SCSU Basketball Beats Winona, Lumberjacks Postpone Loons Game

The St. Cloud State University basketball teams both opened the weekend with wins over Winona State, the Gopher women's hockey team shutout St. Thomas, and the Minnesota Timberwolves held on to beat Phoenix on Friday. Meanwhile, the St. Cloud State, St. John's, and St. Ben's hockey teams and Gopher men's hockey team all came up short of the win, and the St. Cloud Norsemen were unable to rally in Austin. On Saturday, the SJU and CSB basketball teams will return to action, the Minnesota Wild will host Arizona, and the Granite City Lumberjacks are expected to retake the ice after an injury led to the postponement of Friday's matchup against the Loons.

RECAPS:

- The SCSU men's basketball team pulled off a close 74-70 win over Winona State in an NSIC matchup Saturday. Connor Drew led all scorers with 17 points for the Warriors. St. Cloud had four players score in the double digits, led by Jalen Griffin who netted 15. The Huskies improve to 7-9 and 4-7 NSIC and will host Upper Iowa (9-8, 6-5 NSIC) on Saturday. Tip-off is set for 5:30 p.m.

- The SCSU women's basketball team extended their win streak to two games with a 58-43 decision over Winona State at home on Saturday. It also marked Head Coach Lori Fish's 300th win with the team. St. Cloud held a 24-11 lead at the half after their no. 2 ranked scoring defense in the NSIC kept the Warriors out of the net in the second quarter. Katrina Theis led all scorers with 22 points and 8 rebounds for SCSU. The Huskies are now 11-4 and 8-3 in conference play. They will host Upper Iowa (6-10, 2-9 NSIC) at 3:30 p.m. Saturday.

- The no. 3/4 Gopher women's hockey team shut out St. Thomas 5-0 to open the home series on Friday. Grace Zumwinkle led Minnesota with two goals. The Gophers outshot the Tommies 46-17. Skylar Vetter made a perfect 17 saves for her fifth shutout of the season. The Gophers improve to 17-3-2 and extend their winning streak to seven games. They will look to keep rolling when they host the Tommies (7-15-1) in game two at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday.

- The Timberwolves (21-22) held off a fourth-quarter rally to beat the Suns (21-23) 121-116 at Target Center Friday night. Anthony Edwards led Minnesota with 31 points, while Damion Lee scored just as many for Phoenix. Up next for the Wolves is a home matchup against Cleveland (27-16). Tip-off is set for 7:00 p.m.

- The no. 2 Gopher men's hockey team tied Notre Dame 2-2 in overtime in Friday's road series opener. Minnesota swept the series in Minneapolis earlier this season. Mason Nevers and Jackson LaCombe each netted a goal for Minnesota to force the extra period. The Gophers are now 16-6-1 and the Fighting Irish stand at 10-10-3. The teams will have their final matchup at 5:00 p.m. Saturday in Indiana.

- The no. 3/4 SCSU men's hockey team fell 4-2 to Colorado College to open the weekend home series. Grant Cruikshank and Joe Molenaar each scored a goal for St. Cloud to bookend four netted by the visitors. St. Cloud State took a season-high 44 shots compared to Colorado's 24. The Huskies fall to 15-6 and the Tigers improve to 10-10-1. The teams will close out the series on Saturday in a matchup that will also feature the retirement of Matt Cullen's #9 for St. Cloud. The three-time Stanley Cup champion played two seasons for SCSU in the 1990s. The ceremony begins at 5:00 p.m. and the game is expected to get underway at 6:00 p.m. at Herb Brooks National Hockey Center.

- The no. 14 SCSU women's hockey team came up short 3-1 on the road against MSU-Mankato. Svenja Voigt put the Huskies on the board in the first period, but then St. Cloud gave up three unanswered goals in the second and third. The Huskies drop to 13-11 and the Mavericks improve to 12-11. The teams will play game two in Mankato at 3:00 p.m. on Saturday.

- The SJU hockey team dropped their first non-conference matchup of the weekend 3-1 to UW-Stout. Nick Michel scored the lone goal for St. John's who outshot the Blue Devils 32-23. The Johnnies fall to 8-6-2 and will host UW-Stevens Point at Bernicks Arena in Sartell Saturday night. Puck-drop is set for 7:00 p.m.

- The CSB hockey team fell 5-2 to no. 1 Gustavus to open the weekend home-and-home MIAC series. The Gusties pushed out to a 5-0 lead through the first and second frames. Sami Hackley and Emma Rooks put St. Ben's on the board starting in the second period to avoid the shutout. The Bennies drop to 7-5 and 5-2 MIAC while the Gusties improve to  12-1 and 7-0 MIAC. The teams will play game two at 4:00 p.m. in St. Cloud on Saturday.

- The Norsemen fell 6-3 to Austin in game one of the home-and-home weekend series. The Bruins hopped out to an early 3-0 lead in the first period. Ryan Thomas, Kade Peterson, and Andrew Clarke each netted a goal for St. Cloud in the second to bring the score to 5-3. Austin lit the lamp twice more in the third to put it away. The Norsemen outshot the home team 29-18 in the loss. The Norsemen fall to 13-15-2-2 and sit in fifth place in the Central Division. The Bruins improve to 22-5-3-4 and maintain first place in the division. The teams will meet in St. Cloud for game two at 7:00 p.m. on Saturday.

PREVIEWS:

- The SJU basketball team (9-4) is sitting in second place in the conference and will host last-place Bethel (4-10) at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday. This will be the first matchup between the two teams this season. St. John's leads the series 48-28 and won the last matchup 72-51 in February 2022.

- The CSB basketball team (9-3, 6-3 MIAC) will host conference leader Bethel (8-5, 8-2 MIAC) Saturday. This is the first of two games the teams will play this season. St. Ben's leads the overall series 51-27 but has lost the last five straight matchups. Tip-off is set for 3:00 p.m.

- The Lumberjacks (25-3-0-1) are expected to host the Minnesota Loons (10-21-0-1) in the second game of the weekend series at 7:30 p.m. Saturday. Friday's game was postponed with 13:26 remaining in the first period and Granite City up 2-0 after Lumberjack defensemen Brett Robinson was hurt. Representatives from the team say he essentially suffered what is considered a "concussion of the spinal cord." He was taken to the hospital and later cleared to go home. That game is expected to be made up at a later date.

-  The Wild (23-14-4) will host Arizona (13-23-5) on Saturday. This is the second matchup between the teams this season. Back in November, the Wild slid by the Coyotes 4-3. Pre-game coverage begins at 6:45 p.m. on AM 1390 and 93.9 FM Granite City Sports.