up four wins en route to the third-place match. Gorder won by tech fall, 12-2, over Cheyenne Mulford from Cornell, then after a loss, she won by pin over Sydney Tajkowski in 32 seconds, then picked up an injury default victory. Gorder added one more win, by forfeit, earning a spot in the third-place match before settling for fourth place when she lost by pin. Also competing in the tournament was Zoe Desloges at 116 pounds, who picked up a win by tech fall, 10-0, over Ali Anderson, and Madison Parson at 191 pounds.
 
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UND MEN’S BASKETBALL
 
VERMILLION, S.D. (UND) – The North Dakota men’s basketball team capped off two weeks of road games with their fourth and final contest Saturday at the University of South Dakota. After a nail-biter in the first game between the two, the Hawks won decisively in this one 86-72. Matt Norman got his first start since December 12 against North Central and made the most of it as he led the Hawks once again with 21 points. B.J. Omot had one of his best games of the season as he scored 17 points and blocked five shots—the first Hawk to record five blocks in a game since Filip Rebraca blocked eight shots against Milwaukee on November 19, 2019. This win was the Hawk’s third win away from Grand Forks this season, and the first since winning 77-73 at Elon in November.
 
Early on Tsotne Tsartsidze scored the first four points for the Hawks, and then Jalun Trent made his first three pointer of the season to put UND up 7-4 in the first few minutes of the game. USD came back to tie the game at nine, but Tsartsidze hit from downtown to put UND back on top. The game was tight during the first ten minutes, and USD got up by one at 22-21 with 9:48 to go in the first half, but a three pointer from Brady Danielson put UND back on top and from there the Hawks would not trail again. The Coyotes pulled within two at 29-27, but a 7-0 spurt from the Hawks pushed the lead to nine—including back-to-back threes from Norman and Omot. Ultimately the Hawks would take a 47-40 lead into the locker room, making ten threes in the first half. Norman had 14 at the break and Trent also reached double figures with ten points. In the second half the Hawks pushed the lead to double digits as Norman hit the first shot of the second half—a triple to make it 50-40. Later with the score 55-46, a 12-2 run for the Hawks pushed their lead to the biggest of the day to that point at 67-48. The run included back-to-back buckets from Tsartsidze and a highlight reel dunk from Omot, capped by a layup from Treysen Eaglestaff. With 9:06 to go the Hawks took their biggest lead of the day as Tsartsidze hit a jumper to make it 74-52. But over the next few minutes the Coyotes chipped away at the lead to make it a 12-point game at 75-63. But with the momentum going against the Hawks, Trent made a driving layup to end the run and kept the Hawks ahead by double digits the rest of the way.
 
Omot set new career highs with nine rebounds, eight free throws made (8-8 from the line) and five blocks. Trent also set a new career high with 14 points and had his first game with two threes made, as well as tying his career high with eight rebounds. The team blocked eight shots, a season high. For the game, the Hawks shot 49.1% from the field and 40.6% from downtown while limiting the Coyotes to shooting 40.3% from the floor and 23.5% from beyond the arc. North Dakota will come home to take on Denver on Thursday night and then Omaha Saturday afternoon.
 
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UND WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
 
Grand Forks, N.D. (UND) – The University of North Dakota Fighting Hawks (13-9,6-6 SL) had a big win against the South Dakota Coyotes (11-13, 7-6 SL), 83-66. UND had six players in double digits and Juliet Gordon recorded her second double- double on the campaign. The win today brings NoDak back to .500 in Summit league play. Juliet Gordon led with 15 pts and 11 rebounds (3 OR, 8 DR). This is her second double- double on the season. Kacie Borowicz continues her 31 double digit game scoring streak with 12. She also records eight rebounds (1 OR, 7 DR) and led with six assists. Joli Daninger had 11 points. Claire Orth scored 11 pts and had two steals. Nakiyah Hurst and Maggie Manson both had ten points on the night.
 
South Dakota came out hot at the start of the first quarter, going on a 7-0 run. North Dakota would not score its first points till a Kacie Borowicz jumper made at 7:11. The Fighting Hawks would trade baskets throughout the first and would finally tie the game up at 4:43. NoDak would take a 25-16 lead into the second quarter. Towards the middle of the second, the Coyotes would make a push to close the gap and would momentarily take the lead back before the Hawks take a slim lead into halftime 41-36. The third quarter, which has been a sore spot for UND this season, Hawks come out strong creating a ten point gap before the media timeout at 7:37. The Hawks would continue to spread the gap through the first half of the quarter before the Coyotes would make a big push closing the gap to two. NoDak would take a five-point lead heading into the final ten minutes. The fourth was more back and forth as the Hawks would fight to hold on to the lead and would create a 17-point gap to end the game 83-66. North Dakota will continue Summit League play on Thursday, taking on Denver at 7 p.m.
 
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NDSU MEN’S BASKETBALL
 
BROOKINGS, S.D. (NDSU) – South Dakota State’s Zeke Mayo scored 41 points to carry the Jackrabbits to a 90-85 win over the North Dakota State men’s basketball team on Saturday afternoon inside Frost Arena. NDSU junior Grant Nelson led the Bison with 27 points and 15 rebounds, making 10-of-13 shots. Sophomore Jacari White scored 18 points for NDSU. SDSU improved to 14-11 overall and 9-4 in Summit League play. The Bison fell to 9-15 overall and 6-6 in the league. NDSU led for just under 20 minutes of the contest, compared to 17:30 in the lead for the Jackrabbits. The Bison raced out to a 22-9 lead, but SDSU pulled within 43-41 at halftime and went into the lead with the first four points of the second half. NDSU was up 78-77 following a bucket by Boden Skunberg with just over three minutes remaining. SDSU used a 6-0 run over the next two minutes to win the game. The Bison shot 60 percent for the game and made 44 percent from three-point range. NDSU returns home to host Omaha and Denver on Feb. 9-11 next week.
 
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NDSU WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
 
FARGO, N.D. (NDSU) – The North Dakota State women’s basketball team dropped an 82-54 decision to South Dakota State on Saturday afternoon at Scheels Center. The Bison (14-8, 8-4 Summit) got off to a fast start opening up a nine-point lead, 11-2, after Elle Evans drained a layup and free throw following a steal at the 8:31 mark. Taylor Brown then knocked down the fourth triple of the frame for NDSU to make the score 22-15 with 1:46 to play in the quarter. NDSU led after the first frame, 23-18. The Jackrabbits (20-5, 13-0 Summit) fought back in the second quarter to lock the contest, 25-25, following nine straight points. SDSU, who entered the week ranked No. 3 in the College Insider Top 25 Poll, continued to surge from there finishing the half on a 10-0 run to make the score 36-26 at the intermission. NDSU wasn’t able to cut the deficit down any further over the final two quarters and dropped the contest, 82-54. Evans hit double figures in scoring for the sixth straight game with a team-high 11 points to go along with two rebounds, two assists and two steals. Abby Schulte contributed nine points, while Brown tallied eight points with a team-best seven rebounds. As a team, NDSU shot 35.4 percent (17-48) from the field and 63.2 percent (12-19) from the free throw line. The Bison also grabbed 23 rebounds and created five steals. NDSU will be back in action at Omaha on Thursday. Tip-off is set for 7:05 p.m.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

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K-Heart Sports – 02/04/23

K-HEART SPORTS – 02/04/23 – 0700
 
MINOT, ND – Des Lacs-Burlington scored the first 11 points of the game and never trailed in defeating Surrey 73-54 last night in a District 12 boys basketball game we broadcast on K-Heart. Three Lakers combined for 55 points as Carson Yale tallied 28, Rylan Olson added 15, and Paxton Ystaas had 12. Surrey was led by Will Mayo with 16 points, Lucas Vollmer adding 14, and Ayden Amundson with 10. The Lakers led by as many as 24 as they improve their record to 12-4 overall, 6-1 in District 12. The Mustangs are now 6-10, 3-4 in District 12.
 
Other scores from Friday:
 
High School Boys Basketball
 
Class A
#1 Bismarck Century def. Turtle Mountain, 76-65
Bismarck Legacy def. Watford City, 92-56
Bismarck High def. Dickinson, 88-75
Bismarck St. Mary’s def. Williston, 79-63
 
Class B
#7 Beulah def. Heart River, 45-37
Our Redeemer’s def. Glenburn, 59-35
South Prairie def. Berthold, 69-36
Velva def. Westhope-Newburg, 76-73
Bottineau def. Nedrose, 80-49
Kenmare-Bowbells def. New Town, 56-36
White Shield def. Mandaree, 66-46
Alexander def. Trenton, 55-43
Hazen def. Killdeer, 68-58
Flasher def. Central McLean, 64-58
 
High School Girls Basketball
 
Class A
#1 Bismarck Century def. Turtle Mountain, 71-44
#5 Bismarck Legacy def. Watford City, 93-32
Bismarck High def. Dickinson, 75-46
Bismarck St. Mary’s def. Williston, 77-37
 
Class B
#1 Thompson def. #2 Rugby, 55-45
#3 Central McLean def. South Prairie-Max, 69-36
Tioga def. Minot North Freshman A, 73-60
Powers Lake-Burke Central def. Washburn, 61-54 2OT
Four Winds-Minewaukan def. Dunseith, 78-42
Harvey-Wells County def. North Star, 64-37
North Prairie def. New Rockford-Sheyenne, 54-35
St. John def. Benson County, 73-46
 
High School Boys Hockey
Bismarck Legacy def. Williston, 5-2
Mandan def. Bottineau-Rugby, 4-3
Jamestown def. Bismarck Century, 4-3
 
High School Girls Hockey
Bismarck High-Legacy def. Grand Forks, 1-0
 
High School Girls Gymnastics
Magi Bowl – Minot
1. Dickinson, 144.225
2. Bismarck Century, 141.00
3. Minot High, 138.825
4. Jamestown, 136.250
5. Bismarck Legacy, 132.025
6. Mandan, 129.200
7. Valley City, 126.175
8. Grand Forks, 124.250
9. Northwest Stars, 103.300
 
All-Around: Karina Olson of Valley City, 37.125
 
High School Boys Swimming & Diving
Minot High 123, Fargo Davies 63
Mandan 90, Grand Forks 89
Moorhead MN 118, Mandan 83
 
Bismarck Century Multi-Duals
Bismarck High, 5-0
Bismarck Century, 4-1
Williston, 3-2
Fargo South, 2-3
Bismarck Legacy, 1-4
Dickinson, 0-5
 
High School Boys Wrestling
Bismarck Legacy def. Jamestown, 37-33
Dickinson def. Bismarck St. Mary’s, 42-25
 
High School Girls Wrestling
Minot High def. Turtle Mountain, 72-8
 
NAHL Hockey
Aberdeen Wings def. Minot Minotauros, 3-0
St. Cloud Norsemen def. Bismarck Bobcats, 2-0
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MINOT STATE MEN’S BASKETBALL
 
MINOT, ND (MSU) – The Minot State men’s basketball team got a 35-point performance from the bench, but lacked gusto, falling 71-65 to the Bemidji State Beavers at home Friday. Connor Hollenbeck led the Beavers (9-12, 6-11) in double figures with 18 points, Khari Broadway tacked on with 13 points, four assists and two steals off the bench. Mason Hedberg also flew high off the bench with 12 points. The Minot State offense made hay from downtown, making eight threes on 27 attempts. Hedberg hit four treys for the Beavers in the contest.
 
The Minot State Beavers had a slow start, struggling out of the gate, and falling behind 35-23 heading into halftime. The Bemidji Beavers kept widening their lead after intermission, constructing a 67-52 advantage while the Minot State Beaver’s tussled to get the break they needed but fell short. The Minot State Beavers then went on a 6-0 run, finished off by Jalen Cook’s layup, to shrink the deficit to 67-58 with 1:29 to go in the contest. The Beavers (Minot State) kept their comeback going, but Bemidji State managed to hold on for the 71-65 win. Indeed Minot State shot well from three-point range in the half, hitting seven shots from deep to score 21 of it’s 42 points; however, they missed opportunities on the steals and rebounds. The Beavers host Crookston today at 3:30 pm.
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MINOT STATE WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
 
MINOT, ND (MSU) – The Minot State women’s basketball team went into halftime beating Bemidji State 24-23, but could not pull away in the second half and fell 70-61 to the Beavers at home Friday. The Beavers (9-14, 4-12) had three players score in double figures, led by Kennedy Harris, who had 19 points. Natasha Elliott added 12 points and two steals and Kate Head chipped in as well with a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds. Emma Mogen pulled down four offensive rebounds to pace an offense that racked up second chance opportunities for Minot State, grabbing 14 boards and turning them into 15 second chance points. The Minot State defense caused its share of mistakes in Friday’s game, forcing 14 Bemidji State turnovers while committing 12. Those takeaways turned into 18 points on the other end of the floor. Vilborg Jonsdottir’s three steals led the way individually for the Beavers. Minot State next hosts Minnesota Crookston today at 5:30 p.m. for Senior Day.
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MINOT STATE MEN’S HOCKEY
 
ATHENS, Ohio (MSU) – Revenge will have to wait for Minot State. The fourth-ranked Ohio Bobcats, who ended the Beavers season at the ACHA National Tournament last spring, held on at home to snap Minot State’s 13-game win streak and give the No.1-ranked Beavers a 5-3 loss on Friday night. The Beavers (25-2-0 overall) started strong as Sheldin Howard scored 6 minutes, 7 seconds into the contest, but from there it was all Bobcats (24-5-0) for the next 30 minutes as they scored three straight to take control, on top 3-1 early in the second period. Reid Arnold snapped Ohio’s run and closed the game for the Beavers a bit, scoring with 5:34 left in the second period, but Ohio pushed its advantage to 4-2 midway through the third. Minot State made a charge as Jay Buchholz scored a power-play goal with 4:18 left to play, but the Beavers could not complete the comeback and an empty-net goal allowed the Bobcats to ice the 5-3 victory. Jake Anthony finished with 28 saves in goal on the night for Minot State, which will look for revenge against Ohio again on Saturday as the Beavers play on the Bobcats home ice at 7 p.m. (ET).
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MINOT STATE MEN’S WRESTLING
 
MARSHALL, Minn. (MSU) – Make it a sweep. Riding high off the momentum of a comeback win for victory No. 1 over Minnesota State, Mankato on Thursday, the Minot State men’s wrestling team kept on rolling, this time topping host and 22nd-ranked Southwest Minnesota State, 23-15, on Friday night in an NSIC dual. Cayden White won by pin in his 184-pound match and James Davis collected a forfeit victory at 133 pounds, racking up 12 team points in the dual, more than half of Minot State’s score. Oscar Nellis, who has been rolling strong this calendar year improved to 5-1 in NSIC dual action as he added a 13-4 major decision at 125 pounds over Ben Emrich. Kelby Armstrong, who has lost just once this season, improved to 7-1 overall with another major decision win, 12-2 over Tyler Soltau at 149 pounds. Cannon Potts added the other victory for the Beavers, a 5-2 decision win at 174 pounds. Having swept the weekend on the road to improve to 8-8 on the season in dual action and 3-5 in NSIC competition, Minot State now returns home to close out the regular season as they host No. 5 St. Cloud State next Saturday, Feb. 11, at 2 p.m. at the MSU Dome.
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WOLVES-MAGIC
 
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A fight broke out and punches were thrown during the game between the Orlando Magic and Minnesota Timberwolves on Friday night. Five players were ejected following the brawl, which started in front of the Orlando bench late in the third quarter. Minnesota guard Austin Rivers and Magic center Mo Bamba were the initial players involved, and it spilled over to include several others on the court. Rivers, Jaden McDaniels and Taurean Prince were ejected from the Timberwolves. Jalen Suggs was tossed along with Bamba for Orlando, which went on to win 127-120.
 
 

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K-Heart Sports – 02/03/23

K-HEART SPORTS – 02/03/23 – 0700
 
MINOT, ND – We bring you a District 12 boys basketball game today as Surrey visits Des Lacs-Burlington. Pre-game for a little past 7 pm on 106.9 K-Heart, khrt.com and through the Live 365 app.
 
Scores from Thursday:
 
High School Boys Basketball
 
Class B
#3 Bishop Ryan def. Mohall-Lansford-Sherwood, 77-42
#8 Shiloh Christian def. New Salem-Almont, 59-22
North Prairie def. Benson County, 59-22
Dunseith def. Harvey-Wells County, 59-57
Center-Stanton def. Max, 73-72 OT
Minot Sophmore B def. Drake-Anamoose, 61-50
Williston Trinity Christian def. New Town, 70-68
White Shield def. Alexander, 63-53
Minot Sophmore A def. Divide County, 75-63
 
High School Girls Basketball
 
Class A
#1 Bismarck Century def. Mandan, 73-37
 
Class B
#4 Kenmare-Bowbells def. Surrey, 51-26
#7 Garrison def. Berthold, 59-55
Our Redeemer’s def. Bottineau, 44-42
Glenburn def. Nedrose, 61-46
South Prairie-Max def. TGU, 71-59
Trenton def. Ray, 49-28
 
High School Boys Hockey
Dickinson def. Hazen-Beulah, 5-2
Bismarck Century def. Jamestown, 5-4 SO
 
High School Girls Hockey
Minot High def. Mandan, 3-2 SO
Bismarck Century def. Williston, 3-1
Grand Forks def. Jamestown, 3-0
 
High School Boys Wrestling
Williston def. Minot High, 32-19
Bismarck High def. Bismarck Century, 45-17
 
High School Girls Wrestling
Minot High def. Dickinson, 72-6
Bismarck High def. Bismarck Century, 57-23
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MINOT STATE MEN’S WRESTLING
 
MANKATO, Minn. (MSU) – There’s been plenty of battle in the Beavers, and Thursday night it paid off in Minot State’s first win over the Minnesota State, Mankato program. Down early, the Beavers won three of the final four matches, a comeback capped by Nathan Baca’s decision win that finished off an 18-16 dual victory for Minot State in NSIC men’s wrestling at MSU, Mankato. The Beavers (7-8 duals, 2-5 NSIC) will go for the weekend road sweep when they wrestle at Southwest Minnesota State on Friday. Down 9-0 in the dual after the first three matches of the night, Minot State’s Dustin Swisher got the comeback started with a convincing 7-0 decision win at 197 pounds. After a battle at heavyweight went the way of defending national champion Darrell Mason, 2-1 over Minot State’s Jake Swirple, the comeback gained momentum as the Beavers’ hottest wrestler of late, Oscar Nellis, had an easy night as he collected six team points for a forfeit victory at 125 pounds. Trailing 12-9 in the dual, James Davis tied the match for Minot State with a 4-3 decision win at 133 pounds thanks to earning a riding-time point.
 
That set the stage for a fantastic finish by the Beavers as Brock Luthens’ major decision win at 141 pounds left Minot State trailing 16-12 with two matches left. Kelby Armstrong cut into that difference with a late escape in his 149-pound match that gave him a 3-2 decision win. Setting the stage for a winner-take-all final bout at 157, and Baca took control early, tying the first round 2-2 with a reversal, then grabbing a 3-2 lead thanks to a second-round escape. Baca then stayed in control in the third round and added a riding-time point for a 4-2 decision victory that vaulted the Beavers to the 18-16 team win.
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NDSU MEN’S BASKETBALL
 
VERMILLION, S.D. (NDSU) – The North Dakota State men’s basketball team lost 71-62 in a Summit League road game at South Dakota on Thursday night. Junior Boden Skunberg led the Bison with 23 points. Grant Nelson posted a double-double with 13 points, 13 rebounds and four assists. South Dakota led 33-27 at halftime. The Coyotes pushed their advantage to 15 points at 53-38 with 10:30 remaining. NDSU cut an 18-point deficit to five at 65-60 with 1:07 left, but never got any closer. The Bison shot just under 40 percent for the game and made 6-of-21 (29 percent) from beyond the arc. USD improved to 6-6 in league play, while NDSU fell to 6-5. The Bison play at South Dakota State on Saturday at 2 p.m.
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NDSU WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
 
FARGO, N.D. – The North Dakota State women’s basketball team grinded out an 86-82 win over South Dakota in overtime on Thursday night at Scheels Center. After ending regulation tied, 71-71, the Bison (14-7, 8-3 Summit) assembled six unanswered points to open up an 82-77 advantage in overtime after Heaven Hamling drained a jumper with 44 seconds to play. Following a pair of South Dakota (11-12, 7-5 Summit) free throws, Hamling once again came up clutch with a jumper to make the score 84-79 with 11 seconds remaining. Macy Guebert answered for the Coyotes to cut the edge back down to two, 84-82, with a triple. However, Elle Evans knocked down a pair of free throws to seal the 86-82 victory. With the win, the Bison improved to 14-7 (8-3 Summit) and moved to 9-0 at home this season. It also marked the first time since the 1999-00 season that NDSU has swept the regular season series against South Dakota. Additionally, head coach Jory Collins earned his 250th career win. He has amassed a 250-111 overall record spanning 12 seasons, which includes eight at Emporia State.
 
Hamling paced the Bison with a game-high 28 points to go along with a season-best eight rebounds and four steals. Evans filled her stat line with 18 points, seven rebounds and game-high four blocks, while Taylor Brown contributed 13 points with three rebounds and two steals. Abby Schulte also reached double figures in scoring for the second straight game with 12 points. As a team, NDSU shot 42.5 percent (31-73) from the field with nine different players contributing in the scoring column. The Bison also hauled in 42 rebounds in comparison to the Coyotes’ 34. NDSU will be back in action hosting South Dakota State on Saturday. Tip-off is set for 1:00 p.m.
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UND MEN’S BASKETBALL
 
BROOKINGS, S.D. (UND) – The North Dakota men’s basketball team started their two game South Dakota road swing on Thursday night with a trip to Brookings to take on South Dakota State University. After a nail biter in Grand Forks last month against the Jackrabbits, the Hawks went cold from the floor; falling 96-73. Tsonte Tsartsidze had his second double-double of the season as he led the Hawks with 18 points and ten rebounds. He shot 8-13 from the floor and made 2-4 three pointers. He was joined in double figures by B.J. Omot and Matt Norman, who each scored 17 and Brady Danielson who scored 11. Omot dished out three assists to lead the Hawks. For the game, the Hawks shot 43.8% from the field and 31.3% from downtown while the Jackrabbits shot 61.7% from the floor and 58.3% from beyond the arc.
 
