It's been a long wait for NDSU athletics to return. This week it finally happened as the men's 🏀 team got it started with three games in Nebraska. First on the docket was a date with Nevada on Wednesday. The offensive output was balanced but low as six of the seven scorers added at least five points but only Tyree Eady got into double-figures on the way to a 14 point loss, 62-48.
Saturday they went against the namesake school in the state. Jaxon Knotek finished with 16 in only 23 minutes off the bench but the home team finished ahead 79-57.
Then this afternoon they were in Omaha to play Creighton. A nice start wasn't enough to overcome a lopsided turnover margin in favor of the nationally ranked team. Maleeck Harden-Hayes was back in the starting lineup after missing Saturday's game and finished with the second double-figure game of his college career to round-out the leading scorers, behind Rocky Kreuser (16) & Tyree Eady (12). But then, again, the rest of the offense was limited.
These were good learning experiences for all the young, inexperienced guys on the roster but they showed that the coaches have a lot of work to do in bringing them along. They'll have all week to work on it before returning to the court on Saturday against Kansas.
With the women set to tipoff on Wednesday get set for the season with the preview!
And for the 🏈 faction, got you covered as well!
Friday night at the rink began with a quiet first period which gave way to plenty of offense. Less than three minutes into the second Jeremy Davidson got one to the net for the first point of the game. The next 20 minutes were dominated by Sioux Falls as they got up to a 3-1 lead with 17 minutes to go. With under 6.5 remaining Fargo broke through again, this time by Mason Salquist. 48 seconds later Kyle Smolen shot was also true to tie it up. Owen Gallatin finished it off 43 seconds after that to joined Smolen with his first goal of the season to put Fargo ahead 4-3 with less than five minutes to go. Brennan Boynton and the rest of the defense held true for the fourth win of the season and first place in the West, percentage points ahead of Omaha.
With all Fall contests concluded and Winter sports not yet begun this week was designated for special recognitions.
Just before the holiday both North Dakota & Minnesota athletes got something else for all their hard work & sacrifice. For the NoDak's it was the all-state lists, while for Minnesota it was the release of the final rankings, with area schools deservedly high on them!
Focus will shift to Winter sports almost as quickly as a keystroke but don't gloss over what they all accomplished during the most unusual Fall that we will hopefully have for a very, very long time!
And as a cherry on top, one of the all-state members got a new college offer. Davies has fielded plenty of talent in the last few years and Moorhead State is seeking to add one of the latest.