As the pro š players prepared for their final games of the regular season, the š teams made there way to Macomb, Ill. They opened the back-to-back doubleheaders at 1 pm on Saturday with the Women. They fell behind by 21 after 3 quarters and weren't able to muster that much of a comeback over the final 10 minutes. Not long after, the men stormed out to 16 point first half lead and never looked back on the way to a 68-50 victory. Rocky Kreuser finished with a game-high 17 while Sam Griesel rounded out the double-figures scorers with 11 points & 12 boards. Maleeck Harden-Hayes & Tyree Eady finished between the pair.
The rematch between the women was highlighted by a 15/14/4 game from Emily Dietz off the bench. Six others scored at least 9 points on the way to the 93-60 win but the West Fargo alum is unquestionably the story from that one! Game four proved to be the closed as the men won 78-67. Tyree Eady paced the way with 16 & eight while all six of the main players finished in double-figures. The highlight of the game came courtesy of Grant Nelson.
The men of the mat also got their schedule underway this week. Hosting Oregon State, Missouri & SDSU on Sunday, the Bison split with OSU & Mizzou. In his first bout out of Canton, SD Kellyn March defeated the #7 ranked wrestler at 133 pounds from OSU.
Then, within the last few hours, š great Jabril Cox opted to not use the eligibility exception and has declared for the draft. He was graded as a third round pick a year ago. Last year's were less accurate than normal but with the year of experience at Louisiana State it's likely that he improved upon that ranking.
That's a well-done weekend if you ask me!
Moorhead State also started the š season this weekend. The women opened in Sioux Falls while the men hosted Augustana in their opener. The 15th ranked Vikings were taken to the wire but prevailed 74-69. The Dragon women got balanced production from five of their top seven players but couldn't keep pace with Augie.
The Sunday half began with the men making a game of it, but they came up short yet again, 89-79. In Sioux Falls the women turned up their defense and got win #1, 71-66. They were lead by Nicole Brown with 17 & 16 while Sarah Jacobson wasn't far behind with 16 & 8 rebounds. Mariah McKeever & Peyton Boom rounded out the top scorers for Moorhead. Within the game they came back from a six point halftime deficit with a 19-12 third quarter.
A promising start to the season gave way to the franchise standard of ugliness. The losses in Los Angeles were bad, but not unexpected. Losing to Washington on Friday night is a different matter entirely. Sure they have Bradley Beal & Russell Westbrook and some other good players, but The Cure sat out which kind of balances out the absence of Towns & Okogie. Minnesota was not able to make the difference nearly as well as Washington did, 130-109.
Today they hosted Denver and went into the fourth quarter with all the all momentum & a one point lead. Denver didn't waste any time during the final quarter in taking the lead back & choking out the chances of an upset. There were bright spots in the loss but moral victories only come into play in games that come down to the final moments or when special circumstances happen.
Fargo's three-game-week began at home against Sioux City. The home team fell behind 4-1 in the second period but as they have done so often, rallied to pull within one score before the third began. Sioux City scored another pair before it was over while Fargo was shutout over the final 20 minutes.
On New Year's Eve the team traveled to Sioux Falls. In a similar script, Fargo surrendered the first goal but then got the next four. Jacob Braccini got the first one, followed by Matthew Crasa 25 seconds later. Erik Bargholtz answered the bell 3 minutes into the second period and then Tristan Broz got into the act. SF cut the lead in half before the period was done but Tyler Rollwagen answered 42 seconds later to make it a three-score game again. Brennan Boynton surrender a third in the third but Crasa closed out the game with his fifth of the season.
They returned home for a Saturday night game against the Falls. Jeremy Davidson started the evening quick, scoring just 85 seconds after the drop. Sioux Falls pulled even 6 minutes later but that was all they could manage against Boynton this time. Fargo, on the other hand, reeled off three more scores. Aaron Huglen got his first of the year in the second, followed by Crasa & Rollwagen in the third.
With the wins they have improved their hold on the top spot in the Western Conference.
High school teams navigated New Years, beginning with a visit by GF Central to South high. Then, on the afternoon of the Eve, Shanley was at Sheyenne for a matinee. The afternoon action continued as the Mustangs made their way to South on Saturday.
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