SDSU got on the board first, and then Omot scored his first bucket at the 17:58 mark of the first half to make it 2-2, but SDSU scored the next seven points and led the rest of the game. The Hawks came within two at the 12:02 mark of the first half following a jumper from Tsartsidze, part of five straight points by the big man, but could not come any closer. At the end of the half Treysen Eaglestaff hit a three pointer to bring the Hawks back within nine at 44-35 at the intermission. In the second half, the Hawks shot over 50% from the floor but the Jackrabbits could not miss as they shot over 70% from the field and 66.7% from beyond the arc. Omot and Norman both scored ten in the second half to tie for the team lead in the half, with Danielson and Tsartsidze each scoring eight in the frame. Elijah Brooks got on the board in the second half, scoring in his second straight appearance. North Dakota will head to Vermillion to take on the University of South Dakota Saturday afternoon.
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UND WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
 
GRAND FORKS, N.D. (UND) – The University of North Dakota Fighting Hawks (12-9,5-6 SL) end the 10-0 home winning streak with a 75-57 loss to the SDSU Jackrabbits (19-5,12-0 SL). The Fighting Hawks could not overcome the third quarter once again, being outscored by the Jackrabbits 25-13 after only trailing by four at halftime. Nakiyah Hurst led the team with 16 points. Kacie Borowicz led with six rebounds and had 10 points. Sammiyah Hoskin had 10 points and five rebounds. The first quarter had three lead changed and five ties. Defensive pressure was the name of the game. The first twenty minutes UND kept SDSU in check, heading into the half NoDak was down by four. However, the third quarter woes would come back to haunt UND. SDSU held UND to 13 points in the third, while adding 25 to their total. The fighting Hawks would try to overcome in the fourth but would not be able to the 22-point deficit. North Dakota will continue Summit League play on Saturday, taking on USD at 1 p.m.
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MLB-ARRAEZ ARBITRATION
 
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — AL batting champion Luis Arraez has won his arbitration case and will get a $6.1 million salary from the Miami Marlins, who acquired the All-Star infielder from the Minnesota Twins last month. Miami argued for $5 million. Arraez hit .316 with eight homers, 49 RBIs and a .795 OPS last year. The 25-year-old was traded on Jan. 20 for starting pitcher Pablo López and a pair of prospects: infielder Jose Salas and outfielder Byron Chourio. Marlins left-hander Jesús Luzardo had his hearing Thursday. He asked for a raise from $715,000 to $2.45 million, and Miami proposed $2.1 million.
 
 
 

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K-Heart Sports – 02/02/23

K-HEART SPORTS – 02/02/23 – 0700
 
MINOT, ND – Bismarck Century remains atop both Class A Basketball Polls. The polls are voted on by the North Dakota Associated Press Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association.
 
North Dakota Class A Boys Basketball Poll
 
         (First Place Votes)    Record    Points    Last Week
1. Bismarck Century (18)    15-0         90            1
2. Minot High                        14-2         71            2
3. Mandan                            13-2         47            3
4. Fargo Davies                   13-2         43            4
5. Fargo North                     10-4          18            5
 
Others receiving votes: Bismarck Legacy (9-5)
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North Dakota Class A Girls Basketball Poll
 
           (First Place Votes)    Record    Points    Last Week
1. Bismarck Century (16)      11-2          87           1
2. Fargo Davies (2)               13-1          70           2
3. Grand Forks Red River      14-1         57           3
4. Minot High                          13-3          37           4
5. Bismarck Legacy               11-2          12           5
 
Others receiving votes: West Fargo (12-3), Bismarck High (11-4)
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MINOT, ND – District tournaments for Class B girls basketball begin one week from today. South Prairie-Max has the #1-seed at the District 12 Tournament for the first time in school history. We’ll have complete coverage of the District 12 Tournament on 106.9 K-Heart, khrt.com, and through the Live 365 app.
 
High School Girls Basketball
Class B
 
District 12 Tournament – Minot Auditorium
 
First Round (Thu 2/9)
#1 South Prairie-Max vs #8 Mohall-Lansford-Sherwood, 3 pm
#4 Surrey vs #5 Bishop Ryan, 4:30 pm
#2 Our Redeemer’s vs #7 Berthold, 6 pm
#3 Des Lacs-Burlington vs #6 Glenburn, 7:30 pm
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District 11 Tournament – Rugby High School
 
First Round (Thu 2/9)
#2 Bottineau vs #7 Velva, 4 pm
#3 TGU vs #6 Nedrose, 5:30 pm
#4 Westhope-Newburg vs #5 Drake-Anamoose, 6 pm
#1 Rugby, bye
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District 15 Tournament – Williston State College
 
First Round (Thu 2/9)
#1 Parshall vs #8 White Shield, 3 pm
#4 Trenton vs #5 North Shore-Plaza, 4:30 pm
#2 New Town vs #7 Alexander, 6 pm
#3 Mandaree vs #6 Williston Trinity Christian, 7:30 pm
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UND MEN’S HOCKEY-HONOR
 
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (UND) – Freshman forward Jackson Blake was named NCHC Rookie of the Month for January, as announced by the league office. It marks the first monthly honor for Blake of his career. The Eden Prairie, Minn., native finished as one of the top players in the conference during a 5-3-0 month for North Dakota, tying for the lead in the NCHC for total points with nine. Blake collected points in five of the eight games this month for UND, including a trio of multi-point contests to finish with three goals and six assists.
 
Blake returned from a bronze finish at the 2023 IIHF World Junior Hockey Championships on Jan. 6 and jumped right back into the lineup for the Fighting Hawks that night, notching an assist in a 4-3 win over Lindenwood. He then tallied a pair of assists against Western Michigan before collecting a goal and a helper in the 4-2 victory over Minnesota Duluth. The rookie closed the month in style, striking for a goal in both contests at Miami to help NoDak secure its first road sweep of the season. After opening the scoring in Friday’s 4-1 win, Blake notched a career-high three points in the series finale with a goal and two assists to help secure the 8-0 victory. Of Blake’s three goals in January, two came on the power play. He fired 17 shots on goal in the month and also blocked six shots.
 
On the season, Blake has a team-best 30 points, which ranks second among NCHC freshmen and sixth among all NCHC skaters. His 12 goals are 10th in the NCHC and second among NCHC freshmen, while he’s also dished out 18 assists to rank sixth in the conference. Blake is the first UND rookie to record 30 points in a season since Tyson Jost in 2016-17.
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WOLVES-WARRIORS
 
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — D’Angelo Russell scored 14 of his 29 points in the fourth quarter, Anthony Edwards took over in overtime after Russell fouled out and the Minnesota Timberwolves outlasted the Golden State Warriors 119-114 on Wednesday night. Russell fouled out after two quick whistles in the first minute of overtime. That set the stage for Edwards. After a scoreless fourth quarter, Edwards was aggressive in overtime, driving to the basket and scoring in traffic on multiple possessions. Edwards helped the Timberwolves — who trailed by 11 after three — complete the comeback. He scored just four of his 27 points in overtime but was the catalyst on offense in the extra session. Stephen Curry had 29 points and 10 rebounds for Golden State. Stephen Curry had 29 points and 10 rebounds for Golden State. Jordan Poole added 18 points, Klay Thompson had 14, and Draymond Green had 10 points and 12 rebounds. The Warriors had won three in a row. Minnesota moved half-game ahead of the Warriors in the Western Conference standings. Wednesday was Minnesota’s second overtime game in a row. The Wolves were outscored 15-8 on Monday night in overtime. Timberwolves host Orlando on Friday night.
 
 

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K-Heart Sports – 02/01/23

K-HEART SPORTS – 02/01/22 – 0700
 
MINOT, ND – #3 Bishop Ryan extended their winning streak to 11 as the Lions defeated Our Redeemer’s 68-52 last night in a game we broadcast on K-Heart. Brady Feller tallied a game-high 23 points for the Lions, while Connor Thompson and Ramsey Walz each scored 12 as Bishop Ryan improved their record to 12-1 overall, 6-0 in District 12. The Knights were led by Noah Erickson with 13. Jace Weekley and Payton Lindbo each added 9 as the Knights drop to 6-9 overall, 3-3 in District 12.
 
Other scores from Tuesday:
 
High School Boys Basketball
 
Class A
#1 Bismarck Century def. Watford City, 104-48
#2 Minot High def. Turtle Mountain, 91-72
#3 Mandan def. Bismarck Century, 81-59
Bismarck Legacy def. Dickinson, 63-58 OT
Jamestown def. Bismarck High, 102-96 2OT
 
Class B
#7 Beulah def. Glen Ullin-Hebron, 55-45
#8 Shiloh Christian def. Central McLean, 89-34
Des Lacs-Burlington def. Mohall-Lansford-Sherwood, 72-39
Surrey def. Berthold, 81-58
South Prairie def. Glenburn, 79-35
Westhope-Newburg def. TGU, 51-44
Rugby def. Velva, 66-53
Drake-Anamoose def. Center-Stanton, 82-72
Washburn def. Max, 68-54
Stanley def. Ray, 71-41
Parshall/North Shore-Plaza def. Divide County, 57-50
Kenmare-Bowbells def. Trenton, 63-35
 
High School Girls Basketball
 
Class A
#1 Bismarck Century def. Watford City, 65-35
#4 Minot High def. Turtle Mountain, 82-75
#5 Bismarck Legacy def. Dickinson, 82-50
Bismarck High def. Jamestown, 61-59
Bismarck St. Mary’s def. Mandan, 88-64
 
Class B
#2 Rugby def. Velva, 61-36
#4 Kenmare-Bowbells def. #3 Central McLean, 48-41
#7 Garrison def. White Shield, 59-30
South Prairie-Max def. Mohall-Lansford-Sherwood, 59-44
Berthold def. Divide County, 49-25
Drake-Anamoose def. Center-Stanton, 60-37
North Shore-Plaza def. Williston Trinity Christian, 28-21
Tioga def. Powers Lake-Burke Central, 63-49
Trenton def. Stanley, 54-46
Killdeer def. Hazen, 56-49
Benson County def. Dunseith, 58-44
North Prairie def. Harvey-Wells County, 67-50
St. John def. Warwick, 91-30
 
High School Boys Hockey
Minot High def. Bottineau-Rugby, 8-3
Bismarck High def. Dickinson, 2-1
Mandan def. Hazen-Beulah, 5-2
Bismarck Legacy def. Bismarck Century, 5-3
 
High School Girls Hockey
Minot High def. Bismarck Century, 3-0
Bismarck High-Legacy def. Dickinson, 3-0
 
High School Boys Wrestling
Minot High def. Bismarck Legacy, 39-28
 
High School Girls Wrestling
Minot High def. Bismarck Legacy, 54-27
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UND HOCKEY-NCHC HONORS
 
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (UND) – Following a weekend sweep over Miami, a pair of North Dakota players were honored by the National Collegiate Hockey Conference on Monday afternoon, as announced by the league office. Fifth year goaltender Drew DeRidder and junior forward Riese Gaber were each selected as NCHC Goaltender of the Week and NCHC Forward of the Week, respectively, after helping the Fighting Hawks capture all six points over Miami in convincing fashion.
 
For the second time in six weeks, DeRidder earned the league’s top goaltender crown for the week following a pair of sparkling performances on the road at Miami. The Fenton, Mich., native stopped 50 of the 51 shots fired his way to close the series with a 2-0-0 record, 0.50 GAA and a .980 save percentage. Following a 27-save night in Friday’s 4-1 opening win, DeRidder collected his fourth shutout of the season with 23 stops in the 8-0 onslaught in the finale. The four shutouts on the year for DeRidder tie him with Adam Scheel for the most in a single season by a UND goaltender since 2016-17. The netminder has settled into the pipes for North Dakota as the season wears on, posting a 4-1-1 record with a 1.63 GAA, .938 save percentage and two shutouts over his last seven starts.
 
Gaber powered North Dakota to a sweep at Miami with a five-point weekend. In Friday’s opener, the junior helped jumpstart UND’s offense with the primary assist on the game’s opening goal. It came on a power play tally only 4:18 into the contest as the Fighting Hawks went on to win, 4-1. The next night, Gaber erupted for a career-high four points, including his first collegiate hat trick. Gaber opened the scoring with a power play goal midway through the first, which served as the game-winning goal. He then scored again midway through the second stanza to make it 3-0 and completed North Dakota’s first hat trick since Nov. 2, 2018 with another power play tally in the final minute of the game, which capped an 8-0 thumping. Gaber also assisted on UND’s fourth goal, with three of his four points Saturday on the man advantage. Gaber finished the weekend with three goals, two assists and a NCHC-best 13 shots on goal, including a career-high 12 in Saturday’s win. Gaber was also +1 in the sweep. He now has 16 career points (10g, 6a) in nine career games against Miami. On the season, Gaber leads the Fighting Hawks and is tied for fourth in the NCHC with 16 goals, while his 28 points are second on the team and seventh in the NCHC.
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NDSU WOMEN’S BASKETBALL-TIME CHANGE
 
FARGO, N.D. (NDSU) – The North Dakota State women’s basketball game against Oral Roberts has been moved up to 12 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 18 at Scheels Center. The contest was originally scheduled for 1:00 p.m. and will now be played at 12 p.m. to allow for the Golden Eagles to travel. NDSU will be back in action hosting South Dakota on Thursday night. Tip-off is set for 7:00 p.m. at Scheels Center.
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NFL-BRADY RETIRES
 
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Tom Brady, who won a record seven Super Bowls for New England and Tampa, has announced his retirement. Brady — the most successful quarterback in NFL history, and one of the greatest athletes in team sports — posted the announcement on social media Wednesday morning, a brief video lasting just under one minute. “Good morning guys. I’ll get to the point right away,” Brady says as the message begins. “I’m retiring. For good.”
 
He briefly retired after the 2021 season, but wound up coming back for one more year with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He retires at age 45, the owner of numerous passing records in an unprecedented 23-year career. A year ago when he retired, it was in the form of a long Instagram post. But about six weeks later, he decided to come back for one more run. The Buccaneers — with whom he won a Super Bowl two seasons ago — made the playoffs again this season, losing in their playoff opener. And at the time, it begged the question about whether Brady would play again. Only a couple weeks later, he has given the answer. “I know the process was a pretty big deal last time, so when I woke up this morning, I figured I’d just press record and let you guys know first,” Brady says in the video. “I won’t be long-winded. You only get one super emotional retirement essay and I used mine up last year. “I really thank you guys so much, to every single one of you for supporting me. My family, my friends, teammates, my competitors. I could go on forever. There’s too many. Thank you guys for allowing me to live my absolute dream. I wouldn’t change a thing. Love you all.”
 
Brady is the NFL’s career leader in yards passing (89,214) and touchdowns (649). He’s the only player to win more than five Super Bowls and has been MVP of the game five times. Famously underrated coming into the NFL — he was picked 199th in the 2000 draft by the Patriots, behind six other quarterbacks, three kickers and a punter — Brady certainly wasn’t expected to become synonymous with greatness. He played in one game as a rookie, completing one of three passes for six yards. The next year, it all changed. Brady took over as the Patriots’ starter, the team beat the St. Louis Rams in the Super Bowl that capped the 2001 season, and he and New England coach Bill Belichick were well on their way to becoming the most successful coach-QB duo in football history. More Super Bowl wins came after the 2003 and 2004 seasons. The Patriots returned to football’s mountaintop for a fourth time in Brady’s era a decade later to cap the 2014 season, the start of three more titles in a span of five years. In 2020, he joined the Buccaneers and won his seventh Super Bowl. He spent his last three years with Tampa Bay, getting them to the playoffs in each of those seasons.
 
“I think I’ve been on the record dozens of times saying there’s no quarterback I’d rather have than Tom Brady, and I still feel that way,” Belichick said in 2021 — shortly before Tampa Bay, with Brady, came to New England and beat the Patriots in a game dubbed “The Return.” “I was very lucky to have Tom as the quarterback, to coach him, and he was as good as any coach could ever ask for.”
 
Brady has won three NFL MVP awards, been a first-team All-Pro three times and selected to the Pro Bowl 15 times. Brady and supermodel Gisele Bündchen finalized their divorce this past fall, during the Bucs’ season. It ended a 13-year marriage between two superstars who respectively reached the pinnacles of football and fashion. It was announced last year that when Brady retires from playing, he would join Fox Sports as a television analyst in a 10-year, $375 million deal.
 
 

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K-Heart Sports – 01/31/23

K-HEART SPORTS – 01/31/22 – 0700
 
MINOT, ND – There’s a new No. 1 in Class B Girls Basketball. 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. Thompson (16)                   14-1        160           2
2. Rugby                                  14-1        117           1
3. Central McLean                   16-1        109           4
4. Kenmare-Bowbells             15-2         108          3
5. Central Cass                       11-3           99          5
6. Shiloh Christian                   13-2           94          8
7. Garrison                               15-1           73          7
8. Oakes                                   13-2          41          9
9. Bowman County                   15-1          33         10
10. May-Port-CG                      13-3           28          6
 
Others receiving votes: Carrington (13-3), Northern Cass (12-4), Beulah (11-5), Kidder County (13-3), Kindred (10-4)
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North Dakota Class B Boys Basketball Poll
 
                    (First Place Votes)    Record    Points    Last Week
1. Four Winds-Minnewaukan (16)   11-0         160           1
2. Central Cass                                14-0        143           2
3. Bishop Ryan                                 11-1        117           3
4. Sargent County                            13-0         111           4
5. Ellendale                                       14-0          96           5
6. Thompson                                      9-3          77            6
7. Beulah                                           10-1         68            7
8. Shiloh Christian                              8-3          36           RV
9. Grafton                                            8-3          33            9
10. Bowman County                          11-2          15          RV
 
Others receiving votes: North Border (10-2), North Prairie (12-2), Standing Rock (10-2)
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MINOT, ND – Scores from Monday:
 
High School Boys Basketball
 
Class A
#1 Bismarck Century def. #3 Mandan, 75-73
 
Class B
#1 Four Winds-Minnewaukan def. St. John, 82-39
#8 Shiloh Christian def. Max, 87-33
North Prairie def. Dakota Prairie, 69-35
Harvey-Wells County def. Lakota, 74-56
Garrison def. New Salem-Almont, 66-51
Wilton-Wing def. Hazen, 81-62
Killdeer def. Stanley, 73-70
Parshall/North Shore-Plaza def. Tioga, 52-40
Powers Lake-Burke Central def. Williston Trinity Christian, 58-51
 
High School Girls Basketball
 
Class B
#6 Shiloh Christian def. Center-Stanton, 60-20     (Shiloh’s Hailey Quam surpasses 2,000 career points)
#7 Garrison def. South Prairie-Max, 62-55
Bottineau def. Mohall-Lansford-Sherwood, 51-24
Berthold def. Westhope-Newburg, 60-54
Nedrose def. Bishop Ryan, 53-44
Glenburn def. Velva, 54-39
Our Redeemer’s def. Des Lacs-Burlington, 47-28
New Town def. Mandaree, 59-44
Washburn def. Beulah, 63-56
Hazen def. Glen Ullin-Hebron, 73-68
Trenton def. Divide County, 48-25
Williston Trinity Christian def. Alexander, 25-17
Stanley def. Powers Lake-Burke Central, 50-45
Kenmare-Bowbells JV def. Ray, 53-27
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MINOT, ND – District 12 boys basketball is on the air tonight as the cross-town rivalry between Bishop Ryan and Our Redeemer’s is renewed. The Lions are 11-1 overall and atop the district standings at 5-0. Our Redeemer’s is 6-8 overall and currently fourth is the district standings at 3-2. Pregame is set for just past 7 pm on 106.9 K-Heart, khrt.com and through the Live 365 app.
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WOLVES-KINGS
 
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — De’Aaron Fox scored 32 points and Trey Lyles had eight of his 11 points in overtime as the Sacramento Kings outlasted the Minnesota Timberwolves 118-111. Keegan Murray added 13 points and 13 rebounds and Domantas Sabonis had 17 points and 13 rebounds before fouling out for the Kings. Lyles took over for Sabonis at center and helped the Kings put the game away in overtime. Anthony Edwards had 33 points and eight rebounds for the Timberwolves to hit the 30-point mark for the fifth time in six games. Rudy Gobert added 19 points and 14 rebounds. The Kings had a season-high 15 steals and turned 18 turnovers by the Timberwolves into 21 points. Jaden McDaniels hit the game-tying 3-pointer with 13.5 seconds left for the Wolves, but they failed to take advantage of the absence of Sabonis in overtime and hurt themselves anew with unforced errors on both ends. In another sign of the crowded Western Conference race, they fell from fifth place to ninth. The Kings are in third, with just one more win than the Wolves. Timberwolves host Golden State on Wednesday.
 
 

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K-Heart Sports – 01/29/23

K-HEART SPORTS – 01/29/23 – 0700
 
MINOT, ND – Saturday scores:
 
High School Boys Basketball
 
Class A
#1 Bismarck Century def. Williston, 94-49
#2 Minot High def. Bismarck St. Mary’s, 85-49
Bismarck High def. Watford City, 103-65
 
Class B
Shiloh Christian def. Rugby, 71-67
Garrison def. Center-Stanton, 77-40
Benson County def. Drake-Anamoose, 62-60
Harvey-Wells County def. Kidder County, 71-45
White Shield def. Max, 67-55
Tioga def. New Town, 64-38
Divide County def. Williston Trinity Christian, 63-60
Berthold Bomber Shootout
Dunseith def. Trenton, 65-55
Minot North Freshman A def. Berthold, 80-59
Mandaree def. Ray, 64-38
 
High School Girls Basketball
 
Class A
Bismarck High def. Watford City, 77-39
Bismarck Century JV def. Williston, 63-22
 
Class B
#8 Shiloh Christian def. #1 Rugby, 61-54
#4 Central McLean def. Des Lacs-Burlington, 73-29
#7 Garrison def. Center-Stanton, 57-35
Mohall-Lansford-Sherwood def. Stanley, 48-43
Glenburn def. Wilton-Wing, 56-41
Bottineau def. Nedrose, 54-37
TGU def. Surrey, 65-58
Washburn def. Velva, 73-61
Benson County def. Drake-Anamoose, 46-44
Kidder County def. Harvey-Wells County, 71-30
North Prairie def. North Border, 51-39
New Town JV def. White Shield, 84-26
Beulah def. Heart River, 62-29
Powers Lake-Burke Central def. Divide County, 46-26
Berthold Bomber Shootout
North Shore-Plaza def. Dunseith, 40-38
Our Redeemer’s def. Tioga, 69-47
Berthold def. Trenton, 59-37
Mandaree def. Ray, 58-25
 
High School Boys Hockey
Bismarck Century def. Bottineau-Rugby, 4-1
Jamestown def. Williston, 8-4
 
High School Girls Hockey
Fargo Davies def. Minot High, 2-0
Williston def. Jamestown, 3-2
Devils Lake def. Dickinson, 8-4
Mandan def. Grand Forks, 3-2 OT
Fargo North-South def. Bismarck Century, 3-1
 
High School Girls Gymnastics
 
Dickinson Meet
1. Dickinson, 149.900
2. Bismarck Century, 145.250
3. Bismarck Legacy, 136.775
4. Mandan, 132.050
5. Bismarck High, 94.775
 
Jamestown Hillerud Construction Meet
1. Jamestown, 140.200
2. Grand Forks, 128.850
3. Aberdeen SD Central, 128.700
4. Fargo, 125.050
 
 
High School Boys Swimming & Diving
West Fargo Invite
1. Minot High, 494.5
2. Bismarck Century, 335.5
3. West Fargo, 284
4. Fargo Davies, 267
5. Williston, 265
6. West Fargo Sheyenne, 208
7. Jamestown, 162
Fargo North Triangular
1. Fargo North, 202
2. Bismarck Legacy, 183
3. Mandan, 155
 
High School Boys Wrestling
 
Class A
Bismarck St. Mary’s def. Turtle Mountain, 64-18
Williston def. Turtle Mountain, 63-18
Bismarck Legacy def. Bismarck St. Mary’s, 43-33
 
