Minnesota State Mankato beats NW Missouri State on buzzer-beater, wins spot in Division II Elite Eight

Elijah Hazekamp’s field goal at the buzzer lifted Minnesota State Mankato to a 43-42 victory over NW Missouri State in the championship game of the NCAA Div. II Central Region in Mankato.

Hazekamp’s only field goal of the game completed a rally for the Mavericks, which saw them trail 25-17 at halftime. The Mavericks (32-2), who earned their 13th consecutive victory and their first region title since 2011, advance to the Div. II Elite Eight, which begins next Tuesday in Evansville, Ind.

NW Missouri State led 42-40 before Dylan Peeters made a free throw with five seconds remaining to cut the margin to one. The Bearcats subsequently missed the front end of a 1-and-1, which Kyreese Willingham rebounded for the Mavericks, and Malik Willingham found Hazekamp for the winning basket.

Kyreese Willingham led the Mavericks with 14 points. Daniel Abreu scored 17 to lead the Bearcats (29-5), who had won 18 consecutive games.

JOEL RIPPEL

Gophers forward Jimmy Snuggerud was named to the All-Big Ten hockey first team, while forward Rhett Pitlick and defensemen Ryan Chesley and Sam Rinzel earned second-team honors. Forward Oliver Moore and Rinzel were selected for the All-Freshman team.

Four Gophers received honorable mention: forward Bryce Brodzinski, goalie Justen Close, defenseman Luke Mittelstadt and forward Jaxon Nelson. Defenseman Carl Fish was the Gophers’ Sportsmanship Award winner.

Michigan forward Gavin Brindley was named Big Ten Player of the Year, while Michigan State had the Defensive Player of the Year in Atryom Levushnov and Coach of the Year in Adam Nightingale. Wisconsin’s Kyle McClellan was named Goalie of the Year.

Former Bemidji State and North Dakota men’s basketball coach Dave Gunther died on Saturday.

The announcement was made by the North Dakota athletics department. Gunther was 86.

After playing college basketball at Iowa, the Lemars, Iowa, native played professional basketball for three seasons. He appeared in one game for the San Francisco Warriors of the NBA during the 1962-63 season. He coached high school basketball for four seasons before beginning a 34-year coaching career at Wayne (Neb.) State in 1967.

He coached at North Dakota from 1970 to 1988 leading the program to a 332-117 record. He is a member of the North Dakota Athletics Hall of Fame.

He coached at Bemidji State from 1996 to 2001. He also coached at Buena Vista from 1993 to 1995.

JOEL RIPPEL

* Two Gophers gymnasts were honored by the Big Ten, with senior Mya Hooten named co-event specialist of the week and Jordyn Lyden named co-freshman of the week. Hooten scored a perfect 10 for her floor routine in a quad meet with Air Force, West Virginia and Northern Illinois at Maturi Pavilion on Sunday; Lyden won the bars event with a score of 9.925.

* Augustana first baseman Torri Chute, a senior from Woodbury, set an Augustana softball record with 10 RBI in the Vikings’ 19-2 victory over NW Missouri State in the second game of a doubleheader on Tuesday in Sioux Falls, S.D. Chute hit grand slams in the first and second innings. The 10 RBI is the most in a game in Division II this season.