Class B
East-West Tournament – New Salem-Almont High School
1. Lisbon, 221.0
2. South Border, 183.0
3. New Salem-Almont, 158.0
4. Northern Lights, 125.5
5. Velva, 119.5
6. Hettinger-Scranton, 99.0
7. Kenmare-Bowbells-Burke Central, 88.0
8. LaMoure-Litchville-Marion, 86.0
9. Beulah-Hazen, 79.0
10. Oakes, 65.0
11. Hillsboro-Central Valley, 64.5
12. Carrington, 64.0
T13. Ellendale-Edgeley-Kulm, 63.0
T13. Stanley, 63.0
15. Killdeer, 60.5
16. Des Lacs-Burlington, 57.5
17. Bowman County, 57.0
18. Williams County, 51.0
19. MonDak, 36.5
20. Napoleon-Gackle-Streeter, 33.0
21. Kindred, 29.0
22. Rugby, 24.0
23. New Town-Parshall, 5.0
24. Standing Rock, 4.0
 
High School Girls Wrestling
Belle Of The Brawl – Central Cass High School
1. Bismarck High, 224.0
2. Bismarck Legacy, 157.0
3. Central Cass, 144.0
4. Grand Forks, 125.0
5. Minot High, 123.0
6. Pembina County North, 96.0
7. Carrington, 93.0
8. Des Lacs-Burlington, 90.5
9. South Border, 87.0
10. Fargo, 69.0
11. Hettinger-Scranton, 67.5
12. Lisbon, 57.0
13. Ellendale-Edgeley-Kulm, 46.0
14. Valley City, 45.0
15. Napoleon-Gackle-Streeter, 42.0
16. West Fargo United, 32.0
17. White Shield, 30.0
18. Dickinson, 27.0
19. Rugby, 20.0
20. LaMoure-Litchville-Marion, 19.0
T21. Killdeer, 17.0
T21. Stanley, 17.0
23. Northwood, 15.0
24. Kindred, 13.0
25. Bowman County, 9.5
T26. Hope Christian Academy, 3.0
T26. Northern Lights, 3.0
T26. Ray, 3.0
29. Hillsboro-Central Valley, 2.0
30. Carrington JV, 1.0
31. Devils Lake, 0.0
 
NAHL Hockey
Austin Bruins def. Minot Minotauros, 3-1
Bismarck Bobcats def. Aberdeen Wings, 3-2 OT
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MINOT STATE MEN’S BASKETBALL
 
MANKATO, MN (MSU) -The Minot State men’s basketball team got a 40-point showing from the bench, but fell 70-66 to the Minnesota State Mavericks on the road Saturday. The Beavers (9-11, 6-10) had Jalen Cook (19 points) and Jaxon Gunville (15 points and two steals off of the bench) lead the board with double figures while Ben Bohl added eight points to boost the Beaver’s score. After falling behind 14-9, Minot State went on a 6-0 run with 13:24 left in the first half, culminating in a three from Cook, to take a 15-14 lead. The Beavers then added three points to that lead by the end of the period and entered halftime with a 34-30 advantage. Minot State relied on its three-point shooting in the period, knocking down five shots to account for 15 of its 34 points. Minot State kept its lead intact before going on an 8-0 run, finished off by Cook’s three, to grow the lead to 42-32 with 17:36 to go in the contest. Minnesota State then asserted control, outscoring the Beavers 38-24 the rest of the way to hand Minot State the 70-66 loss. Minot State got a boost from its bench in the period, as non-starters accounted for 19 of its 32 total points.
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MINOT STATE WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
 
MANKATO, MN (MSU) -The Minot State women’s basketball team got a 29-point showing from the bench, but fell 96-78 to the Minnesota State Mavericks on the road Saturday. The Beavers (9-13, 4-11) put forward a great fight with three players- Kennedy Harris (23 points), Jaime Skeggs (12 points), and Kate Head (11 points) scoring in double figures, 18 turnovers, and 12 threes on 31 attempts. The Mavericks however held a tight offense and led the game most of the night. Minot State kept it close in the first quarter, but entered the second frame down 22-19. Minnesota State kept adding to that lead, building a 35-29 advantage before Minot State went on a 5-0 run, highlighted by a bucket from Harris, to narrow its deficit to 35-34. Minnesota State responded and expanded its lead, leaving the Beavers trailing 45-39 heading into halftime. Minot State’s deficit continued to grow after halftime, and the Beavers faced a 72-55 disadvantage heading to the fourth quarter. Minot State’s bench made the most of its minutes in the period, as non-starters totaled four of the team’s 16 third-quarter points. Minnesota State kept widening its lead in the fourth, constructing an 89-71 advantage before Minot State went on a 5-0 run, finished off by Skeggs’ three, to shrink the deficit to 89-76 with 2:39 to go in the contest. Minnesota State responded and outscored the Beavers the rest of the way, ending the game with a final score of 96-78. Minot State fired away from deep in the quarter, knocking down four shots to account for 12 of its 23 points.
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MINOT STATE WOMEN’S HOCKEY
 
LYNCHBURG, Va. (MSU) – The Beavers refused to leave Virginia without a victory and went out and earned one Saturday night against the No. 1 team in the nation. Scoring early and never letting No. 1-ranked Liberty grab the lead, No. 3-ranked Minot State scored a 4-3 win over the host Flames to wrap up a three-game series between the teams. Liberty, the two-time defending ACHA Division I National Champions, scored a 4-1 win on Thursday night, and a 4-0 victory on Friday, before the Beavers earned their first win of the head-to-head series Saturday. Anna German put Minot State (16-8-1 overall) on the board first midway through the opening period, but the host Flames (20-2-0) tied it, forcing Minot State to keep on fighting. The Beavers retook the lead as Ensley Fendelet put home a rebound off a German shot late in the first period, giving Minot State momentum on top 2-1 at the first intermission. After the Flames tied it once again early in the second, Gillian Gervin struck for Minot State, putting the Beavers back in front once again. Liberty proved why they are No. 1, continue to battle and tying it 3-3 before the end of the second, setting the stage for a dramatic third-period finish. A fantastic finish for Minot State as about five minutes into the final period Sydney Spicer ripped a shot into the upper-left corner, snapping the tie for a final time and lifting Minot State to the win.
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MINOT STATE MEN’S WRESTLING
 
MINOT, N.D. (MSU) – The Beavers continue to be a tough opponent, no matter who they wrestle. A day after three last-second losses spoiled Minot State’s upset bid, the Beaver men’s wrestling team put up another fight, this time against No. 7-ranked Wisconsin-Parkside, scoring three victories but again seeing setbacks in two other close contests help the highly-ranked Rangers escape the MSU Dome with a 28-9 win over the Beavers. Cannon Potts, Dustin Swisher, and Jake Swirple each provided a win by decision for Minot State (6-8 duals, 1-5 NSIC) which next is in action wrestling at Minnesota State, Mankato on Thursday and at Southwest Minnesota State on Friday. Trailing in the dual with matches running out, the Beavers got on the board as Potts picked up a 4-1 win at 174 pounds over Crosby Schlosser. Powering through the upper weights, Minot State got a 9-4 win from Dustin Swisher at 197 pounds, adding to the Beavers score, then a 3-2 win from Swirple at heavyweight to close out the dual. But there were chances for more for the Beavers, starting at 133 pounds as James Davis battled hard all match and went for the late comeback with a takedown of Troy Dolphin to close to 9-8 back before time ran out and Davis fell by that 9-8 score. Ethan Wonser than went chasing the upset at 141 pounds against No. 10-ranked Cayden Henschel, who held a 3-2 lead late in the match and wouldn’t allow Wonser an escape to try and even the score as the Beaver grappler fell by that 3-2 mark.
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MINOT STATE WOMEN’S WRESTLING
 
MINOT, N.D. (MSU) – Minot State’s Nina Sandoval and Madison Parson each picked up a win by pin on the day, and the Minot State women’s wrestling team added five other victories as they came close to topping in-state rival Jamestown on Saturday in a tri-dual at the MSU Dome. Heading into the final match of their dual against the Jimmies trailed 18-15, the Beavers bid for the win came up just short as Jamestown scored a 23-15 victory in the dual. Minot State also fell to No. 5-ranked Augsburg 29-10. Sandoval provided two wins on the day, including a pin with 30 seconds left in the first period over Madison Horn from Augsburg in an extra match. Sandoval also earned a win by forfeit at 155 pounds against Jamestown. Parson added the other win by pin, also in an extra match, as she pinned Savanah Ruiz of Augsburg with 1:36 left in the opening round of their match. Jazmin Gorder added two more wins, both by forfeit at 123 pounds for the Beavers, one each against Jamestown and Augsburg, and Zoe Desloges added a win by forfeit at 116 pounds against Augsburg. The final win of the day went to Minot State’s Taylor Cormier at 170 pounds against Jamestown. Cormier, a junior on the Minot State women’s golf team, stepped in to help out the women’s wrestling program by competing to give the Beavers enough competitors to qualify for the Regional Championship in Colorado in February. With their home slate done, the first-year Minot State women’s wrestling team competes at one more tournament, the Grand View Open in Iowa next Saturday, before heading to Regionals on Feb. 18-19.
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MINOT STATE TRACK & FIELD
 
GRAND FORKS, N.D. (MSU) – The MSU Beavers Track & Field team had an impressive day of competition at the UND Open as both men and women’s teams finished in the top 10 in total team points. Junior Leif Nelson had himself a day competing in the men’s shot put. His toss of 51 feet 3 inches makes him the new indoor school record in the event. Nelson finished in 7th place and not to be undone were teammates Chase Snyder and Corbin Harris who finished in 8th and 9th place with throws of 49 feet 11 inches and 46 feet 11 inches respectively. Sprinters Francis Short Bull and Nathan Trujillo- Aragon motivated each other to finish 3rd and 4th respectively in the men’s 300 meters. Short Bull crossed the line at 36:02 while Trujillo Aragon finished at 36.10. The distance runners on the men’s side saw good production from Jacob Jensen in the mile, he finished in 6th place with a time of 4:19:67. Grayson Bonilla stuck with it in a long 3,000m finishing under 10 minutes in 9:35:08. Nicholas Merillana and Charles Hardcastle also finished in the top ten in the men’s 800 meters, 9th and 10th respectively. Both ran under two minutes in the event, Nicholas finished in 1:57:54 and Charles finished in 1:58.40. Sidra Sadowsky and Summer Krebsbach added quality team points on the women’s side as Sadowsky finished her 800 meters sprint in 6th place with a time of 2:22:53 and Krebsbach also finished in 6th place in the 300 meters sprint in 43:72.
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UND-NDSU WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
 
GRAND FORKS, N.D. (UND) – The University of North Dakota Fighting Hawks ended 0-8 losing streak against the NDSU Bison 82-73. UND brought home the win against NDSU for the first time since February 7th, 2019, and maintained a perfect 10-0, on home court. This is Head Coach Mallory Bernhard’s first win against the Bison. The third quarter woes seemed to have worked themselves out. UND best scoring run came in the third, outscoring NDSU 10-0. UND outrebounded NDSU 44-37. Claire Orth led the team with a season high of 21 points. She had 8 rebounds and led the team in minutes played. Kacie Borowicz had 18 points and led the team with 4 steals. Maggie Manson led the team from deep, making four out of five for 12 points on the night. Heaven Hamling paced NDSU with a game-high 28 points to go along with seven rebounds, two steals, two assists and a block. Abby Schulte added in 12 points with four rebounds, while Elle Evans contributed 10 points with a team-high eight rebounds. Behnke rounded out the top performers with 10 points and seven rebounds.
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UND MEN’S HOCKEY
 
OXFORD, Ohio (UND) – Riese Gaber potted three goals while 14 of the 17 skaters dressed for North Dakota tallied at least a point to help the Fighting Hawks polish off a weekend sweep over Miami, 8-0, on Saturday night from the Goggin Ice Center in Oxford, Ohio. UND (12-11-4, 6-8-2 NCHC) scored early-and-often in the victory, eclipsing a season-high in goals in the win to tally the first road sweep of the season to climb in the NCHC standings. Gaber was dynamic, striking for three goals and an assist to match his career-high for points in a game and record the first hat trick by a North Dakota player since Rhett Gardner on Nov. 2, 2018 against Wisconsin. The junior was not alone in the offensive showcase, with Jackson Blake (1g, 2a), Mark Senden (3a), Ethan Frisch (2a) and Ty Farmer (2a) all recording multiple points in the win. Drew DeRidder turned in another strong performance in net, turning aside all 23 shots fired his way for his third shutout of the season and fourth straight start with two-or-fewer goals allowed.
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NDSU TRACK-RODIN
 
GRAND FORKS, N.D. (NDSU) – NDSU senior Jacob Rodin continued to leave his mark as one of the best Bison runners in recent history, highlighting the efforts of the North Dakota State men’s track & field team at the UND Open on Saturday. The Bison men swept the top four places in three different events. Rodin (Kenmare, N.D.) raced to a new 400m personal-best of 47.39, winning the meet and ranking second-fastest in NDSU indoor history.
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WOLVES-KINGS
 
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Anthony Edwards had 16 of his 34 points in the pivotal third quarter, D’Angelo Russell scored 25 points and the
Minnesota Timberwolves held on for a 117-110 win against the Sacramento Kings on Saturday night. Rudy Gobert added 13 points and 14 rebounds for Minnesota, which has won five of six and took the first of two straight meetings between the teams at Target Center. Naz Reid added 14 points off the bench, including 10 in the Timberwolves’ big third. Domantas Sabonis had 23 points and 10 rebounds for Sacramento, which has lost three of four after a six-game winning streak earlier in January. De’Aaron Fox had 21 of his 29 points in the fourth as the Kings closed within 114-110 with 37.9 seconds left before Edwards hit a 3-pointer to put the game away. Russell got Minnesota started with 12 points in the first and he hit his first six 3s to continue his torrid shooting. In his previous 12 games, Russell was hitting 49.1% from the field and 47.1% from 3. His season average from 3-point range coming in was 38.1%. Sacramento later closed the first half on a 26-14 run to lead 59-57. Edwards put the Timberwolves back in front as he scored 10 points during a 13-2 third-quarter stretch that saw Minnesota regain control. The Wolves outscored the Kings by 11 in the quarter, a night after the third was the key in a win over Memphis. Minnesota has been outscored by 106 points in the third, the second-highest total in the NBA and the 2.1-point average per game was tied for second. But in January, when Edwards has taken over in the period, the Wolves are a plus-26 in the third in 15 games. Edwards is averaging 8.5 points in the third in January, which is the 12th-highest total in the league during that span.
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WILD-SABRES
 
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Mats Zuccarello, Kirill Kaprizov and Freddy Gaudreau scored in the shootout, lifting the Minnesota Wild past the Buffalo Sabres 3-2 on Saturday night. Joel Eriksson Ek and Jared Spurgeon had goals in regulation for Minnesota, which headed into the All-Star break with two wins in a row. Marc-Andre Fleury stopped 29 shots for the Wild, including a sprawling save to thwart Tage Thompson on a wraparound try with about eight minutes left in regulation. He also made a pair of stops about four minutes later with Buffalo buzzing in the Wild’s end. Thompson scored in the shootout for Buffalo, but Jack Quinn was stopped by Fleury, and Gaudreau secured the win for Minnesota. Quinn and Zemgus Girgensons scored in regulation for Buffalo, which earned seven of eight points on a road trip through much of the Central Division that included victories in Dallas, St. Louis and Winnipeg. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen made 33 saves for the Sabres, a league-best 12-2-2 on the road since Nov. 22. With the shootout loss, Buffalo has points in seven straight road contests for the first time since Feb. 8 to March 6, 2011. Buffalo went up by one twice in the first two periods, only to see Minnesota quickly respond each time. Early in the first, Quinn took advantage of a turnover by Minnesota and beat Fleury with a wrister from the slot, but Eriksson Ek converted a feed from Kirill Kaprizov 73 seconds later on the power play. Left open at the back post, Girgensons converted a pass from Kyle Okposo midway through the second period. But less than three minutes later, Freddy Gaudreau found Spurgeon coming low in the left circle and delivered a perfect feed for an easy redirect. Rasmus Dahlin thought he gave the Sabres a 3-2 lead, but his rebound crossed the goal line less than a second after the middle period expired.
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TWINS-FAN FEST
 
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The Minnesota Twins were smitten after one season of Carlos Correa’s hitting, defense, intelligence, experience and leadership. The belief in those traits was strong enough to commit a franchise-record amount of guaranteed money for at least the next six years. They badly needed a jolt for their brand off the field, too. Correa picked two other teams before returning to Minnesota after those agreements fell through, but his $200 million contract was still pretty sweet for a fan base weary of a two-decade wait since the last time the Twins won a playoff series. “There’s a lot of excitement inside the building for sure from the business side of the operation to the baseball side, but also I hear from fans and from people around town, ‘He chose to come back here,’” President of Baseball Operations Derek Falvey said. “Obviously, the route was unique and the way he got here, but we were always on his radar, and I think at the end of the day that always feels good when you’re a fan of the team or you’re someone who works for the team.”
 
Correa, making his first winter visit to Minnesota on a weekend that turned particularly frigid, was the star attraction at the team’s sold-out annual fan festival that included more than 60 current and former players on hand for autographs and interactions. “There is definitely excitement. They believe that we’re a team that can go out there in the playoffs and get on a good run, so that’s what we’re trying to do,” Correa said Saturday at Target Field during a break between TwinsFest appearances.
 
The Twins drew 1.8 million fans in 2022, their lowest attendance total for a season without pandemic-prompted seating restrictions since 2001 when they played at the cramped Metrodome and carried a streak of eight straight losing records. Crowd sizes are influenced by many factors beyond actual team performance, of course, but spending 108 days in first place before a late injury-fueled fate was not enough for the Twins to get the masses excited about their club even after some initial buzz from Correa’s surprise signing the first time last March.
 
When the Twins traded batting champion Luis Arraez to the Miami Marlins last week for starting pitcher Pablo López and two prospects, there was plenty of public backlash about losing a popular player. For team president Dave St. Peter, that wasn’t necessarily a negative. “I think the interest level in the 2023 Twins has ascended dramatically from where we were in November,” St. Peter said, expecting the attendance total this year to increase past 2 million. The Twins in six seasons under Falvey have made the playoffs three times but failed to win a game while extending their record streak to 18 straight postseason losses. What this regime doesn’t have to prove is a willingness to aggressively and creatively pursue improvement, with the acquisition of Correa for a second time the most famous example. “Hopefully it’s a feather in everyone’s cap that the way he was treated, the way he went through his year here, even in a year where at the end of the year we struggled on the field, he still felt there was real optimism about this club,” Falvey said. “And that makes everyone else feel better, too.”
 
Third baseman Jose Miranda, a fellow native of Puerto Rico, was one of the several Twins who kept in regular contact with Correa during the roller-coaster negotiation that included deals with the San Francisco Giants and New York Mets that collapsed over long-term concern about his ankle. “We were like, ‘Oh, OK, he’s gone,’ and then all of a sudden that happened that he comes back, and everyone is excited,” Miranda said. “Because he’s a game changer.” Manager Rocco Baldelli said he long had a sense that Correa would wind up staying. “It’s not like if you want something it precludes you from ever having other options or wanting something else,” Baldelli said, “but I always felt that this was a very important place for him and a place that he could spend the rest of his baseball career.”
 
 
 

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K-Heart Sports – 01/28/23

K-HEART SPORTS – 01/28/23 – 0700
 
MINOT, ND – After a tie at 2-2 Bishop Ryan closed out the first quarter on a 30-0 run as they defeated South Prairie 78-38 last night in a District 12 boys basketball game we broadcast on K-Heart. Brady Feller led the way for the Lions scoring 26 points in three quarters. Ramsey Walz added 16 and Ian Johnson tallied 12 for the #3-ranked Lions as they improve their record to 11-1 overall, 5-0 in District 12. Carter Korslein scored 9 points for South Prairie while Ethan Dobson added 7. The Royals drop to 3-9 overall, 0-5 in District 12.
 
The most exciting part of the night was Bishop Ryan 7th grader J.J. Franks winning $10,000 in the Northern Bottling/Gatorade Halftime Shootout. Franks didn’t miss a shot in 25-seconds as he made a lay-up, a freethrow, a 3-pointer, and a one handed heave from half court that banked in. He was swarmed by the Bishop Ryan players who lifted him on their shoulders like he’d hit the game winning shot in the state championship as the crowd exploded in cheers.
 
Other scores from the area:
 
High School Boys Basketball
 
Class A
#1 Bismarck Century def. Watford City, 96-37
Bismarck Legacy def. Turtle Mountain, 88-73
Dickinson def. Jamestown, 86-83 2OT
Williston def. Bismarck High, 81-80
 
Class B
#7 Beulah def. Killdeer, 71-34
Des Lacs-Burlington def. Our Redeemer’s, 56-44
Mohall-Lansford-Sherwood def. Surrey, 50-49
Glenburn def. Berthold, 63-56
Bottineau def. Drake-Anamoose, 75-46
Westhope-Newburg def. Nedrose, 64-53
Rugby def. TGU, 64-49
Harvey-Wells County def. North Star, 71-65
Hazen def. New England, 63-52
Stanley def. Powers Lake-Burke Central, 75-67
Tioga def. Ray, 74-27
 
High School Girls Basketball
 
Class A
#1 Bismarck Century def. Watford City, 75-32
#4 Minot High def. Bismarck St. Mary’s, 81-56
#5 Bismarck Legacy def. Turtle Mountain, 73-34
Bismarck High def. Williston, 74-44
Jamestown def. Dickinson, 82-71
 
Class B
#3 Kenmare-Bowbells def. New Town, 54-18
#4 Central McLean def. Wilton-Wing, 80-29
Glenburn def. Berthold, 65-54
Tioga def. Ray, 64-21
North Prairie def. Warwick, 78-48
New Rockford-Sheyenne def. St. John, 52-49
Langdon Area-Edmore-Munich def. Harvey-Wells County, 70-25
 
High School Boys Hockey
Bismarck High def. Bottineau-Rugby, 5-1
Bismarck Century def. Williston, 6-1
 
High School Girls Hockey
Minot High def. Jamestown, 6-0
West Fargo def. Bismarck Century, 3-0
Fargo Davies def. Williston, 4-1
Mandan def. Devils Lake, 7-4
Grand Forks def. Dickinson, 3-2 SO
 
High School Boys Swimming & Diving
West Fargo Pentathlon
1. Minot High, 347.5
2. Bismarck Legacy, 141.5
3. Fargo South, 124
4. Fargo North, 100.5
5. Williston, 88.5
6. West Fargo, 84
7. West Fargo Sheyenne, 23
 
High School Boys Wrestling
Minot High def. Dickinson, 38-21
Bismarck High def. Watford City, 70-9
Jamestown def. Mandan, 51-24
 
NAHL Hockey
Minot Minotauros def. Austin Bruins, 3-2
Bismarck Bobcats def. Aberdeen Wings, 6-1
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MINOT STATE MEN’S BASKETBALL
 
SAINT PAUL, Minn. (MSU) – This fantastic finish wasn’t so fantastic for the Beavers. After Cam’ron Dunfee dramatically tied the game to force overtime for Minot State, a foul with 1 second left allowed host Concordia, Saint Paul to hit three free-throws for an 86-85 upset of the Beavers in NSIC action Friday night. The Beavers (9-10 overall, 6-9 NSIC) had five players score in double figures, led by Ben Bohl who had 16 points. Khari Broadway added 15 points, seven rebounds, and four steals, and Jaxon Gunville chipped in as well with 14 points and two steals from the bench. The Minot State offense was strong from downtown, knocking down eight threes on 24 attempts. Gunville hit four treys for the Beavers in the contest. Minot State forced 18 Concordia, Saint Paul turnovers while committing 11 themselves in Friday’s game. The Beavers turned those takeaways into 23 points on the other end of the floor. Broadway’s four steals led the way for Minot State. The Beavers play at Minnesota State-Mankato today.
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MINOT STATE WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
 
SAINT PAUL, Minn. (MSU) – The Minot State women’s basketball team kept Concordia, Saint Paul to just 18.2 percent from deep in a 4-for-22 shooting performance but fell 71-61 to the Golden Bears on the road Friday in NSIC action. The Beavers (9-12 overall, 4-10 NSIC) had two players score in double figures, led by Kate Head who had 22 points, five assists, and two steals. Natasha Elliott added 12 points and Emma Mogen added seven points and three steals. The Beavers play at Minnesota State-Mankato today.
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MINOT STATE WOMEN’S HOCKEY
 
LYNCHBURG, Va. (MSU) – A pair of third-period goals helped host and No. 1-ranked Liberty hold on for a second straight win over Minot State as the Flames won 4-0 on Friday night. The No. 3 Beavers (15-8-1 overall), fell 4-1 on Thursday at Liberty (20-1-0), which led 1-0 after the first period on Friday, and 2-0 after two periods. The two teams wrap up their three-game series tonight at 6:30 p.m. (CT).
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MINOT STATE MEN’S WRESTLING
 
MINOT, N.D. (MSU) – Sometimes the cliché “closer than the score indicates” really is true. The Minot State wrestling team gave No. 10 Upper Iowa all the Peacocks could handle in an NSIC dual Friday night with three matches turning away from the Beavers literally in the final seconds as Upper Iowa won the dual 28-7. Oscar Nellis and Kelby Armstrong provided the two wins on the night for the Beavers (6-7 duals, 1-4 NSIC), who also were poised for victory in the final five seconds of three others matches. Last-second takedowns by Colter Bye at 184 pounds and by Jordan Baumler at heavyweight gave Upper Iowa (9-2, 5-0) one-point decision wins, then a last-second reversal by Kaden Anderlik at 133 pounds added one more 1-point decision win for the Peacocks. Cayden White (184), Jake Swirple (285), and James Davis (133) ended up the hard-luck losers in those three matches, despite outstanding efforts by each for Minot State. Also outstanding for Minot State of late has been Nellis who rolled to a 12-4 major decision at 125 pounds over Colby Lopez on Friday night, Nellis’ fifth straight victory as the senior improved to 12-2 on the season. And in his first action since mid-December in a non-conference dual at the University of Mary, Armstrong returned to the mat and proved victorious, improving to 5-0 on the season with a 4-1 decision over Ethen Doty at 149 pounds. Those proved to be the highlights on the night for the Beavers, who are back in action this afternoon as they host 7th-ranked UW-Parkside at 4 p.m. to wrap up a four-match homestand.
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MINOT STATE CROSS COUNTRY-HONORS
 
MINOT, N.D. (MSU)– Both the Minot State men’s and women’s cross country teams earned the top scholastic honor from the United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) as both were named All-Academic Teams. Also honored was Minot State senior Jacob Jensen from the men’s team as he was named a USTFCCCA All-Academic Athlete. To be eligible for the All-Academic Team honor, a program must have at least a cumulative team GPA of 3.0 for the fall semester and compete as a full team at the NCAA Regional Championships.
 
Under the guidance of head coach Sarah Fowler, the Minot State men led the way for the Beavers as they finished 19th at the NCAA Central Region Championship as a team and compiled a 3.236 team GPA. The Minot State women, also led by Coach Fowler, finished 29th at the Central Region Championship and compiled a team GPA of 3.163. Individually, a student-athlete must finish in the top 30 percent at regionals and maintain at least a 3.25 cumulative GPA. Jensen is a senior from Belcourt, North Dakota who is majoring in Computer Science & Cyber Security and Operations. He finished 44th overall at the Central Region Championship clocking a time of 30 minutes, 38.18 seconds on a 10-kilometer course.
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NDSU-UND MEN’S BASKETBALL
 
FARGO, N.D. (NDSU/UND) – North Dakota State’s Grant Nelson scored a career-high 36 points to power the Bison men’s basketball team to a 91-75 victory over North Dakota on Friday night inside the Scheels Center in Fargo. Nelson poured in 24 points on 9-for-12 shooting in the first half alone. The Devils Lake, N.D., product finished with seven rebounds and three blocks. The Bison improved to 16-6 in 22 games against the Fighting Hawks in the Division I era. NDSU has now won 10 of the last 12 in the series. Boden Skunberg added 17 points and seven rebounds for NDSU, Tajavis Miller scored 10, and Lance Waddles and Damari Wheeler-Thomas both scored nine. NDSU sophomore forward Joshua Streit recorded six points and eight rebounds, leading the Bison on the glass. The Bison shot a season-best 55.4 percent for the game and committed only four turnovers. NDSU led 53-46 at halftime before scoring the first eight points of the second half to go ahead by 15 at 61-46. The Bison (6-4 Summit League) led by as many as 20 points in the second half.
 
Matt Norman led the Hawks (7-16, 1-9 SL) with 25 points, with Tsonte Tsartsidze and A’jahni Levias both reaching double figures with 14 and 10 points, respectively. B.J. Omot led the Hawks with nine seven rebounds, while four players (Norman, Tsartsidze, Treysen Eaglestaff and Jalun Trent) all tied for the team lead with two assists.
 
UND got out to a lead early as Eaglestaff hit a three to open the scoring and then a layup from Tsartsidze put the Hawks on top 5-0. It was the beginning of a high scoring, breakneck first 20 minutes. NDSU answered with a 13-3 run, but UND hit threes on four possessions as Tsartsidze hit to draw UND back within two at 13-11, then Norman hit three straight threes to put UND up 20-15. The first time that either team led by more than five points was at the 8:49 mark of the half when Levias completed a three point play that put the Hawks up 31-25. Levias scored all 10 of his points in the first half, and Norman poured in 15 of his 25 points in the opening stanza—all from beyond the arc. After the three point play by Levias, the Bison went on a 9-2 run to take the lead and would not trail again for the rest of the game. The Hawks would not go down easy as they pulled within two at 38-36 after a three pointer from Tsartsidze at the 5:05 mark of the first half, but it was as close as the Hawks would get the rest of the way. A three from Eaglestaff at the buzzer made it a 53-46 game at halftime. The Bison came out in the second half with an 8-0 run to expand their seven point halftime edge. From there, the Hawks were unable to pull within single digits the rest of the way.
 
The women will play today in Grand Forks. Tipoff scheduled for 1 pm.
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UND MEN’S HOCKEY
 
OXFORD, Ohio (UND) – The University of North Dakota hockey team took down Miami, 4-1, on Friday night from Goggin Ice Center in Oxford, Ohio. UND (11-11-4, 5-8-2 NCHC) received goals from four-different players while goaltender Drew DeRidder stopped 27-of-28 shots to earn his sixth win of the season between the pipes for the Fighting Hawks.
 
Jackson Blake opened the scoring on the first shot of the game for the visitors, wiring home a perfect pass from Riese Gaber on the power play to give NoDak an early 1-0 lead just 4:18 into the contest. Midway through the stanza, Carson Albrecht made a beautiful move and chipped it over the glove of goaltender Ludvig Persson on the breakaway for his second goal of the season to increase the lead to 2-0 after 20 minutes to play.
 
UND kept up its strong starts to periods going in the second, with Tyler Kleven finishing off a feed from Judd Caulfield with a rocket to the top corner for his sixth tally of the year and a 3-0 advantage with just over two minutes played in the middle stanza. DeRidder was at his strongest in the second, turning aside all 10 shots he saw in the frame, including four when Miami (7-16-2, 2-12-1 NCHC) was on the man advantage, to keep the Hawks in front by a trio of goals heading into the final period.
 
It was another early strike in the third period for NoDak, as Matteo Costantini buried a tic-tac-toe play from Owen McLaughlin and Caufield to increase the lead to 4-0 at the 1:54 mark of the frame. After Miami found the back of the net on the power play just past the midway point of the third, DeRidder and the defense shut the door to preserve the 4-1 victory in the series opener. North Dakota closes out the series against Miami tonight at 7:05 p.m. from Oxford.
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WOLVES-GRIZZLIES
 
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Anthony Edwards scored 13 of his 25 points in the third quarter, D’Angelo Russell added 19 points and the Timberwolves topped the short-handed Memphis Grizzlies 111-100. The Grizzlies took the court minutes after video footage was released of Tyre Nichols being beaten by Memphis police. There was a moment of silence prior to the game. Kyle Anderson had 23 points for Minnesota, which has won four of five. Nathan Knight added 10 points off the bench. The Timberwolves scored 58 points in the paint Ja Morant had 27 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds for Memphis, which finished its season-long road trip 0-5 during which it lost Steven Adams, Desmond Bane and John Konchar to injuries. The Timberwolves play two in a row against Sacramento at home, beginning tonight.
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TWINS-MAUER
 
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Joe Mauer will be the next addition to the Minnesota Twins Hall of Fame. Mauer will become the 38th member of the group when he’s inducted on Aug. 5 before the Twins host Arizona, the team announced Friday. Mauer was the 2009 AL MVP. He won three batting titles — the only AL catcher to do so — and also received three Gold Glove awards. Mauer is eligible for the National Baseball Hall of Fame for the first time next year. He was the first overall pick in the 2001 draft out of Cretin-Derham Hall High School in St. Paul, which less than 10 miles from Target Field. Mauer is the all-time Twins leader in doubles and times on base. He’s second in games, hits, walks and at-bats. His No. 7 jersey was the ninth number retired in club history in 2019, the summer following his last of 15 seasons with Minnesota.
 
 

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K-Heart Sports – 01/27/23

K-HEART SPORTS – 01/27/23 – 0700
 
MINOT, ND – District 12 boys basketball is on the air tonight as Bishop Ryan will host South Prairie. The Lions are 10-1 on the season and 4-0 in district play. The Royals 3-8 overall, 0-4 in District 12. Pregame begins a little past 7 pm on 106.9 K-Heart, khrt.com, and through the Live 365 app.
 
Scores from Thursday:
 
High School Boys Basketball
 
Class A
#3 Mandan def. Turtle Mountain, 94-67
 
Class B
St. John def. Benson County, 69-19
North Prairie def. New Rockford-Sheyenne, 73-48
 
High School Girls Basketball
 
Class A
Mandan def. Turtle Mountain, 66-59
 
Class B
Surrey def. Bishop Ryan, 59-38
TGU def. Nedrose, 66-61
Bottineau def. Westhope-Newburg, 67-52
Parshall def. Mandaree, 66-59
 
High School Boys Wrestling
Bismarck Century def. Turtle Mountain, 71-12
Williston def. Bismarck St. Mary’s, 62-13
 
High School Girls Wrestling
Bismarck Century def. Turtle Mountain, 48-15
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MINOT STATE MEN’S HOCKEY
 
MINOT, N.D. (MSU) – The Beavers ran into a tough defensive foe Thursday night, but eventually Minot State broke through. Reece Henry scored the game-winner early in the second period when a shot by teammate Brayden Pawluk caromed off Henry’s skate and into the net, breaking a scoreless tie and igniting the Beavers 4-0 victory at the Maysa Arena over the visiting Waldorf Warriors. One of 61 shots that the Beavers fired on goal as Minot State kept firing away and tacked on one more in the second as Jay Buchholz scored with 6:53 left in the session, then Henry made it 3-0 with 1:59 gone in the third. Jacob Bestul capped the scoring with 3:53 left, netting his first of the season. Joey Moffatt added an assist on the Beavers first goal, Eric Soar had the assist on Buchholz’s goal, Pawluk added an assist on Henry’s second, and Buchholz assisted on Bestul’s goal for Minot State. The top-ranked Beavers now are off until next weekend when they play Friday and Saturday, Feb. 4 and 5, at Ohio.
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MINOT STATE WOMEN’S HOCKEY
 
LYNCHBURG, Va. (MSU) – The Minot State women’s hockey team’s first shot at a road upset came up short Thursday night. The third-ranked Beavers (15-7-1 overall) got a power-play goal from Sydney Spicer midway through the second period, cutting the host Flames lead in half, but two third-period goals for top-ranked Liberty lifted them to a 4-1 win over Minot State. The two teams play again in Virginia tonight in the second of a three-game series. The Flames (19-1-0) took a 1-0 lead in the first period and stretched the lead to 2-0 early in the second period before Spicer scored. The Beavers comeback came up short, though, as the host Flames netted two goals in the third to ice the win.
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MINOT STATE-HONORS
 
MINOT, N.D. (MSU) – The Minot State athletic department announced that six Beaver student-athletes have been named as NSIC Myles Brand All-Academic with Distinction Award winners, one of the most prestigious honors bestowed on student-athletes by the NSIC. Earning the honor were women’s basketball players Natasha Elliott and Kennedy Harris, baseball players Garrett Nicholson and Dominick Parkhurst, soccer player Daniela Nardelli, and softball player Jaycie Rostad.
 
Elliott is a Corporate Fitness and Wellness Management major from Brisbane, Australia, and Harris is an Elementary Education major from Mandan, North Dakota, Nicholson is a Sports Management and Management major from Sydney Mines, Nova Scotia, and Parkhurst, who is from Tucson, Arizona, is working towards his master’s in Information Systems. Nardelli is a Biology / Pre-Therapy major from Arco, Italy, and Rostad is a Corporate Fitness and Wellness Management major from Minot, North Dakota.
 
The honor, named for the late NCAA President Dr. Myles Brand, is bestowed to senior or graduate-student NSIC student-athletes who have a cumulative grade point average of 3.75 or higher, are exhausting their athletic eligibility this academic year, and are on track to graduate or have graduated with their bachelor’s degree.
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WILD-FLYERS
 
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Mats Zuccarello scored in overtime, Matt Boldy had two goals and the Minnesota Wild returned home with a 3-2 win against the Philadelphia Flyers. Marc-Andre Fleury made 28 saves for Minnesota which had lost three in a row and was 1-3 on a four-game road trip. Tony DeAngelo sent the game into overtime for the Flyers with his eighth goal of the season with 1:28 remaining in regulation. Noah Cates also scored for Philadelphia, which has lost five of seven. Carter Hart stopped 20 shots. Boldy, who assisted on Zuccarello’s winner, had his third multi-goal game of the season. The 21-year-old left wing has 16 goals in his second NHL season and has seven points during a four-game point streak. The Wild host Buffalo on Saturday.
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VIKINGS-D.C. INTERVIEWS
 
EAGAN, Minn. (AP) — The Minnesota Vikings interviewed internal candidate Mike Pettine on Wednesday for their defensive coordinator vacancy. Pettine served as assistant head coach this season under rookie coach Kevin O’Connell. The 56-year-old Pettine has 19 seasons of experience as an NFL coach, including three stints as a defensive coordinator with the New York Jets (2009-12), Buffalo (2013) and Green Bay (2018-20). Pettine was the head coach for Cleveland for two years from 2014-15. O’Connell fired Ed Donatell after the Vikings ranked second-worst in the league in yards allowed and fourth-worst in points allowed in their only season together. Two other defensive coordinator candidates have already interviewed with the Vikings: New Orleans co-defensive coordinator and defensive line coach Ryan Nielsen and Seattle associate head coach for defense Sean Desai.
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OBIT-PACKER
 
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Billy Packer, an Emmy award-winning college basketball broadcaster who covered 34 Final Fours for NBC and CBS, died Thursday. He was 82. Packer’s son, Mark, told The Associated Press that his father had been hospitalized in Charlotte for the past three weeks and had several medical issues, and ultimately succumbed to kidney failure.
 
Packer’s broadcasting career coincided with the growth of college basketball. He worked as analyst or color commentator on every Final Four from 1975 to 2008. He received a Sports Emmy for Outstanding Sports Personality, Studio and Sports Analyst in 1993. Packer played three seasons at Wake Forest, and helped lead the Demon Deacons to the Final Four in 1962, but it was his work as an analyst that brought him the most acclaim. He joined NBC in 1974 and called his first Final Four in 1975. UCLA beat Kentucky in the title game that year in what was John Wooden’s final game as coach. Packer was also part of the broadcast in 1979 with Dick Enberg and Al McGuire when Magic Johnson’s Michigan State team beat Larry Bird’s Indiana State squad in the title game. That remains highest-rated game in basketball history with a 24.1 Nielsen rating, which is an estimated 35.1 million viewers.
 
Packer went to CBS in the fall of 1981, when the network acquired the rights to the NCAA Tournament. He remained the network’s main analyst until the 2008 Final Four. Sean McManus, the chairman of CBS Sports, said Packer was “synonymous with college basketball for more than three decades and set the standard of excellence as the voice of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament.” “He had a tremendous impact on the growth and popularity of the sport.” McManus said. “In true Billy fashion, he analyzed the game with his own unique style, perspective and opinions, yet always kept the focus on the game. As passionate as he was about basketball, at his heart Billy was a family man. He leaves part of his legacy at CBS Sports, across college basketball and, most importantly, as a beloved husband, father and grandfather. He will be deeply missed by all.” Packer was inducted into the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame in 2008.
 
 

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K-Heart Sports – 01/26/23

K-HEART SPORTS – 01/26/23 – 0700
 
MINOT, ND – Bismarck Century remains atop both Class A Basketball Polls. The polls are voted on by the North Dakota Associated Press Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association.
 
North Dakota Class A Boys Basketball Poll
 
       (First Place Votes)    Record    Points    Last Week
1. Bismarck Century (18)   11-0         90           1
2. Minot High                       12-2         70           3
3. Mandan                            11-1        48           2
4. Fargo Davies                   11-2        44           4
5. Fargo North                       8-4         10          RV
 
Others receiving votes: Grand Forks Red River (8-4), Bismarck Legacy (7-5)
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North Dakota Class A Girls Basketball Poll
 
           (First Place Votes)    Record    Points    Last Week
1. Bismarck Century (17)       9-2           88            1
2. Fargo Davies (1)                11-1          69            3
3. Grand Forks Red River      12-1          51            2
4. Minot High                           11-3          43            4
5. Bismarck Legacy                 9-2          15            5
 
Others receiving votes: West Fargo (10-3), Bismarck High (8-4)
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MINOT STATE HOCKEY-POLLS
 
MINOT, N.D. (MSU) – The Minot State hockey teams remain two of the best in the ACHA according to the latest poll as the Beaver men’s team remained No. 1 in the ACHA Division I men’s poll, while the Beaver women moved up two spots to No. 3 in the latest ACHA Division I women’s poll.
 
The Minot State women (15-6-1 overall) climbed two spots to No. 3 after winning three-in-a-row, starting with a 5-0 win over then No. 4-ranked Indiana Tech, which slid to No. 5 in this week’s poll. Minot State has not allowed a goal in that three-game win streak. The Beavers also have wins this season over No. 2 Adrian (Mich.) and then-No. 4 Midland (Neb.). The Minot State women look to add wins against the No. 1 team in the nation as the Beavers play at Liberty (Va.) on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. Despite seeing a 57-game win streak snapped on Friday night, the Flames remained No. 1 in the ACHA Division I women’s poll.
 
As for the Minot State men (24-1-0), they held onto the top spot in the ACHA Division I men’s poll for the seventh consecutive ranking. Like the women’s poll, Adrian (Mich.) is No. 2, followed by UNLV at No. 3, and Ohio at No. 4. The Beavers play at Ohio next weekend, Feb. 3-4. Liberty (Va.) rounded out the top five as the No. 5 pick. The Minot State men play at home this Thursday, hosting Waldorf at 7 p.m. at the Maysa Arena, before heading to Ohio for a top-five battle with the Bobcats next weekend.
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MINOT STATE SOFTBALL-PRESEASON
 
MINOT, N.D (MSU) – With junior infielder Brooklyn Morrison and freshman pitcher Calley Olson named as the Players to Watch for Minot State, the Beavers were voted to finish in the middle of the NSIC standings by the league’s coaches as the NSIC Preseason Softball Coaches’ Poll. Under the guidance of first-year head coach Bailey Gaspar, the Beavers were selected to finish ninth in the preseason poll, receiving 90 points. Minot State compiled a 28-20 record last spring and finished 11th in the NSIC standings.
 
Defending regular-season and NSIC Tournament champion Augustana earned 10 first-place votes and was the favorite to repeat as NSIC Champions for the third straight year with 217 points, while Minnesota State, Mankato was picked second with three first-place votes and 208 points. St. Cloud State earned the other three first-place votes from the NSIC coaches and was picked to finish third with 187 points, tied with Winona State which did not garner any first-place votes but was picked third with 187 points, as well.
 
Morrison, a junior third baseman, leads the way for the Minot State returners as she hit .288 with a team-best five home runs, 28 RBIs, and 11 stolen bases in 46 games last spring. Morrison was named the position Player to Watch for the Beavers, while Olson, a freshman pitcher from Bloomer High School in Wisconsin, was named the Preseason Pitcher to Watch for Minot State. The right-hander pitcher joins the Beavers after a stellar high school career where she was 23-3 in the circle with a miniscule .058 ERA in 156 innings with 322 strikeouts.
 
While they lead the Beavers, Winona State All-American Abbie Hlas was named the NSIC Preseason Player of the Year and Minnesota Duluth left-hander pitcher Lauren Dixon was named the NSIC Preseason Pitcher of the Year. Dixon led the NSIC in ERA (1.91), innings pitched (164.2), strikeouts (212), and opponent batting average (.219) last season.
 
Rounding out the preseason poll, Minnesota Duluth was fifth with 181 points, Concordia, St. Paul was sixth with 157 points, Southwest Minnesota State was picked seventh with 128 points, Sioux Falls was eighth with 127 points, Minot State was ninth with 90 points, Upper Iowa and Wayne State tied for 10th with 87 points each, Bemidji State was 12th with 66 points, Northern State was 13th with 61 points, Minnesota Crookston was 14th with 47 points, and Mary and MSU Moorhead tied for 15th with 45 points each.
 
Minot State opens the 2023 season hosting its annual Bubble Invite on Saturday and Sunday, Feb. 4-5. The Beavers first game will be a non-conference contests against in-state rival Mary at 9 a.m. on Saturday, Feb. 4. The Beavers also play Carroll College at 3 p.m. on Feb. 4, then take on Dakota Wesleyan at 1 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 5, and Valley City State at 3 p.m. on Feb. 5.
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NDSU-UND
 
FARGO, ND – The North Dakota State men’s basketball team (8-13 overall, 5-4 Summit) will host North Dakota (7-15 overall, 1-8 Summit) on Friday at 7 pm inside the Scheels Center in Fargo. Friday will be the 307th meeting between NDSU and UND, with UND leading the all-time series, 163-143. The Bison lead 15-6 over 21 meetings in the Division I era, and NDSU has won 9 of the past 11 games against the Fighting Hawks. The game will be broadcast by WDAY and available statewide on ABC affiliates. It will also be carried on ESPN+.
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WOLVES-PELICANS
 
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Anthony Edwards scored 37 points, Rudy Gobert had 17 points and 12 rebounds, and the Minnesota Timberwolves spoiled Brandon Ingram’s return from a two-month absence with a 111-102 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans. D’Angelo Russell scored 19 points for the Timberwolves and Jaden McDaniels closed out a 10-point night with a jumper and 3 in the final minutes to thwart New Orleans’ comeback bid. Ingram had not played since Nov. 25. He scored 13 points but struggled with his shot. He missed 14 of 18 including all six attempts from deep. CJ McCollum scored 25 for New Orleans, which has lost six straight.
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VIKINGS-DEFENSIVE COORDINATOR
 
EAGAN, Minn. (AP) — The Minnesota Vikings interviewed internal candidate Mike Pettine on Wednesday for their defensive coordinator vacancy. Pettine served as assistant head coach this season under rookie coach Kevin O’Connell. The 56-year-old Pettine has 19 seasons of experience as an NFL coach, including three stints as a defensive coordinator with the New York Jets (2009-12), Buffalo (2013) and Green Bay (2018-20). Pettine was the head coach for Cleveland for two years from 2014-15. O’Connell fired Ed Donatell after the Vikings ranked second-worst in the league in yards allowed and fourth-worst in points allowed in their only season together. Two other defensive coordinator candidates have already interviewed with the Vikings: New Orleans co-defensive coordinator and defensive line coach Ryan Nielsen and Seattle associate head coach for defense Sean Desai.
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NFL-AWARD FINALISTS
 
UNDATED (AP) – Jalen Hurts, Justin Jefferson and Patrick Mahomes are finalists for The Associated Press 2022 NFL Most Valuable Player and Offensive Player of the Year awards. The winners will be announced at NFL Honors on Feb. 9. A nationwide panel of 50 media members who regularly cover the league completed voting before the start of the playoffs. Bills quarterback Josh Allen and Bengals QB Joe Burrow also are finalists for MVP.
 
Hurts had 3,701 yards passing, 760 yards rushing and 35 touchdowns combined, leading the Philadelphia Eagles to a 14-3 record in the regular season and the No. 1 seed in the NFC. The Eagles (15-3) are in the NFC championship game for the second time in six seasons.
Jefferson led the NFL with 128 catches and 1,809 yards receiving in his third season with the Minnesota Vikings. Jefferson was one of two unanimous choices for AP All-Pro along with Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce.
 
Mahomes, the 2018 NFL MVP, helped Kansas City go 14-3 to earn the No. 1 seed in the AFC. The Chiefs (15-3) are in the AFC title game for the fifth straight season. They’ll host the Bengals. Mahomes led the NFL with 5,250 yards passing and 41 TDs. He received 49 of 50 votes for AP first-team All-Pro.
 
San Francisco 49ers edge rusher Nick Bosa, Chiefs defensive tackle Chris Jones and Dallas Cowboys edge rusher Micah Parsons are the finalists for AP Defensive Player of the Year. Bosa led the NFL with 18 1/2 sacks, Jones had 15 1/2 and Parsons got 14 1/2.
 
Brian Daboll, Doug Pederson and Kyle Shanahan are the finalists for AP Coach of the Year award. Daboll led the New York Giants to a 9-7-1 record in his first season as head coach. Pederson guided the Jacksonville Jaguars to a 9-8 record and an AFC South title in his first year with the team. Shanahan led the San Francisco 49ers to a 13-4 mark, including 5-0 down the stretch with third-string rookie quarterback Brock Purdy.
 
Purdy, Seattle Seahawks running back Kenneth Walker III and New York Jets wide receiver Garrett Wilson are the finalists for AP Offensive Rookie of the Year. Purdy, the last player selected in the draft, began the season as third-string QB and stepped in after injuries to Trey Lance and Jimmy Garoppolo. He led San Francisco to a 5-0 record down the stretch, two playoff wins and an appearance in the NFC championship game at Philadelphia. Walker led all rookies with 1,050 yards rushing and nine TDs. Wilson led all rookies with 83 catches and 1,103 yards receiving.
 
Jets cornerback Ahmad “Sauce” Gardner, Detroit Lions defensive end Aidan Hutchinson and Seahawks cornerback Tariq Woolen are the finalists for AP Defensive Rookie of the Year.
 
New York Giants running back Saquon Barkley, 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey and Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith are the finalists for AP Comeback Player of the Year.
 
Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson, 49ers defensive coordinator DeMeco Ryans and Eagles offensive coordinator Shane Steichen are the finalists for AP Assistant Coach of the Year.
 
This was the first year for the AP’s new voting system. Voters chose a top 5 for MVP and top 3 for all other awards. For MVP, first-place were worth 10 points. Second through fifth-place votes were worth 5, 3, 2 and 1 points. For all the other awards, first-place votes equaled 5 points, second were 3 and third were 1.
 
 
 

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K-Heart Sports – 01/25/23

K-HEART SPORTS – 01/25/22 – 0700
 
MINOT, ND – Mohall-Lansford-Sherwood made thirteen 3’s as they defeated Berthold 77-40 last night in a District 12 boys basketball game we broadcast on K-Heart. Eli Undlin scored 14 points, while Carson Nett and Kellan Henry each tallied 13. Those three combined for ten of the thirteen made 3’s for the Mavericks. The Bombers were led by Logan Thompson with a game-high 17 points, including 8 of 9 freethrows made. Mark Schauer added 14 for Berthold who drops to 0-11 overall, 0-4 in District 12. MLS improves to 6-5 overall, 4-0 in District 12.
 
Other scores from Tuesday:
 
High School Boys Basketball
 
Class A
#1 Bismarck Century def. Dickinson, 100-66
#2 Mandan def. Bismarck Legacy, 82-62
#3 Minot High def. Bismarck High, 86-82
Bismarck St. Mary’s def. Watford City, 80-64
 
Class B
#3 Bishop Ryan def. Glenburn, 90-33
#7 Beulah def. Wilton-Wing, 74-60
Des Lacs-Burlington def. South Prairie, 62-36
Our Redeemer’s def. Surrey, 54-52
Tioga def. Nedrose, 74-50
Westhope-Newburg def. Drake-Anamoose, 87-48
TGU def. Velva, 61-47
Rugby def. Bottineau, 69-55
Garrison def. Washburn, 65-33
Parshall/North Shore-Plaza def. Williston Trinity Christian, 64-54
Dunseith def. Benson County, 87-47
St. John def. Dakota Prairie, 84-38
North Prairie def. Harvey-Wells County, 62-43
Mott-Regent/Grant County def. Hazen, 73-66
 
High School Girls Basketball
 
Class A
#1 Bismarck Century def. Dickinson, 67-49
#4 Minot High def. Bismarck High, 85-69
#5 Bismarck Legacy def. Mandan, 70-48
Bismarck St. Mary’s def. Watford City, 83-49
 
Class B
#7 Garrison def. Washburn, 55-37
Westhope-Newburg def. Drake-Anamoose, 66-36
Parshall def. Alexander, 53-44
Powers Lake-Burke Central def. Ray, 76-24
Minot High Sophomores def. Divide County, 73-47
 
High School Boys Hockey
Williston def. Hazen-Beulah, 6-0
Bismarck Legacy def. Bismarck High, 4-1
Bismarck Century def. Dickinson, 3-1
 
High School Girls Hockey
Minot High def. Dickinson, 3-2
Bismarck High-Legacy def. Jamestown, 4-3
 
High School Boys Wrestling
Williston def. Mandan, 69-10
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MINOT STATE FOOTBALL
 
MINOT, N.D. (MSU) – The Beavers have their man. Minot State’s Director of Athletics Kevin Forde is pleased to introduce veteran college coach Ian Shields as the next head coach for the Beaver football program. Shields, a former head coach at the NCAA Division I FCS, NCAA Division II, and NAIA levels begins his duties immediately as the 22nd head coach for Minot State football program. Prior to his time at UNLV, Shields was the head coach for four seasons at NCAA Division I Jacksonville University in Florida (2016-2019), an FCS program that Shields led to a 7-4 record and a third-place league finish in 2017, his second season with the team. Shields compiled a 17-26 overall record in his four seasons at Jacksonville. Prior to leading the Jacksonville Dolphins, Shields spent two seasons at NCAA Division II Lenoir-Rhyne in North Carolina where he compiled a 16-6 record and won the South Atlantic Conference title in 2014. Also spending time during his career as an offensive coordinator at Army, Cal Poly, Bucknell (Pa,), and Saint Mary’s (Calif.), Shields was head coach Eastern Oregon of the NAIA’s Frontier Conference from 2006-07. A graduate of Oregon State where he played both football and baseball, Shields earned his Bachelor of Science in Speech Communication in 1994, and his Master of Arts in Education with a focus in Human Performance & Speech Communication in 1997 while beginning his coaching career as a graduate assistant with the OSU Beavers.
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NDSU TRACK-RODIN
 
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (NDSU) – North Dakota State senior Jacob Rodin has been named the Summit League’s Peak Performer of the Week for men’s track, the league office announced Tuesday. This the second straight week that the Kenmare ND-native has claimed the award. At SDSU’s Jim Emmerich Alumni Invitational on Jan. 21, Rodin won the 800 meters in a time of 1:49.83, ranking him No. 22 in the nation so far this season. Rodin also remains No. 15 on the Division I national performance list in the 600m this year. Rodin holds the NDSU indoor school record in the 800m at 1:48.52.
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WILD-LIGHTNING
 
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Steven Stamkos scored the tiebreaking goal with 5:38 remaining and the Tampa Bay Lightning won their 10th consecutive home game by defeating the Minnesota Wild 4-2. Stamkos extended his goal streak to four games. Nikita Kucherov scored into an empty net with 16.4 seconds left, handing Minnesota its third straight loss. Tampa Bay’s Corey Perry scored twice in the second period on deflections of shots by Ross Colton. Andrei Vasilevskiy finished with 35 saves and earned his 250th NHL win, all with the Lightning. Tampa Bay ended a two-game slide and moved within one victory of matching the longest home winning streak in franchise history, set in 2019-20. Joel Eriksson Ek scored shorthanded and assisted on Kirill Kaprizov’s power-play goal for Minnesota. Marc-Andre Fleury made 33 saves.
 
 

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K-Heart Sports – 01/24/23

K-HEART SPORTS – 01/24/22 – 0700
 
MINOT, ND – Parshall/North Shore-Plaza had ten players score, five of them in double-figures as they defeated Max 84-51 last night in a game we broadcast on K-Heart. Joaquin Powell led the way with 20 points, Dwight Old Rock came off the bench to tally 15, Tyson Odermann added 12, while Kayden Four Bear chipped in with 11 and River Querikiol had 10. Max was led by Erick Talbott with 19 points and Dominic Westman with 15. Parshall/North Shore-Plaza improves to 9-3 on the season while the Cossacks fall to 3-8.
 
We’ll have more boys basketball on the air tonight as Berthold hosts Mohall-Lansford-Sherwood in a District 12 contest. Pre-game set for a little past 7 pm on 106.9 K-Heart, khrt.com and through the Live 365 app.
 
Other scores from Monday:
 
High School Boys Basketball
Class B
Williston Trinity Christian def. Alexander, 77-48
Killdeer def. Mandaree, 72-52
 
High School Girls Basketball
Class B
#1 Rugby def. Nedrose, 52-33
#3 Kenmare-Bowbells def. Tioga, 52-38
#4 Central McLean def. Flasher, 80-33
South Prairie-Max def. Our Redeemer’s, 28-26
Des Lacs-Burlington def. Surrey, 48-32
Glenburn def. Mohall-Lansford-Sherwood, 56-35
Bishop Ryan def. Berthold, 55-51
Drake-Anamoose def. Wilton-Wing, 57-45
Bottineau def. Velva, 69-29
Harvey-Wells County def. Nelson County, 49-39
North Prairie def. Dunseith, 63-35
Powers Lake-Burke Central def. Alexander, 65-22
Beulah def. Hazen, 53-46
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MINOT, ND – Rugby and Four Winds-Minnewaukan remain atop the Class B Basketball Poll this week. 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. Rugby (14)                       13-0         176           1
2. Thompson (4)                  12-1         165           2
3. Kenmare-Bowbells          13-2           97           3
4. Central McLean                13-1           96           9
5. Central Cass                     9-3            94           6
6. May-Port-CG                    12-2            93          7
7. Garrison                            13-1           84          8
8. Shiloh Christian                12-2           65           4
9. Oakes                               10-2           47           5
10. Bowman County             13-1           37          RV
 
Others receiving votes: Carrington (11-3), Kindred (8-3), Northern Cass (10-3), Beulah (9-5)
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North Dakota Class B Boys Basketball Poll
 
                   (First Place Votes)    Record    Points    Last Week
1. Four Winds-Minnewaukan (18)  9-0         180           1
2. Central Cass                              11-0        161           2
3. Bishop Ryan                                9-1        136           3
4. Sargent County                          11-0         124          4
5. Ellendale                                    12-0         109           5
6. Thompson                                   7-3           81           7
7. Beulah                                         8-1           67            8
8. North Border                                9-1          56            9
9. Grafton                                        7-2           30            6
10. Standing Rock                         10-1          13            RV
 
Others receiving votes: Shiloh Christian (6-3), Bowman County (10-2), North Star (8-3), Hazen (9-3), North Prairie (10-2)
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MINOT STATE WOMEN’S HOCKEY-SIGNING
 
MINOT, N.D. (MSU) – Continuing to work hard to build for a successful future on the ice, Minot State women’s hockey coach Ryan Miner is pleased to introduce his team’s latest star recruit. Coach Miner is pleased to announce that forward Olivia Kirwan from Gull Lake, Saskatchewan has signed a National Letter-of-Intent and will join the Beavers as a freshman on the ice and in the classroom this coming fall. Kirwan is a 5-foot-6 forward who has 5 goals and 8 assists in 24 games this season with the Swift Current U18 AAA Wildcats. A senior at Gull Lake School, she has been in the top 80 percent of her class throughout high school.
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UND MEN’S BASKETBALL
 
MACOMB, Ill. (UND) – North Dakota played their third game in five days Monday night as they traveled to take on Western Illinois, falling to the Leathernecks 92-80. UND held a halftime lead 41-36 but a huge second half from WIU propelled them to victory. Trenton Massner led WIU with 46 points, which is a new record for individual single game points by a UND opponent. The previous record was 43 from Frank Kaminsky of Wisconsin during the 2013-14 season. Four Hawks (7-15, 1-8 SL) reached double figures, led by Tsonte Tsartsidze with 19, setting a new career best. Matt Norman was next with 18, Jalun Trent followed with 12 and Treysen Eaglestaff had 11. Tsartsidze also grabbed eight boards to lead the Hawks. He and Trent grabbed the two steals for the Hawks and B.J. Omot picked up the lone blocked shot. Eaglestaff led the team with two assists.
 
Early on the game was very close, UND took their first lead at 6-4 with a layup from Tsartsidze. The teams went back and forth for most of he half, with ten lead changes and nine ties. Down 18-17 with 11:02 left, Elijah Brooks made a layup and then converted the three point play to give the Hawks a two point lead. UND eventually took their biggest lead at 41-34 with 48 seconds left in the half following two free throws from Brian Mathews. A late bucket from WIU cut the UND edge to five points at the break. Brady Danielson got the Hawks on the board to start the second half, giving UND a 44-40 lead. WIU took a lead at 50-48 at the 14:40 mark and from there would not trail the rest of the game. The Hawks fought back to tie the game at 60 on a layup from Omot and at 63 on a layup from Tsartsidze, but the Hawks were unable to take back the lead during the last eight plus minutes. In the game, North Dakota shot 33-64 from the floor (51.6%) and 7-24 from three-point range (29.2%). North Dakota will make the short trip south to Fargo on Friday to take on North Dakota State.
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WOLVES-ROCKETS
 
HOUSTON (AP) — Jalen Green scored a career-high 42 points and the Houston Rockets held on for a 119-114 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves to snap a 13-game losing streak. Green, the second overall pick in the 2021 draft, had 21 points by halftime and kept up his strong play in the second half to lead the Rockets to their first victory since Dec. 26 at Chicago. They ended their longest skid of the season and also a 10-game home losing streak, winning at home for the first time since Dec. 13 against Phoenix. Anthony Edwards had 31 points and D’Angelo Russell tied a season high with 30 for the Timberwolves, who had won two straight. Taurean Prince sat out with a sprained left ankle. Rudy Gobert had 15 points and 16 rebounds in his return after missing three games right groin soreness. Timberwolves: Visit New Orleans Wednesday night.
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TWINS-TAYLOR SIGNING
 
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The Minnesota Twins acquired veteran Michael A. Taylor from the Kansas City Royals on Monday night, adding depth and defense to their outfield in exchange for two relief pitching prospects. The 31-year-old Taylor batted .254 with nine home runs and 43 RBIs in 414 at-bats last season for the Royals, his second year with the club after spending his first seven major league seasons with the Washington Nationals. The Twins sent 23-year-old right-hander Steven Cruz and 25-year-old left-hander Evan Sisk to the Royals.
 
Taylor’s best offensive season came in 2017 with the Nationals, when he hit .271 with 19 homers, 53 RBIs and an .806 OPS in 118 games. His greatest value is in the grass, though. Taylor was a Gold Glove winner in his Royals debut in 2021 and gives the Twins a third outfielder on their roster who has won the award, joining Byron Buxton (2017) and newcomer Joey Gallo (2020 and 2021). Taylor is a natural center fielder who will give the Twins a solid backup plan behind Buxton, whose injuries have kept him from playing more than 92 games in a season all but once in eight years in the major leagues. Gallo can play all three outfield spots, with most of his 2022 experience in left field where Trevor Larnach will also be in the mix. Gallo won his Gold Glove awards as a right fielder. Max Kepler, another strong defender, has been the regular right fielder for the last seven seasons. With the recent departure via trade of AL batting champion Luis Arraez, Alex Kirilloff is in line to take the lead at first base with Gallo also likely in the mix. The Twins have had an aggressive start to the new year, highlighted by the surprise re-signing of shortstop Carlos Correa after deals fell through for him with two other teams. They sent Arraez to Miami for starting pitcher Pablo López.
 
The middle initial “A” in Taylor’s name stands for Anthony. The native of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, who was drafted by the Nationals in the sixth round in 2009, had the initial added to his name to distinguish him from another Michael Taylor who played outfield in the major leagues from 2011-14.
 
Cruz, a 6-foot-6 native of the Dominican Republic, went 1-4 with a 5.14 ERA, 35 walks and 72 strikeouts in 56 innings last season for Double-A Wichita. In 120 career minor league appearances, Cruz has 259 strikeouts in 192 1/3 innings.
 
Sisk, who was originally drafted by St. Louis in the 16th round in 2018 out of the College of Charleston, split last season between Wichita and Triple-A St. Paul. He went 5-1 with a 1.57 ERA, 29 walks and 76 strikeouts in 63 innings between the teams. Sisk was acquired by the Twins in a 2021 trade that sent starting pitcher J.A. Happ to the Cardinals.
 
 
 

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K-Heart Sports – 01/23/23

K-HEART SPORTS – 01/23/22 – 0700
 
MINOT, ND – Boys basketball is on the air tonight as Parshall/North Shore-Plaza will host Max. Pregame begins around 6 pm on 106.9 K-Heart, khrt.com and on the Live 365 app. The rest of our schedule this week has a District 12 boys game Tuesday as Mohall-Lansford-Sherwood plays at Berthold. On Friday South Prairie plays at Bishop Ryan.
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MSU MEN’S HOCKEY
 
MINOT, N.D. (MSU) – Playing their third game in three days, the Beavers looked anything but weary. No. 1-ranked Minot State put two pucks in the net in the opening minute of action and never let up, rolling to a 13-1 win over visiting Dakota College of Bottineau at the Maysa Arena on Sunday afternoon. Jay Buchholz started the scoring just 44 seconds into the action, finishing off assists by Joey Moffatt and Sheldin Howard, then 16 seconds later Josh Pederson scored off a Reid Arnold assist for a quick 2-0 lead. Having set the tone, the Beavers kept adding on as Drew Carter, Troy Hamilton, and Davis Sheldon all scored a goal for a 5-0 lead in the first period before the Jacks ever got on the scoreboard. Comfortably in control on top 5-1 heading into the second period, Minot State (24-1-0 overall) didn’t let up as Arnold scored twice and Buchholz, Sheldon, Moffatt, Carter Barley, and Christian Kadolph added a goal apiece for a 12-1 lead. Landyn Cochrane tacked on more as Minot State comfortably skated to the win. Riley Wallace finished with 12 saves in the win for Minot State, which now gets three days off before hitting the ice again to host Waldorf on Thursday at 7 p.m.
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MSU MEN’S WRESTLING
 
MINOT, N.D. (MSU) – The fight in the Beavers was plenty big enough, but in the end, in-state rival and 14th-ranked the University of Mary was just too much. The Marauders won all but one match, despite several close contests for the Minot State wrestlers who fell 41-4 in an NSIC dual Sunday at the MSU Dome. Minot State senior Oscar Nellis picked up the lone win for the Beavers in dominating fashion at 125-pounds, a 12-4 major decision win over Chase Milligan. Then came the close battles, including a great tussle between the Beavers’ James Davis and No. 3-ranked Reece Barnhardt from UMary at 133 pounds. Battling hard, Davis led 7-6 in the third round before a late takedown by Barnhardt and one point for riding time gave the Marauder wrestler a 9-7 decision and spoiled Davis’ upset bid. In the day’s other thriller, Mary heavyweight Luke Tweeton survived in double overtime for a 3-2 decision over Jake Swirple in a battle that came down to the riding-time tiebreaker after the end of 3 extra minutes of OT action as Tweeton held a 2-second riding-time advantage for the win. Also adding a strong effort for Minot State, but coming up just short, was Brendan Barnes at 165 pounds as Barnes lost a 7-4 decision. Minot State (6-6 overall, 1-3 NSIC) looks to bounce back from the loss with another home match as the Beavers host 10th-ranked Upper Iowa on Friday night at 7 p.m.
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NFL-AFC PLAYOFFS
 
ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP) — Joe Burrow threw two touchdown passes, the Bengals swarmed Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen on a snow-slicked field and Cincinnati advanced to its second straight AFC championship game with a 27-10 win. Damar Hamlin’s inspirational presence while watching the game from an end-zone suite was not enough to spark the Bills in a rematch of a regular-season game that was canceled Jan. 2 when the Bills safety went into cardiac arrest and had to be resuscitated on the field in Cincinnati. The Bengals advanced to consecutive AFC championship games for the first time in franchise history and will again travel to play the Kansas City Chiefs. Cincinnati advanced to consecutive AFC championship games for the first time in franchise history and will prepare for a rematch of last year’s title game. The Bengals defeated Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs 27-24 to advance to last year’s Super Bowl, which they lost to the Los Angeles Rams. The Bengals extended their franchise-best streak to 10 straight wins. They haven’t lost since a 32-13 defeat at Cleveland on Halloween. The Bengals’ 30 first downs were a franchise postseason record.
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NFL-NFC PLAYOFFS
 
SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — Christian McCaffrey scored the go-ahead touchdown on a 2-yard run in the fourth quarter and San Francisco’s defense did the rest, sending the 49ers to their second straight NFC title game with a 19-12 victory over the Dallas Cowboys. San Francisco advanced to play the Eagles in the NFC title game next Sunday in Philadelphia after losing in that round to the Rams a year ago. The Cowboys lost for the record seventh straight time in the divisional round and have failed to make it to the NFC title game since winning their fifth Super Bowl title following the 1995 season. Purdy, the last pick in the draft last April, improved to 7-0 as a starter since replacing an injured Jimmy Garoppolo early in Week 13. He went 18 for 28 for 215 yards with no turnovers against the Cowboys, joining Joe Flacco (2008) and Mark Sanchez (2009) as the only rookie QBs to win two playoff starts. The 49ers would reach their second Super Bowl in the past four seasons with a win at Philadelphia.
 
 

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K-Heart Sports – 01/22/23

K-HEART SPORTS – 01/22/22 – 0700
 
MINOT, ND – Scores from Saturday:
 
High School Boys Basketball
 
Class A
#3 Minot High def. #2 Mandan, 96-71
Dickinson def. Watford City, 109-72
 
Class B
Max def. Glenburn, 55-40
Ray def. Trenton, 64-48
Williston Trinity Christian def. Minot North Freshman, 63-40
Hazen def. Hettinger-Scranton, 48-37
Shiloh Christian def. Garrison, 87-58
 
High School Girls Basketball
 
Class A
#4 Minot High def. Jamestown, 57-51
Dickinson def. Watford City, 73-67
 
Class B
#1 Rugby def. Carrington, 68-52
#9 Central McLean def. Surrey, 61-43
Harvey-Wells County def. Velva, 56-49
Stanley def. New Town, 44=30
Alexander def. North Shore-Plaza, 42-39
Hazen def. Hettinger-Scranton, 39-36
Beulah def. Beach, 64-38
Mandaree def. Williston Trinity Christian, 48-40
Washburn def. Solen, 78-23
 
High School Boys Hockey
Dickinson def. Bottineau-Rugby, 6-2
Bismarck Legacy def. Mandan, 2-1 OT
 
High School Girls Hockey
Minot High def. Grand Forks, 3-1
Williston def. Devils Lake, 3-2
Fargo North-South def. Mandan, 4-3 OT
 
High School Boys Swimming & Diving
 
Minot Invite
1. Minot High, 459
2. Bismarck High, 420
3. Bismarck Legacy, 239
4. Bismarck Century, 235
5. West Fargo, 216
6. Grand Forks, 207
7. Mandan, 180
 
The Octagon Meet – Jamestown
1. Jamestown, 481
2. Fargo South, 465
3. Williston, 434
4. West Fargo Sheyenne, 354
5. Dickinson, 290
 
 
High School Boys Wrestling
 
Metro Duals – Fargo
Minot High def. Fargo Davies, 49-25
Minot High def. Fargo North, 43-34
Minot High def. Fargo South, 76-0
Minot High def. Grand Forks Central, 62-13
 
Badlands Classic – Killdeer
1. Dickinson High, 179.5
2. New Salem-Almont, 169.0
3. Killdeer, 142.0
4. Beulah-Hazen, 122.0
5. Velva, 113.0
6. Des Lacs-Burlington, 93.0
7. Harvey-Wells County, 76.0
8. Watford City, 75.0
9. Williams County, 69.5
10. Stanley, 68.0
11. MonDak, 66.0
12. Bowman County, 55.5
13. Harding County SD, 53.5
14. Lemmon SD, 49.0
15. Standing Rock, 15.0
16. Alexander, 10.0
17. Sidney/Fairview MT, 0.0
 
High School Girls Wrestling
 
Badlands Classic – Killdeer
1. Bismarck High, 168.0
2. Bismarck Century, 78.0
3. Harvey-Wells County, 69.0
4. Des Lacs-Burlington, 67.0
5. Lemmon SD, 49.0
6. MonDak, 46.0
7. Killdeer, 36.0
T8. Dickinson, 32.0
T8. New Salem-Almont, 32.0
T10. Harding County, 18.0
T10. Hettinger/Scranton, 18.0
T10. Stanley, 18.0
13. Velva, 16.0
14. Beach, 15.0
T15. Beulah-Hazen, 14.0
T15. White Shield, 14.0
17. Ray, 10.0
18. Standing Rock, 2.5
19. Hope Christian Academy, 0.0
 
College Mens Basketball
Upper Iowa def. Minot State 84-73
 
College Womens Basketball
Minot State def. Upper Iowa, 72-61
 
College Mens Hockey
Minot State def. University of Mary, 4-1
MInnesota-Duluth def. North Dakota, 2-1
 
College Womens Hockey
Minot State def. Dakota College at Bottineau, 4-0
 
NAHL Hockey
Bismarck Bobcats def. Aberdeen Wings, 10-4
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MINOT STATE-TRACK
 
BROOKINGS, S.D. (MSU) – Senior distance runner Jacob Jensen led the way for the Beavers on Saturday as the Minot State track and field teams battled a power-packed field featuring six NCAA Division I programs at the Jim Emmerich Alumni Invitation indoor track and field meet hosted by South Dakota State. Jensen clocked the third-fastest time in the NSIC this winter in the mile, finishing 16th in the event Saturday in 4 minutes, 14.92 seconds. That led the way for the Minot State men who also got a couple of other season-best performances, one from the quartet of Nathan Trujillo-Aragon, Juan Gutierrez, Peyton Tuhy, and Francis Short Bull who clocked the team’s fastest time this winter in the 4×400-meter relay of 3:33.46, good for 16th as well. The other season-best came from thrower Samuel Kreins in the shot put as he finished 11th in the event Saturday with an effort of 49 feet, 3.75 inches. While they led the men, it was Sidra Sadowsky and Emily Smith who turned in top performances for the Minot State women as Sadowsky ran the team’s best time this winter in the 800 meters, finishing 19th in 2:20.36, and Smith had the fastest 3,000-meter time for the Beavers as she was 32nd on Saturday in 10:55.98. Midway through the winter season, the Beavers get little time to rest before heading out to compete once again at a big NCAA Division I-packed meet as Minot State competes at the University of North Dakota Open next Saturday.
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UND WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
 
Tulsa, Okla. (UND) – The University of North Dakota Fighting Hawks cannot convert at the Mabee Center against Oral Roberts, 96-91. UND road woes continued in the loss against Oral Roberts. Despite putting up 37 points in the fourth quarter. The Fighting Hawks could not overcome the 19-point deficit. Kacie Borowicz led the Fighting Hawks (11-8, 4-5 SL) with 24 points and 12 assists for her second double-double on the campaign. She also led the team in steals with five. Maggie Manson dropped 6 three pointers and for a career high of 20 points. Clair Orth led the team with eight rebounds and had two steals. The first quarter The Hawks and Golden Eagles would trade the led ten times. The first half of this game was a tight one. Heading into half time North Dakota led by only three points. However, the third quarter woes would return to plague The Hawks. They would be outscored by the Golden Eagles 29-11. UND would not go down without a fight. In the fourth quarter they would bring the fight back, closing the gap to five. ORU’s 19-point lead would be enough when the clock hit zero. North Dakota will continue Summit League play on Saturday, taking on in state rival NDSU at 1 p.m.
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NDSU WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
 
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (NDSU) – The North Dakota State women’s basketball team outscored Kansas City, 18-10, in the fourth quarter to earn a 75-66 win on Saturday afternoon at Swinney Center. After NDSU (13-6, 7-2 Summit) entered the final frame with a 57-56 lead, the Bison quickly pushed their edge up to four, 64-60, following a clutch three-pointer from Abbie Draper with 7:29 to play. NDSU continued to surge opening up a 10-point lead, 71-61, following a fastbreak layup from Evans at the 4:28 mark. The Bison went on to hold off the Roos (6-14, 2-7 Summit) the rest of the way, 75-66. Elle Evans logged her second 20-point game of the season with a career-high 23 points on 10-of-16 shooting from the field. She also added eight rebounds, three assists, two steals and one block to her stat line over 38 minutes of work. Emily Behnke contributed her third double-double of the season with 14 points and 11 rebounds, while Abbie Draper tallied nine points off the bench. As a team, the Bison shot 44.6 percent (29-65) from the field and 78.6 (11-14) from the free throw line. NDSU also hauled in 38 rebounds with seven different players contributing at least two. NDSU will continue its road swing at North Dakota on Saturday. Tip-off is set for 1:05 p.m.
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UND MEN’S BASKETBALL
 
GRAND FORKS, N.D. (AP) — Max Abmas’ 27 points helped Oral Roberts defeat North Dakota 84-72 on Saturday. Abmas added six assists for the Golden Eagles (17-4, 8-0 Summit League). Connor Vanover scored 19 points and added eight rebounds. Issac McBride recorded 15 points and was 6 of 10 shooting (3 for 4 from distance). B.J. Omot finished with 20 points for the Fightin’ Hawks (7-14, 1-7). North Dakota also got 15 points and eight rebounds from Tsotne Tsartsidze.
 
UND jumped out to a 6-2 lead with two Omot threes in the early going, but ORU pushed back with a 7-0 spurt to take a 9-6 lead. Tsartsidze got on the board with a three pointer that put UND back on top 14-12 and the seesawing went back and forth most of the first half. With the game tied at 35, four straight points from the Hawks gave them a four-point lead at 39-35; which was their largest lead of the game. Ultimately UND took a 39-37 lead into intermission. The second half looked much like the first, with the teams staying almost neck and neck. At 15:42, Tsartsidze took the pass from Norman at the three-point line and drove into the lane for a highlight reel jam that put UND up 45-42. Later on, he had his second highlight reel play as he grabbed the offensive board off a miss and put it back in with the and-one to tie the game at 50. But with UND up 52-50, ORU went on a 6-0 run to take back the lead and they did not relinquish it for the rest of the game. UND hung tough as Eaglestaff made it a two-point game with just over six minutes to go knocking down two from the foul line but the Hawks couldn’t make that final push to get the lead back. North Dakota will visit Western Illinois on Monday at 6 p.m.
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NDSU MEN’S BASKETBALL
 
FARGO, N.D. (NDSU) – Shemarri Allen and RayQuawndis Mitchell combined for 51 points to carry Kansas City to a 75-73 victory over the North Dakota State men’s basketball team on Saturday afternoon. NDSU sophomore forward Andrew Morgan scored a career-high 29 points and grabbed eight rebounds to lead the Bison. Grant Nelson added 15 points, seven rebounds and three assists. NDSU (8-13 overall, 5-4 Summit) shot 55 percent for the game, but Kansas City took advantage of 10 offensive rebounds and 25 free throw attempts to pull out the win. The Bison led 68-67 following a layup by Boden Skunberg with 1:53 remaining. At the other end, Allen hit one free throw for Kansas City and missed the second, but an offensive rebound led to a three-pointer that put the Roos up 71-68. NDSU had a chance to win at the end, trailing 74-73 when a shot by Nelson missed in the final seconds. The Bison will host North Dakota on Friday, Jan. 27, at 7 p.m.
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WOLVES-ROCKETS
 
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Anthony Edwards scored a season-high 44 points, D’Angelo Russell added 23 and the Minnesota Timberwolves handed the Houston Rockets their 13th straight loss with a 113-104 victory. Edwards eclipsed 40 points for the first time this season on 17-of-29 shooting from the field, including seven 3-pointers. Nathan Knight provided a spark of the bench, scoring a season-high 19 points. Houston’s Alperen Sengun scored 19 points and grabbed 16 rebounds, taking advantage of a Timberwolves team that was without Rudy Gobert (right groin soreness) for the third consecutive game. Sengun made his first seven field goals and was the catalyst for Houston outrebounding Minnesota 56-30.
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WILD-PANTHERS
 
SUNRISE, Fla. (AP) — Alex Lyon made 29 saves for his second consecutive victory and the Florida Panthers beat the Minnesota Wild 5-3 on Saturday night. With starting goalie Sergei Bobrovsky injured Thursday night in Montreal and Spencer Knight off to the American Hockey League on a conditioning stint, the Panthers dressed their primary AHL goalies. Lyon started after making 23 saves in relief of Bobrovsky in Montreal, and Mack Guzda was the backup as the Knoxville native became the first player born in Tennessee to dress in an NHL game. Anton Lundell, Eetu Luostarinen, Carter Verhaeghe, Gustav Forsling and Sam Reinhart scored for Florida. The Panthers are 4-0-1 in their last five games. Matt Boldy, Joel Eriksson Ek and Jared Spurgeon scored for Minnesota.
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TWINS-TRADE
 
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The Minnesota Twins have traded reigning American League batting champion Luis Arraez to the Miami Marlins for a three-player package featuring starting pitcher Pablo López. The 25-year-old Arraez had a breakout season in 2022. He made his first All-Star team while batting a league-best .316 and denying Aaron Judge the Triple Crown award. The Twins also received two prospects from the Marlins: infielder Jose Salas and outfielder Byron Chourio. The 32-year-old López had a 3.75 ERA in 32 starts last season. Salas was picked as Miami’s fifth-best prospect in the most recent MLB Pipeline rankings.
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NFL PLAYOFFS-AFC
 
KANSAS CITY (AP) – Patrick Mahomes remains good at football even on one ankle. Mahomes hurt his ankle in the first half, but returned to lead the Kansas City Chiefs past the Jacksonville Jaguars 27-20 on Saturday in the divisional round of the NFL playoffs. The Philadelphia Eagles cruised past the New York Giants 38-7 a few hours later. There will be two more games Sunday. Buffalo hosts Cincinnati in the afternoon while Dallas is at San Francisco at night. The Chiefs and Eagles didn’t have to play during last weekend’s wild-card round because the top-seeded team in each conference received a bye to the divisional round.
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NFL PLAYOFFS-NFC
 
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Jalen Hurts erased lingering doubts about the state of his right shoulder by throwing two touchdown passes and running for a score during a dominant first half, and the Philadelphia Eagles overwhelmed the New York Giants 38-7 in an NFC divisional playoff game. Hurts is back, and so are the Eagles as a Super Bowl threat. Top-seeded Philadelphia will host the NFC championship game next Sunday against either Dallas or San Francisco. Hurts finished 16 of 24 for 154 yards. He showed he was fine when he aired out a pass on the second play of the game and hit DeVonta Smith in stride for a 40-yard reception.
 
 
 

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K-Heart Sports – 01/21/23

K-HEART SPORTS – 01/21/22 – 0700
 
MINOT, ND – Scores from Friday:
 
High School Boys Basketball
Class A
#1 Bismarck Century def. Bismarck High, 90-71
Bismarck Legacy def. Bismarck St. Mary’s, 78-43
Turtle Mountain def. Williston, 94-73
 
Class B
#1 Four Winds-Minnewaukan def. #10 North Star, 66-43
#8 Beulah def. Richardton-Taylor, 67-22
Rugby def. Langdon Area-Edmore-Munich, 52-38
Des Lacs-Burlington def. Berthold, 74-19
TGU def. Drake-Anamoose, 66-26
North Prairie def. Warwick, 67-50
New Rockford-Sheyenne def. St. John, 57-52 OT
Heart River def. New Town, 75-65
Parshall/North Shore-Plaza def. Ray, 80-38
Stanley def. Trenton, 60-44
Divide County def. Tioga, 49-48
 
 
High School Girls Basketball
 
Class A
#1 Bismarck Century def. Bismarck High, 64-34
#4 Minot High def. Mandan, 79-51 (freshman Maggie Fricke – Minot school record of 36 points)
#5 Bismarck Legacy def. Bismarck St. Mary’s, 63-55
Turtle Mountain def. Williston, 73-39
 
Class B
#3 Kenmare-Bowbells def. Powers Lake-Burke Cental, 64-27
Des Lacs-Burlington def. Berthold, 41-35
Our Redeemer’s def. Mohall-Lansford-Sherwood, 53-25
South Prairie-Max def. Surrey, 54-25
Bishop Ryan def. Glenburn, 54-48
TGU def. Drake-Anamoose, 73-35
Nedrose def. Velva, 45-32
St. John def. Westhope-Newburg, 71-65 OT
Trenton def. North Shore-Plaza, 53-13
Parshall def. Ray, 63-39
Tioga def. Divide County, 67-27
Williston Trinity Christian def. White Shield, 36-19
 
High School Boys Hockey
Hazen-Beulah def. Bottineau-Rugby, 4-2
Jamestown def. Devils Lake, 5-2
 
High School Girls Hockey
Minot High def. Devils Lake, 4-3
Grand Forks def. Williston, 2-1
Bismarck Century def. Bismarck High-Legacy, 3-1
West Fargo United def. Mandan, 1-0
 
High School Boys Swimming & Diving
Fargo North def. Bismarck Legacy, 92.5-90
 
High School Boys Wrestling
Bismarck High def. Mandan, 78-3
 
College Mens Basketball
Winona State def. Minot State, 67-58
 
College Womens Basketball
Minot State def. Winona State, 66-58
 
College Mens Hockey
Minot State def. Jamestown, 4-2
North Dakota def. Minnesota-Duluth, 4-2
 
College Womens Hockey
Minot State def. Dakota College at Bottineau, 4-0
 
NAHL Hockey
Aberdeen Wings def. Bismarck Bobats, 4-3 OT
 
 

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K-Heart Sports – 01/20/23

K-HEART SPORTS – 01/19/22 – 0700
 
MINOT, ND – Connor Kerzmann and Braxton Iglehart combined for 53 points as Garrison outlasted Velva 78-66 last night in a game we broadcast on K-Heart. Kerzmann tallied 28 points, including four 3’s, and Iglehart added 25 points, including four 3’s as the Troopers improve their record to 8-2. Reggie Bruner scored 18 for the Aggies, including 8 of 9 freethrows made. Kyle Sandy added 15 points and Ben Schepp 11 as the Aggies drop to 8-3.
 
More high school basketball is on the air today as Des Lacs-Burlington hosts Berthold in a girl/boy doubleheader. Girls tipoff around 5 pm with boys to follow around 6:30 pm. Both games can be heard on 106.9 K-Heart, khrt.com, and through the Live 365 app.
Other scores from Thursday:
 
High School Boys Basketball
 
Class A
#3 Minot High def. Jamestown, 58-47
(senior Darik Dissette breaks Magicians all-time career scoring record which has stood for 20 years. Old record held by Matt Witwer at 1,356 from 2000-2003. Dissette now with 1,360 points.
 
Class B
#3 Bishop Ryan def. Surrey, 77-54
Our Redeemer’s def. South Prairie, 67-46
Mohall-Lansford-Sherwood def. Glenburn, 84-49
Westhope-Newburg def. Bottineau, 73-66
Rugby def. Nedrose, 77-26
Parshall/North Shore-Plaza def. Mandaree, 63-39
Powers Lake-Burke Central def. Kenmare-Bowbells, 58-45
Kidder County def. Central McLean, 38-37
Hazen def. Glen Ullin-Hebron, 81-58
 
High School Girls Basketball
 
Class A
Mandan def. Turtle Mountain, 72-61
 
Class B
#4 Shiloh Christian def. New Salem-Almont, 58-27
Parshall def. Alexander, 49-40
New England def. Hazen, 44-37
Beulah def. Richardton-Taylor, 62-48
Washburn def. Wilton-Wing, 55-18
North Star def. Dunseith, 47-16
Four Winds-Minnewaukan def. Harvey-Wells County, 48-35
St. John def. North Prairie, 54-50
 
High School Boys Hockey
Minot High def. Bismarck High, 6-0
Bismarck Century def. Mandan, 5-3
 
High School Girls Hockey
Jamestown def. Dickinson, 3-0
 
High School Girls Gymnastics
Mandan Meet
1. Dickinson, 147.700
2. Bismarck Century, 139.225
3. Jamestown, 137.600
4. Bismarck Legacy, 134.200
5. Mandan, 130.000
6. Bismarck High, 22.425
 
High School Boys Wrestling
Class A
Minot High def. Mandan, 60-18
Bismarck Century def. Bismarck Legacy, 46-22
Bismarck High def. Dickinson, 46-16
Class B
Velva def. Bishop Ryan, 54-24
 
High School Girls Wrestling
Class A
Bismarck Legacy def. Bismarck Century, 54-18
Bismarck High def. Dickinson, 70-9
 
College Mens Basketball
North Dakota def. Kansas City, 77-60 (UND program record 18 made 3’s)
Oral Roberts def. North Dakota State, 92-69
 
College Womens Basketball
Kansas City def. North Dakota, 78-67
Oral Roberts def. North Dakota State, 75-53
 
College Mens Wrestling
Minot State def. MSU-Moorhead, 34-5
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WOLVES-RAPTORS
 
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — D’Angelo Russell scored 16 of his 25 points in the fourth quarter, Anthony Edwards had 23 and the Minnesota Timberwolves rallied to beat the Toronto Raptors 128-126 on Thursday night. Kyle Anderson added 20 points and 10 rebounds for Minnesota, which was down Rudy Gobert and Austin Rivers. The Timberwolves erased a 14-point deficit midway through the fourth with a defensive effort not typically seen from Minnesota, particularly without Gobert making an impact down low. Scottie Barnes had 12 of his season-high 29 points in the fourth for Toronto, which had won four of six.
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WILD-CANES
 
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — A late injury to Carolina winger Max Pacioretty overshadowed the Hurricanes’ 5-2 win against Minnesota. Brent Burns, Brady Skjei and Jalen Chatfield scored to give Carolina another productive offensive outing from its blueliners. Frederik Andersen was strong in net for Carolina with 30 saves. The Hurricanes saw Pacioretty go down late with a non-contact injury that left him unable to put any weight on his right leg. They had acquired him from Vegas in a July trade and he had recently made his debut following offseason surgery. Kirill Kaprizov and Matt Boldy scored for the Wild. Marc-Andre Fleury had 24 saves.
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VIKINGS-DONATELL FIRED
 
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The Minnesota Vikings have fired defensive coordinator Ed Donatell in an unsurprising decision on the veteran coach after a dismal finish by his defense. The Vikings ranked second worst in yards allowed in the NFL and fourth worst in points allowed during the regular season. They gave up 431 yards and 31 points to the New York Giants in their wild-card round loss last week. Coach Kevin O’Connell was hired a year ago by the Vikings and made Donatell his first defensive coordinator. The 65-year-old Donatell has coached 32 seasons in the league with defensive coordinator stints with four different teams.
 
 

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K-Heart Sports – 01/19/23

K-HEART SPORTS – 01/19/23 – 0700
 
MINOT, ND – Bismarck Century remains atop both Class A Basketball Polls. The polls are voted on by the North Dakota Associated Press Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association.
 
North Dakota Class A Boys Basketball Poll
 
        (First Place Votes)    Record    Points    Last Week
1. Bismarck Century (21)    9-0           105           1
2. Mandan                          10-0            84           2
3. Minot High                       9-2             56           3
4. Fargo Davies                 10-2             48           4
5. Grand Forks Red River   7-3             15           5
 
Others receiving votes: Bismarck Legacy (6-4), Fargo North (6-3)
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North Dakota Class A Girls Basketball Poll
 
                (First Place Votes)    Record    Points    Last Week
1. Bismarck Century (18)            8-2          102           1
2. Grand Forks Red River (3)    11-0            87           2
3. Fargo Davies                         10-1            53           5
4. Minot High                               8-3            48           4
5. Bismarck Legacy                     7-2            12           3
 
Others receiving votes: Bismarck High (8-2), West Fargo (8-3)
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MINOT, ND – Boys basketball is on the air tonight as Velva travels to Garrison. The Troopers are 7-2 on the season, while the Aggies are 8-2. Pregame is set for a little before 7 pm tonight on 106.9 K-Heart, khrt.com, and through the Live 365 app.
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MSU BASEBALL
 
MINOT, N.D. (MSU) – Once again, the NSIC’s coach favor the Minot State baseball team to be a league title contender as the Beavers were picked fourth in the preseason poll released Wednesday. Minot State, which finished fourth last spring in the regular season and NSIC Tournament, shared the No. 4 spot with in-state rival the University of Mary as each program received 128 points in the voting by the league’s coaches. Individually, senior catcher Matt Malone and senior right-handed pitcher Dominick Parkhurst were tabbed as the Player and Pitcher to Watch for the Beavers as Malone hit .294 with 2 home runs and 30- RBIs last spring, and Parkhurst was 5-1 with a 2.67 ERA and 46 strikeouts on the mound for Minot State.
 
Minnesota State, which won the NSIC Tournament title, was a slim pick to win the league ahead of regular-season champion Augustana. The Mavericks had 188 points and eight first-place votes and the Vikings had 185 points and five first-place votes. St. Cloud State was picked third with 174 points and the other two first-place votes. Minot State and Mary shared fourth with 128 points and were closely followed by Winona State in sixth with 126 points. Minnesota Duluth was picked seventh with 113 points, Sioux Falls was eighth with 108 points, Minnesota Crookston was ninth with 98 points, Wayne State was 10th with 97 points, Concordia, St. Paul and Northern State tied for 11th with 66 points each, Upper Iowa was picked 13th with 41 points, Southwest Minnesota State was picked 14th with 40 points, and Bemidji State was picked 15th with 17 points.
 
St. Cloud State senior infielder and pitcher Sam Riola was voted as the Preseason NSIC Player of the Year, while Augustana senior right-handed pitcher Ryan Jares was voted the Preseason Pitcher of the Year. Riola was the 2022 NSIC Player of the Year, a First-Team All-American, and he set an NSIC single-season record with 22 home runs. Jares was a First Team All-NSIC pitcher who was 8-2 with a 2.78 ERA and 109 strikeouts.
 
The Minot State’s baseball team opens the 2023 season on the road playing a pair of games at Rogers State in Oklahoma starting Feb. 7.
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WOLVES-NUGGETS
 
DENVER (AP) — Jamal Murray hit a go-ahead floater with 55.9 seconds remaining, Nikola Jokic broke Denver’s record for assists on the way to his 14th triple-double of the season, and the Nuggets rallied for a 122-118 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves. Behind Murray and Jokic, the Nuggets won their 15th straight at home. Jokic finished with 31 points, 13 assists and 11 rebounds as he navigated foul trouble. The two-time reigning NBA MVP passed Alex English for the most assists in team history. Jaden McDaniels led seven Minnesota players in double figures with 18 points. Kyle Anderson finished with 13 points and 11 rebounds for the Wolves. Naz Reid had 17 points as he started with Rudy Gobert sidelined by a sore groin. Austin Rivers (bruised knee) was inactive for Minnesota.
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TWINS-PADDOCK
 
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Right-hander Chris Paddack and the Minnesota Twins finalized a $12,525,000, three-year contract on Wednesday, an agreement that allows the pitcher to earn an additional $2.5 million in the deal’s final season. Paddack, recovering from Tommy John surgery, agreed Friday to a $2.4 million, one-year contract. The new superseding deal calls for salaries of $2.5 million this year, $2,525,000 in 2024 and $7.5 million in 2025. In 2025, he could earn $500,000 each for 140 and 150 innings, and $750,000 apiece for 160 and 170. He also gets a hotel suite on road trips in 2025.
 
Paddack, 27, had Tommy John surgery for the second time on May 18, after making just five starts for the Twins following his arrival in a trade with San Diego on April 7. Recovery typically takes at least a year. Paddack is 21-21 with a 4.20 ERA in 65 starts and one relief appearance for Minnesota and the Padres, striking out 330 and walking 67 in 330 1/3 innings. He will provide rotation depth once he’s back, behind Sonny Gray, Kenta Maeda, Joe Ryan, Bailey Ober and Tyler Mahle. Maeda is also returning from Tommy John surgery that sidelined him for the entire 2022 season. Paddack would get $100,000 for World Series MVP or winning a Cy Young Award, $75,000 for second in Cy Young voting, $50,000 for third and $25,000 for fourth through sixth. He would get $50,000 for League Championship Series MVP, and $25,000 for Gold Glove or All-Star election or selection.
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VIKINGS-SEASON ENDING PRESS CONFERENCE
 
EAGAN, Minn. (AP) — Kevin O’Connell enjoyed a strong debut as head coach of the Minnesota Vikings, with a record-setting wide receiver, a productive offense and a division title. “The feeling that we were all in this together pulling in the same direction and with a goal that is of the highest proportions, it’s special for me,” O’Connell said. “My ability to thrive in my role, I feel even better about that today than I did on day one.” His second season will bring a new set of challenges, starting with a resurrection of the defense. O’Connell said Wednesday he has not yet finalized the coaching staff for 2023, with the fate of defensive coordinator Ed Donatell in question. “That is an ongoing process that is continuing as we speak and will continue throughout the rest of this week,” O’Connell said. “I think it’s important to do, and I think after the success we had this year and coming up short of where we ultimately wanted to get to. I think it’s the right thing to do and I’ll make sure I go through that thorough process in doing so.”
 
The Vikings managed to win 13 games while ranking second-worst in yards allowed in the NFL and fourth-worst in points allowed during the regular season. Their 31-24 loss at home to the New York Giants was the last straw for a defense that was out of sorts from the start in coverage, rush and communication. The Giants averaged 80 yards on five scoring drives, four that went for touchdowns on a career-altering day for quarterback Daniel Jones in his playoff debut. “We talk a lot about that word development in this building. So with that, you feel a responsibility to make sure all of our schemes are evolving and changing and improving year in and year out,” O’Connell said. “That will be no different every year that I’m the coach here.”
 
The transition from previous head coach Mike Zimmer’s 4-3 base scheme with a preference for man-to-man pass coverage and steady blitzing ultimately did not go smoothly. Donatell’s system is a 3-4 alignment, but with the proliferation of three-wide receiver formations around the league the Vikings were only in their base package on about 25% of the snaps. But their nickel defense was continually vulnerable and passive in their zone coverages underneath the two high safeties. “I feel like some of our guys really handled that with ease,” O’Connell said. “With some of our guys, it was a work in progress, finding their premier role, and how they can thrive. Ultimately, that’s on us as coaches — and me as the head football coach to make sure I look long and hard at that.”
 
General manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah shared a table with O’Connell for a season-ending news conference, still dealing with the sting of the end of such an exhilarating season three days after they were eliminated by the Giants. Adofo-Mensah and his front office will face a salary-cap puzzle as tricky as any team in the league this offseason, likely forcing the departure of some important veteran players. That happens everywhere, but the moves the Vikings have to make might eat away at the team’s leadership and chemistry more than usual. “We’ve got to consider those things, also, in addition to the production on the field,” Adofo-Mensah said. “But really, at the end of the day, we’re trying to meet a talent threshold, a way of playing, a vision for this team that’s a championship standard.”
 
There’s no mystery about whether Kirk Cousins will return as the quarterback this time, with the eight fourth-quarter comeback wins he directed. With a salary cap hit of $36.25 million for next season, Cousins will likely be in line for another short-term extension that would help create more space for signing other players in 2023. “There’s not so much learning that needs to take place of the base way of doing things,” O’Connell said. “Now we tweak. Now we can adapt, evolve and continue to allow him to feel as comfortable as possible with what we’re asking him to do, and I think that’s where real growth can come.”
 
An extension for All-Pro wide receiver Justin Jefferson is also on the offseason list, a contract that is sure to break a market record for his position. The Vikings and Jefferson’s agent have had “initial dialogue,” Adofo-Mensah said. “I wouldn’t use the word challenge,” Adofo-Mensah said. “You’ve got a special player, a special person. Those aren’t problems. Or at least those are champagne problems. So we’ll start there.”
 
 
 

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K-Heart Sports – 01/18/23

K-HEART SPORTS – 01/18/22 – 0700
 
MINOT, ND – The Our Redeemer’s Knight scored a 61-47 win last night over Surrey in a game we broadcast on K-Heart. The Knights led by as many as 20 points in improving their record to 11-3 overall, 4-0 in District 12. Maya Vibeto led the way with 17 points, including three 3’s. Kadyn Braun came off the bench to add 15, including three 3’s. Aubrey Griedl tallied 13 points. 8th-grader Ava Keller came off the bench to lead the Mustangs with 13 points, including 9 of 12 made freethrows. Mia Aberle added 10 for Surrey as they drop to 8-4 overall, 3-1 in District 12.
 
Other scores from Tuesday:
 
High School Girls Basketball
 
Class A
#1 Bismarck Century def. #4 Minot High, 72-64
Bismarck High def. #3 Bismarck Legacy, 82-66
Jamestown def. Bismarck St. Mary’s, 54-43
Mandan def. Dickinson, 71-60
Watford City def. Williston, 64-53
 
Class B
#1 Rugby def. Bottineau, 57-43
Stanley def. #3 Kenmare-Bowbells, 53-50
#9 Central McLean def. Washburn, 65-25
Des Lacs-Burlington def. Glenburn, 61-41
South Prairie-Max def. Berthold, 64-53
Mohall-Lansford-Sherwood def. Bishop Ryan, 36-33
Drake-Anamoose def. Velva, 49-40
TGU Def. Westhope-Newburg, 76-65
Benson County def. Harvey-Wells County, 57-46
St. John def. North Star, 65-32
Langdon Area-Edmore-Munich def. Dunseith, 73-32
Trenton def. Parshall, 54-45
Mandaree def. North Shore-Plaza, 60-19
Tioga def. New Town, 59-43
Williston Trinity Christian def. White Shield, 70-20
Divide County def. Ray, 43-25
 
High School Boys Basketball
 
Class A
#1 Bismarck Century def. #3 Minot High, 76-67
#2 Mandan def. Dickinson, 85-75
Bismarck Legacy def. Bismarck High, 97-91 OT
Jamestown def. Bismarck St. Mary’s, 53-52
Williston def. Watford City, 85-47
 
Class B
#8 Beulah def. New England, 72-24
Standing Rock def. Max, 70-52
Velva def. Drake-Anamoose, 80-50
Mott-Regent/Grant County def. Central McLean, 58-28
Parshall/North Shore-Plaza def. Trenton, 61-36
Alexander def. Wibaux MT, 63-52
Powers Lake-Burke Central def. Tioga, 57-52
Divide County def. Ray, 64-31
 
High School Boys Hockey
Bismarck Legacy def. Minot High, 4-1
Bottineau-Rugby def. Hazen-Beulah, 9-6
Bismarck High def. Mandan, 3-1
Dickinson def. Jamestown, 4-3 SO
 
High School Girls Hockey
Bismarck Century def. Dickinson, 3-2 OT
Mandan def. Bismarck High-Legacy, 6-1
Fargo Davies def. Jamestown, 5-0
 
High School Boys Swimming & Diving
Jamestown def. Mandan, 111-74
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NDSU-RODIN HONORED
 
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – North Dakota State University had three athletes honored as the Summit League TicketSmarter Indoor Track and Field Peak Performers of the Week, including Jacob Rodin. At the Bison Team Cup, Rodin broke his own school record and facility record in the 600 meters to take the event title. The Kenmare native won the race in a time of 1:17.88, improving his previous NDSU all-time best of 1:18.03, as well as his facility record of 1:18.18 from last season. Rodin’s winning time ranks 12th in the NCAA this season for the 600m. He also ran a leg on the Bison 4x400m relay team that took first in a time of 3:20.63.
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WILD-CAPS
 
WASHINGTON (AP) — Captain Jared Spurgeon scored twice, fellow defenseman Jonas Brodin also had a goal with traffic in front of the net and the Minnesota Wild beat the Washington Capitals 4-2. They’ve won three in a row. The Capitals have lost four of six and are 0 for 13 on the power play during that stretch. Filip Gustavsson made 34 saves in net for Minnesota to get a four-game trip off to a strong start. Alex Ovechkin assisted on Capitals goals by Martin Fehervary and Dylan Strome. The Wild won despite being outshot 36-22. Gustavsson was excellent all night, validating the coaching staff’s decision to start him instead of going back to three-time Stanley Cup winner Marc-Andre Fleury. His 12 saves in the first period alone kept the game within reach for Minnesota despite putting just three shots on goal in the opening 20 minutes.
 
UP NEXT: Wild: At Carolina on Thursday night.
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PGA-HOGE
 
HONOLULU (AP) — Tom Hoge felt it was an easy decision to take a 5,000-mile detour between Maui and Honolulu so he could watch his alma mater, TCU, play for the national championship in football against Georgia. That didn’t end well for him or the Horned Frogs. Another easy decision for him was booking the flight. He left Maui after a tie for third in the Sentry Tournament of Champions at Kapalua that paid him $840,000. And he still flew coach. “I always fly coach. That’s normal for me,” said Hoge, who said he had seat 25A on the way back to Hawaii. At least it was an exit row.
 
Hoge, a native of Fargo, North Dakota, has never felt much reason to splurge on anything, except maybe the occasional craps table. And he’s easing up on that at the urging of his wife, Kelly, whom he jokingly refers to as the “warden” when it comes to his craps habit. “I always get an exit row and I get upgraded half the time,” Hoge said. “I try to hang onto some of this money we make, right?” It’s not all about the money. Hoge turned down an offer last year to join Saudi-backed LIV Golf, an offer that Fire Pit Collective put at eight figures. He won the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am last year for his first PGA Tour victory. He’s not into the Player Impact Program, and he would just as soon play golf courses he likes than only those with a $20 million purse attached.
 
Hoge, who finished 10th at his first Tour Championship, made just over $5.3 million last year with his FedEx Cup bonus. His actual career earnings are $13.2 million. He is in his ninth year on the PGA Tour, and he has made the FedEx Cup postseason four of the previous eight years. Only once did Hoge fail to get his card back through the Korn Ferry Tour Finals, and that year he got into enough events to make it work. “I’ve always taken the approach whenever my career comes to an end — for me, it’s always been trying to get that next year, and the next year — that whenever I’m done, whatever I want to do next is not based on money. I’ll have freedom to make a decision.” That might not be anytime soon. Hoge already has three top 10s this year, including Kapalua, and is No. 16 in the FedEx Cup. He is a career-high No. 30 in the world ranking, and he will be headed back to the Masters in April.
 
There was one time he got a little crazy with his money. “It’s been a while,” Hoge said. “I bought a fancy car when I was a little younger. I was lucky because I hadn’t made much money in my career at that point. I realized it didn’t do a lot for me.” The tour has a relationship with BMW, so he bought an X5 M. This was after a 2018 season in which he crossed the $1 million mark for the first time. And now? “I still have it,” he said. “It gets the job done.” As for his love of craps, that remains a work in progress. “I’m trying to get rid of that one,” he said. “That doesn’t pay the bills.”
 
 

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K-Heart Sports – 01/17/23

K-HEART SPORTS – 01/17/22 – 0700
 
MINOT, ND – There is a new #1 in the Class B Girls Basketball Poll this week. 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. Rugby (13)                           11-0        174            2
2. Thompson (4)                      10-1        157            3
3. Kenmare-Bowbells (1)         12-1       139            1
4. Shiloh Christian                    11-1        124            6
5. Oakes                                    9-1          65           RV
6. Central Cass                         8-3          58            T7
7. May-Port-CG                        11-2          53            T7
8. Garrison                                12-1         50             9
9. Central McLean                    10-1          47            4
10. Northern Cass                     9-2           42           RV
 
Others receiving votes: Bowman County (11-1), Kindred (7-3), Carrington (10-2)
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North Dakota Class B Boys Basketball Poll
 
                      (First Place Votes)    Record    Points     Last Week
1. Four Winds-Minnewaukan (18)     7-0          180             1
2. Central Cass                                 9-0          162             2
3. Bishop Ryan                                  7-1           133            4
4. Sargent County                              9-0          123            5
5. Ellendale                                        9-0            90             8
6. Grafton                                           6-1            77             3
7. Thompson                                      5-3            72            9
8. Beulah                                            6-1            46           RV
9. North Border                                   7-1            42          10
10. North Star                                     7-2            24            7
 
Others receiving votes: Shiloh Christian (4-3), Glen Ullin-Hebron (10-1), Standing Rock (10-1), Bowman County (7-2), Rugby (5-4)
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MINOT, ND – In District 12 boys basketball the Our Redeemer’s Knights defeated the Berthold Bombers 71-42 last night in a game we broadcast on K-Heart. Ten Knights scored led by Jace Weekley with 16 points while Colton Francis tallied 11. Berthold was led by Mark Schauer with 16 and Dylan Pank with 11 points. The teams combined for 23 made 3’s as Our Redeemer’s connected on 15 and the Bombers made eight. The third quarter was the deciding factor in the game. The Knights led 30-24 at halftime and then outscored the Bombers 31-14 in the third. Our Redeemer’s improves to 4-7 overall, 1-1 in District 12. Berthold drops to 0-9 overall, 0-2 in District 12.
 
We’ll have District 12 girls basketball on the air tonight as Surrey will host Our Redeemer’s. Pregame begins a little past 7 pm on 106.9 K-Heart, khrt.com, and through the Live 365 app.
 
Other scores from Monday:
 
High School Boys Basketball
Class B
#3 Bishop Ryan def. Des Lacs-Burlington, 59-53
#10 North Star def. Langdon Area-Edmore-Munich, 82-46
Shiloh Christian def. Hazen, 70-61
Bottineau def. TGU, 76-60
Mohall-Lansford-Sherwood def. South Prairie, 55-45
Surrey def. Glenburn, 92-38
Kenmare-Bowbells def. Tioga, 53-48
Harvey-Wells County def. Dakota Prairie, 76-41
North Prairie def. Dunseith, 49-48
St. John def. Lakota, 72-60 OT
 
High School Girls Basketball
Class B
#9 Central McLean def. #4 Shiloh Christian, 51-50
#8 Garrison def. Standing Rock, 61-35
South Prairie-Max def. Nedrose, 49-43
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TIMBERWOLVES-JAZZ
 
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Walker Kessler had career-highs of 20 points and 21 rebounds, Jordan Clarkson added 21 points and the Utah Jazz rallied from a 10-point deficit in the fourth quarter to beat the Minnesota Timberwolves 126-125. Collin Sexton added 19 points off the bench for Utah, which had seven players score in double-digits in its third victory in four games. Anthony Edwards scored 17 of his 29 points in the third and D’Angelo Russell added 21 for Minnesota. Kyle Anderson had 13 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists for the Timberwolves, who lost Rudy Gobert to lingering groin soreness.
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NFL-WILD CARD
 
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Dak Prescott outplayed Tom Brady, throwing for four touchdowns and running for another to lead the Dallas Cowboys to a 31-14 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in an NFC wild-card playoff game. Prescott completed 25 of 33 passes for 305 yards and played turnover-free ball for the first time in eight games as the Cowboys dominated the listless Bucs in what may turn out to be Brady’s last game in a Tampa Bay uniform. Dallas beat Brady for the first time in the seven-time Super Bowl champion’s career. The Cowboys earned a trip to San Francisco to face the 49ers in the NFC divisional round next Sunday.
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VIKINGS-SEASON END
 
EAGAN, Minn. (AP) — The end hit harder for the Minnesota Vikings than usual, a season of exhilarating finishes and exceeded expectations smudged by this quick exit from the playoffs. The sting was only deepened by the reality of the roster. The salary cap crunch will likely force the departure of some of the players who contributed heavily to 13 wins, an NFC North division title and a strong chemistry that fueled this run behind new head coach Kevin O’Connell. “We have such a great group, and you know when the season ends that this group doesn’t stay the same moving forward,” quarterback Kirk Cousins said after the 31-24 loss to the New York Giants at home on Sunday in the first round. “That’s hard to accept, especially with how many great players are in there.”
 
There’s always year-to-year turnover in the NFL, but general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah and his staff will face an especially difficult round of decisions over the next two months as he and O’Connell enter their second season together. “This team was pretty close, a lot of good relationships,” safety Harrison Smith said. “We wanted to do more and just didn’t get it done.” The Vikings have eight players scheduled for eight-figure salary cap hits in 2023, in order: Cousins, wide receiver Adam Thielen, right tackle Brian O’Neill, Smith, outside linebacker Za’Darius Smith, running back Dalvin Cook, outside linebacker Danielle Hunter and inside linebacker Eric Kendricks. Only Hunter (28), Cook (27) and O’Neill (27) are under 30.
 
There are weaknesses, particularly on the interior of the offensive line and among the defensive backs, that need more than just the draft to address. That means a restructured contract or two likely won’t cut it. To create space, a valuable player or two will probably have to be cut — perhaps without a clear-cut replacement currently available. “We did things that a lot of people didn’t think we were going to do from the start of the season. We’re proud about that. Definitely not proud about losing tonight and not being able to go on,” said Justin Jefferson, whose league-leading 1,809 receiving yards led the list of accomplishments. “It’s definitely going to be tough not seeing some of these faces in the locker room next year.”
 
FURTHER DETERIORATION
One of the reasons why the job opened for O’Connell was the recent struggles of a once-dominant defense under his predecessor Mike Zimmer, whose specialty was on that side of the ball. The group slipped even more under defensive coordinator Ed Donatell, putting his status with the team in doubt. There was promise of a productive pass rush with Hunter and Smith on the edges, but in addition to finishing second to last in the league in yards allowed, the Vikings ranked in the bottom third of the NFL in pressure percentage and sack percentage. With the speedy Brian Asamoah, a third-round draft pick last year, waiting in the wings, Kendricks is the veteran on defense whose return is most in question with the smallest dead-money hit among the group of eight-figure players. Even if the base 3-4 scheme under Donatell didn’t fit Kendricks as well as Zimmer’s 4-3 system, he would be tough to replace. “Eric has a crazy, crazy ability to know what’s coming,” linebacker Jordan Hicks said. “He’s one of the most talented middle linebackers I’ve ever had the opportunity to play with.”
 
BETTER VIBES
The environment around team headquarters a year ago was at a low point after a second straight losing season that led to the firing of Zimmer, but the improvement in that area at the direction of the sunny O’Connell is an asset the Vikings can keep for 2023 and doesn’t count against the cap. “The biggest difference is the culture around here,” Cook said. “Guys believed each and every game that we could win each and every one of them.”
 
SPEAKING OF COOK
Cook is still only 27, but he’s another one whose future is murky by virtue of the undervalued and punishing position he plays entering his seventh NFL season. There’s no guaranteed salary left on his contract, only prorated signing bonus portions that come with about $6.2 million in dead money if he were to be released prior to the start of free agency. Cook topped 1,000 rushing yards for the fourth straight season, but most importantly he was healthy for all 18 games — the only time in his career he didn’t miss at least three games. “That’s always been my goal, just to finish with these guys. A lot of games that I didn’t finish a few years ago or whenever it was, it was just on your conscience that I could’ve helped these guys win a game,” Cook said. “Being available all year for these guys, that means a lot to me.”
 
JEFFERSON NEXT?
The Vikings have two more years of contract control over Jefferson at his rookie-deal rate, but he will eligible to sign an extension this offseason. He’s all but certain to set the wide receiver record for richest deal, with more yards through a player’s first three years than anyone in NFL history. “It’s not really something that I’m really worried about,” Jefferson said. “I want to win a Super Bowl. That’s the thing that I’m most focused on. The money comes with the job.”
 
 
 
 

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K-Heart Sports – 01/16/23

K-HEART SPORTS – 01/16/23 – 0700
 
MINOT, ND – It’s a full week of high school basketball on K-Heart. District 12 boys basketball is on the air tonight as Our Redeemer’s will host Berthold. Pregame is set for a littlet past 7 pm on 106.9 K-Heart, khrt.com, and through the Live365 app. Tomorrow night we’re out to Surrey as the Mustangs host Our Redeemer’s in girls basketball. Thursday the Velva boys play at Garrison. And then we finish the week with a girl/boy doubleheader at Des Lacs-Burlington as they host Berthold.
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MINOT STATE MEN’S HOCKEY
 
EDMOND, Okla. (MSU) – After a pair of wins over Top-10 foes, the Minot State men’s hockey team wrapped up a successful weekend at the Battle at the Edge hosted by Central Oklahoma by skating away from Oklahoma on Sunday afternoon. The Beavers opened the scoring with 4 minutes, 39 seconds left in the first period on a power-play goal by Joey Moffatt off assists from Reid Arnold and Jay Buchholz, but the Sooners evened the score just 28 seconds later and it stayed tied 1-1 into the second. Carter Barley struck with 6:31 gone in the second period, netting the eventual game-winner off assists from Eric Soar and Drew Carter, then Minot State never looked back. Though the score remained close the rest of the second stanza, just 21 seconds into the final period the Beavers (21-1-0 overall) began breaking it open as Sheldin Howard scored an unassisted goal, his first of back-to-back goals. Howard’s second came off assists from Moffatt and Buchholz, then Reece Henry added another goal for the Beavers to help ice the win, off assists from Arnold and Josh Pederson. Riley Wallace finished with 18 saves in goal for Minot State, which outshot Oklahoma 47-19. The Beavers now return to North Dakota for a game at Jamestown on Friday night, closing a stretch of 6-of-7 on the road, then Minot State hosts Mary at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 21, and Dakota College of Bottineau on Sunday, Jan. 22, at 4 p.m.
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NDSU TRACK-RODIN
 
FARGO, N.D. (NDSU) – Jacob Rodin broke his own school record and facility record in the 600m on Saturday afternoon, highlighting the performances of the North Dakota State men’s track & field team at the Bison Team Cup. Rodin ran 1:17.88 to win the 600m, improving on his previous NDSU all-time best of 1:18.03, as well as his facility record of 1:18.18 from last season. Rodin is a senior at NDSU who is from Kenmare.
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VIKINGS-GIANTS
 
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — First-year head coach Brian Daboll had his upstart team fully prepared. Daniel Jones played at a level well beyond his experience. The New York Giants came confidently into Minnesota’s raucous stadium and beat the tight-finish masters at their own game. Jones passed for 301 yards and two touchdowns and ran for 78 yards in his first career playoff game for the Giants in a 31-24 wild-card round victory on Sunday that gave the Vikings their first loss in 12 one-score games this season. Saquon Barkley rushed for two scores, including the tiebreaker midway through the fourth quarter. Jones became the first quarterback in NFL history to hit these thresholds in a postseason game: 300-plus yards passing, two-plus passing touchdowns and 70-plus yards rushing. The defense finished off the franchise’s first playoff win since the Super Bowl 11 years ago by swarming tight end T.J. Hockenson at midfield after a 3-yard reception from Kirk Cousins on fourth-and-8 to force a turnover on downs with 1:44 to go and no timeouts left for the Vikings (13-5). The Giants (10-7-1) advanced to play No. 1 seed and NFC East rival Philadelphia in the divisional round next Saturday night. They converted seven of 13 third downs and had their way with a Vikings defense that has been vulnerable all season, averaging 8.3 yards per play in the first half.
 
Cousins went 31 for 39 for 273 yards and two scores and a rushing touchdown to cap the game’s opening possession, the too-short throw to Hockenson his one glaring mistake. Cousins was more upset by his placement on the third-and-8 pass to K.J. Osborn — who had a first-half touchdown catch — that was knocked down by Cor’Dale Flott. Five years and one day after Case Keenum’s 61-yard last-play touchdown pass to Stefon Diggs gave the Vikings a 29-24 victory over New Orleans in the divisional round, Cousins finally got a postseason game in Minnesota in his fifth season with the team. The Vikings stayed on brand by facing 10-point deficits late in the second quarter and again early in the third quarter. Cousins, who delivered all kinds of on-target throws as he was knocked to the turf by the blitz-fueled Giants defense, hit Irv Smith Jr. for a touchdown that brought the Vikings within 24-21. Then came the unusual — the defense got a stop. Danielle Hunter’s sack forced the first Giants punt, and the Vikings went the other way for the tying field goal. They left behind some crucial points, though, when Cousins ran successful sneak on fourth-and-1 at the 15 that was negated by a false start on left tackle Christian Darrisaw. Jones converted a penalty-free fourth-and-1 sneak on the next drive for the Giants. Barkley chugged into the end zone for the lead with 7:47 to go.
 
JACKSON VS. JEFFERSON
Cousins targeted Hockenson 11 times for 10 receptions and 129 yards, but after Justin Jefferson had four catches on the opening touchdown drive he had only three more the rest of the way and just one in the second half. The NFL’s leading receiver, who had 133 yards and a touchdown on 12 receptions in the 27-24 win over the Giants last month, almost always had a safety following him and was deftly covered by Adoree’ Jackson in the cornerback’s return from a seven-game absence to a knee injury.
 
INJURY REPORT
Giants: OLB Azeez Ojulari (quadriceps) was hurt in the second quarter and ruled out at halftime. … Backup FS Jason Pinnock (abdomen) left on a cart after covering a kickoff in the fourth quarter and went to a hospital for evaluation. He rejoined Giants in the locker room and was flying home with the team.
Vikings: LB Brian Asamoah II (concussion) was injured covering a kickoff late in the second quarter. … Backup CB Cameron Dantzler Sr. (personal) was inactive after missing practice all week.
 
 

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K-Heart Sporta – 01/15/23

K-HEART SPORTS – 01/15/23 – 0700
 
MINOT, ND – Saturday scores:
 
High School Boys Basketball
 
Class A
#2 Mandan def. Bismarck St. Mary’s, 78-58
Bismarck High def. Turtle Mountain, 99-87
Jamestown def. Watford City, 93-65
 
Class B
#4 Bishop Ryan def. Bottineau, 80-48
Hazen def. Des Lacs-Burlington, 72-64
Our Redeemer’s def. Westhope-Newburg, 52-48
Surrey def. Powers Lake-Burke Central, 68-67
Kenmare-Bowbells def. South Prairie, 69-54
Garrison def. White Shield, 67-45
Max def. Richardton-Taylor, 59-51
Ray Shootout
Divide County def. Mandaree, 52-36
Parshall/North Shore-Plaza def. Tioga, 50-48
Alexander def. Ray, 65-21
Devils Lake Class B Day
North Prairie def. Midway-Minto, 76-40
Benson County def. Hatton-Northwood, 53-49
#10 North Star def. St. John, 83-46
Warwick def. Drake-Anamoose, 80-40
 
High School Girls Basketball
 
Class A
#4 Minot High def. Devils Lake, 101-53
Minot High JV def Williston, 96-47
Mandan def. Bismarck St. Mary’s, 74-70 2OT
Bismarck High def. Turtle Mountain, 100-59
Jamestown def. Watford City, 97-44
 
Class B
#10 Kindred def. #1 Kenmare-Bowbells, 62-52
#2 Rugby def. Four Winds-Minnewaukan, 52-32
Our Redeemer’s def. Westhope-Newburg, 61-49
Bottineau def. Bishop Ryan, 64-24
Nedrose def. Des Lacs-Burlington, 42-37
Mohall-Lansford-Sherwood def. Velva, 51-38
Surrey def. Powers Lake-Burke Central, 49-35
TGU def. Harvey-Wells County, 66-45
KIlldeer def. New Town, 61-36
Ray Shootout
Mandaree def. Divide County, 42-31
Parshall def. Alexander, 42-29
Trenton def. Ray, 52-34
Devils Lake Class B Day
Benson County def. Midway-Minto, 54-26
New Rockford-Sheyenne def. Hatton-Northwood, 58-56
Langdon Area-Edmore-Munich def. Kidder County, 50-45
#7 May-Port-CG def. North Prairie, 53-48
#9 Garrison def. St. John, 49-46
Drake-Anamoose def. Warwick, 61-24
 
High School Boys Hockey
West Fargo Sheyenne def. Minot High, 4-1
Bismarck Century def. Williston, 9-2
Bismarck High def. Bottineau-Rugby, 4-3 OT
 
High School Girls Hockey
Bismarck High-Legacy def. Williston, 4-1
 
High School Boys Swimming & Diving
Minot High def. Williston, 123-63
 
Fargo Manley Invite
1. Fargo Davies, 487.5
2. Fargo North, 479
3. Bismarck High, 478.5
4. Bismarck Century, 452
5. Fargo South, 284
6. Mandan, 136
 
High School Boys Wrestling
Williston def. Jamestown, 37-34
Jamestown def. Watford City, 69-12
Bismarck St. Mary’s def. Mandan, 55-24
Bismarck Legacy def. Dickinson, 43-24
 
Panther Booster Tournament – Rugby
1. New Salem, 217.5
2. Valley City, 134.5
3. Northern Lights, 129.0
4. Bishop Ryan, 127.5
5. Velva, 121.0
6. Central Cass, 120.5
7. Williams County, 119.0
8. Turtle Mountain, 116.0
9. Kenmare, 109.0
10. Pembina County North, 103.5
11. Linton-HMB, 91.0
12. Des Lacs-Burlington, 88.0
13. Hillsboro-Central Valley, 80.0
14. Beulah-Hazen, 78.0
15. Stanley, 72.0
16. Rugby, 58.0
17. Napoleon, 57.5
18. Harvey-Wells County, 54.0
19. Bowman County/Beach, 40.5
20. Grafton, 38.5
21. Mondak, 29.0
22. Carrington, 0.0
22. Kindred, 0.0
22. New Town, 0.0
 
High School Girls Wrestling
Magic City Tournament – Minot
1. Bismarck Legacy, 188.0
2. Minot High, 168.0
3. Central Cass, 163.0
4. South Border, 115.5
5. Grand Forks, 112.5
6. Des-Lac-Burlington, 110.0
7. Pembina County North, 105.0
8. Valley City, 99.0
9. Mandan, 72.0
10. Dickinson, 44.0
11. New Salem-Almont, 42.0
12. MonDak, 40.0
13. Stanley, 38.0
14. Harvey – Wells County, 26.0
15. White Shield, 24.0
16. Rugby, 23.0
17. Napoleon, 21.0
18. Beulah-Hazen, 19.0
19. Velva, 17.0
20. New Town, 16.0
21. Linton-HMB, 11.0
22. Turtle Mountain, 7.0
23. Ray, 2.0
24. Hope Christian Academy, 0.0
24. Williston, 0.0
 
College Mens Basketball
Minot State def. Augustana, 73-65
North Dakota State def. Omaha, 78-65
Denver def. North Dakota, 78-71
 
College Womens Basketball
Augustana def. Minot State, 74-67
North Dakota State def. Omaha, 83-71
North Dakota def. Denver 68-57
 
College Mens Hockey
Minot State def. Central Oklahoma, 4-1
Western Michigan def. North Dakota, 7-6
 
College Womens Hockey
Indiana Tech def. Minot State, 5-0
 
NAHL Hockey
Aberdeen Wings def. Minot Minotauros 5-2
Bismarck Bobcats def. North Iowa Bulls, 3-1
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MINOT STATE TRACK
 
BISMARCK, N.D. – Another record and three more wins: The Beavers made a triumphant return to track and field competition Saturday at the Mike Thorson Open hosted by the University of Mary. Returning from the holiday break after more than a month off since last competing, the Minot State track and field teams turned in a strong performance as freshman Summer Krebsbach led the way for the women, breaking her own school record in 60-meter dash. On the men’s side, Nathan Trujillo-Aragon remained perfect this season in the 60-meter hurdles with his second win in two outings while teammates Corbin Harris and Jacob Jensen also added victories for the Beaver men in the weight throw and 1,000 meters, respectively.
 
One student-athlete running a personal best was Krebsbach who broke the NCAA Division II school record in the 60-meter dash in her collegiate debut back in December, then broke her own record in the prelims on Saturday clocking a time of 8.00 seconds. Krebsbach ended up third in the 60 finals in 8.09 seconds, and also added a third-place finish in the 200 in a personal-best time of 26.93 seconds. Her efforts were part of a strong showing for the ladies who tacked on four more third-place finishes at the meet as Nicole Reeves was third in 1,000 meters in a personal-best time of 3 minutes, 23.89 seconds, Sidra Sadowsky was third in the mile in a personal-best time of 5:26.04, Chloe Gunderson was third in the shot put with a throw of 39 feet, 25 inches, and the Beaver 4×400 relay team of Sadowsky, Krebsbach, Reeves, and Paulette Dominguez was third in 4:36.77.
 
On the men’s side, Trujillo-Aragon led the way for the second straight meet claiming his second straight 60-meter hurdles win with a time of 8.59 in the finals. He qualified for the finals with a meet-best 8.50, just fractions of a second off his own NCAA D-II school record in the event of 8.47, which he ran in 2021. Adding to the victory rush was Jacob Jensen who won the 1,000 meters in his first competition of the indoor season in 2:34.21, the top time this winter in the NSIC. Juan Gutierrez and Charles Hardcastle added personal bests as they finished second in the 600 (1:26.51) and 800 (2:01.32), respectively. And in the field events, Corbin Harris added the third win of the day for the Beavers in the weight throw with an effort of 49 feet, 9.25 inches while Samuel Kreins was third in the shot put with a throw of 46-8.
 
Now back in full swing for the indoor season, the Beavers head to South Dakota next weekend to compete at South Dakota State in the D2 Invitational on Friday and the Jim Emmerich Alumni Invitational on Saturday.
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WOLVES-CAVS
 
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Anthony Edwards scored 26 points and the Minnesota Timberwolves got a huge boost from their bench in a 110-102 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers. Naz Reid scored 17 of Minnesota’s 56 bench points, while Jalen Nowell had 16. Luka Garza added nine for the short-handed Wolves. Minnesota was without Rudy Gobert for the second half due to right groin soreness, and Jaden McDaniels picked up his fifth foul just 2:37 into the second half. Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen both scored 19 points for Cleveland, and Darius Garland added 15. Donovan Mitchell, who was questionable for Saturday’s game with an illness, finished with 14 points on 5-of-16 shooting.
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WILD-COYOTES
 
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Mats Zuccarello and Freddy Gaudreau scored 51 seconds apart in the second period, and the Minnesota Wild held off the reeling Arizona Coyotes 2-1. Kirill Kaprizov nearly had a milestone goal and Marc-Andre Fleury made 27 saves for Minnesota, playing its lone home game in a seven-game stretch. The Wild are 14-2-0 in their last 16 against the Coyotes. Lawson Crouse scored and Connor Ingram stopped 25 shots for Arizona, which has lost eight straight games — all in regulation — while getting outscored 33-15. It is the most consecutive losses by the Coyotes since dropping nine in a row from Oct. 18 to Nov. 5, 2021.
 
 

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K-Heart Sports – 01/14/23

K-HEART SPORTS – 01/14/23 – 0700
 
MINOT, ND – Parshall/North Shore-Plaza scored the first 12 points of the game and led by as many as 13 in the second quarter, but they couldn’t hold on to the lead as Kenmare-Bowbells came back to tally a 66-62 win last night in a game we broadcast on K-Heart. Luke Crosby scored 16 points for the Honkers, while Peyton Helwig came off the bench to add 13 as Kenmare-Bowbells improves their record to 4-5. The Braves were led by Joaquin Powell with a game-high 19. Tyson Odermann added 17 points as Parshall-NSP drops to 4-3.
 
Other scores from Friday:
 
High School Boys Basketball
 
Class A
#2 Mandan def. Watford City, 86-59
#3 Minot High def. Williston, 69-49
Bismarck High def. Dickinson, 82-66
Turtle Mountain def. Bismarck St. Mary’s, 81-74
 
Class B
#4 Bishop Ryan def. Berthold, 80-27
Beulah def. #6 Shiloh Christian, 51-46
Des Lacs-Burlington def. Glenburn, 79-26
Mohall-Lansford-Sherwood def. Our Redeemer’s, 62-44
Surrey def. South Prairie, 52-51
Velva def. Bottineau, 57-52
Dunseith def. Westhope-Newburg, 65-60
Powers Lake-Burke Central def. Nedrose, 67-47
 
High School Girls Basketball
 
Class A
Bismarck High def. Dickinson, 68-57
Mandan def. Watford City, 90-39
Bismarck St. Mary’s def. Turtle Mountain, 79-51
 
Class B
#1 Kenmare-Bowbells def. #5 Carrington, 54-44
Westhope-Newburg def. Dunseith, 59-29
North Prairie def. North Star, 56-41
Harvey-Wells County def. Warwick, 68-37
Tioga def. Alexander, 57-13
 
High School Boys Hockey
Minot High def. Jamestown, 3-1
 
High School Girls Hockey
Mandan def. Bismarck Century, 2-1 SO
Bismarck High-Legacy def. Fargo Davies, 2-1 OT
 
High School Girls Gymnastics
Judy Ziegler Meet – Bismarck
1. Dickinson, 147.225
2. Bismarck Century, 140.100
3. Jamestown, 138.500
4. Minot High, 135.175
5. Bismarck Legacy, 131.650
7. Mandan, 126.925
8. Grand Forks, 126.575
9. Northwest Stars, 116.075
10. Bismarck High, 47.675
 
All-Around winner: Elizabeth Karsky, Dickinson, 37.100
 
High School Boys Wrestling
Dickinson def. Mandan, 63-15
Williston def. Bismarck High, 32-30
Jamestown def. Bismarck Century, 34-33
 
 
High School Girls Wrestling
Jamestown def. Bismarck Century, 42-30
Bismarck High def. Mandan, 65-12
Mandan def. Dickinson, 60-18
 
College Mens Basketball
Minot State def. Wayne State, 80-79
 
College Womens Basketball
Minot State def. Wayne State, 70-57
 
College Mens Hockey
Minot State def. Illinois State, 5-1
Western Michigan def. North Dakota, 4-0
 
College Womens Hockey
Indiana Tech def. Minot State, 5-2
 
College Mens Wrestling
Northern State def. Minot State, 32-10
 
College Womens Wrestling
York Duals – York, Nebraska
Texas Wesleyan def. Minot State, 35-10
York University (Neb) def. Minot State 34-5
Wayland Baptist def. Minot State, 25-7
Minot State def. Jarvis Christian College, 15-5
 
NAHL Hockey
Minot Minotaurs def. Aberdeen Wings, 4-0
North Iowa Bulls def. Bismarck Bobcats, 2-1
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TIMBERWOLVES-SUNS
 
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Anthony Edwards scored 31 points, D’Angelo Russell had 17 and the Minnesota Timberwolves held off the short-handed Phoenix Suns 121-116 on Friday night. Taurean Prince added 16 points off the bench and fellow reserve Naz Red had 13 points for Minnesota. The Timberwolves won for the fourth time in five games and bounced back from a 135-118 loss in Detroit on Wednesday night. Damion Lee led Phoenix with a career-high 31 points and Mikal Bridges had 24. The Suns were again without stars Chris Paul and Devin Booker, along with Cameron Johnson and backcourt backups Cameron Payne and Landry Shamet. Deandre Ayton returned after missing two games with a left ankle sprain and had 11 points and 11 rebounds.
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VIKINGS-SPECIAL TEAMS
 
EAGAN, Minn. (AP) — The bond Matt Daniels has developed with his players in his first season as special teams coordinator of the Minnesota Vikings stretches out of the practice facility and into the parking lot. Each week, Daniels turns over his designated space to a player whose effort and performance on the unsung units of the kicking game warrants the honor. From the VIP vehicle treatment to his self-appointed player nicknames to the custom-made hats — with “ST” on the front and an African proverb about the strength of community on the side — he gave the group, Daniels has done his best to make Minnesota’s special teams, well, special. That starts with strategy meetings that are always interactive, never paternalistic. The fellowship was strengthened during training camp when Daniels’ father, Bruce, died of a heart attack. Daniels told his players he needed their support, and the connection has only grown since. “I’m always big on a two-way flow of communication,” Daniels said. “I don’t want to be up there where you’re constantly hearing me talk for 30 or 40 minutes and I’m not hearing any type of conversation coming back at me.”
 
The 33-year-old’s first season in a leadership position at any level has coincided with an overall improvement by the Vikings in this vital area and facilitated a unique camaraderie on a team that counts strong chemistry as a major asset entering the playoffs. They host the New York Giants in the wild-card round on Sunday. “It’s just great to have a coach who’s trusting in you, believing in you, kind of feeling like a player on team in the way he’s integrated himself into the building,” said backup safety Josh Metellus, who blocked punts in consecutive games last month and was recently voted as a replacement captain for injured right tackle Brian O’Neill. All-Pro long snapper Andrew DePaola is “Sir Po.” Kicker Greg Joseph is “G-Money.” Practice squad wide receiver Dan Chisena is “Hot Sauce.” Daniels goes by “Hat,” a moniker that stuck with him in college after a big hit in practice.
 
Daniels got a degree in public policy at Duke, where he was a first team All-ACC safety in 2011. He latched on as an undrafted rookie with the Rams and lasted four years in the league. Painfully bad luck for his playing career served as a seed-planting spark for his move into coaching, even if he didn’t fully appreciate it while rehabilitating a torn ACL and MCL in his knee in 2012 and then a broken tibia and fibula and dislocated ankle in 2013. Both of those injuries occurred while blocking on kick returns when another player rolled into his leg. John Fassel, then the Rams special teams coordinator, started an apprenticeship of sorts to help Daniels stay involved during his time on injured reserve. He taught him the nuances of reviewing film and even assigned him presentations to the special-teamers for that week’s game plan. So it was only fitting that Daniels found his first coaching job in the NFL as Fassel’s assistant in 2018. He went with him to the Cowboys in 2020, and a year ago new Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell hired Daniels to run the whole special teams show.
 
“Matt brings a lot of juice to the coaching staff. He brings a lot more swag than I do, certainly, and he’s done a phenomenal job with that group,” offensive coordinator Wes Phillips said. “As far as my time in the league, I think this unit is more invested than maybe any. Sometimes there’s guys who are just waiting to get their shot other places, and obviously guys want to play on offense and defense, but we’ve got a lot of guys, core special teams guys, that are really excited about going out there and really making plays to change the game.”
 
Rookie Ryan Wright is ninth in the NFL in percentage of punts inside the 20-yard line and seventh in the league in net punting average. The Vikings are also eighth in the NFL in average starting field position differential. They gave up a touchdown on a kickoff return by Packers All-Pro Keisean Nixon two weeks ago, but Kene Nwangwu scored on a kickoff return in a seven-point win over the Patriots on Nov. 24. And while Joseph has missed seven field goals and six extra points, he has five game-winning kicks. His ability to read the room and know his players have helped Daniels coach Joseph through multiple slumps, favoring the less-is-more approach to keep from psyching his kicker out. That’s one example of the profile Daniels has been building as a potential future head coach. “I love playing for the man, but at the same time if it does happen while I’m still here, I’m going to be his biggest supporter,” DePaola said. “I’m going to be like, ‘Hey, you’ve got it.’ Because not only does he have a special knack for coaching teams, he has a special knack with relating with everybody on the team.”
 
 

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