Minnesota Scene: Five finalists for Mr. Basketball named

The revamped Minnesota Mr. Basketball selection committee Tuesday announced its five finalists for the 2017 Mr. Basketball Award, which honors the top senior player in the state.

They are Trae Berhow, Watertown-Mayer; Brad Davison, Maple Grove; Goanar Mar, DeLaSalle; Nathan Reuvers, Lakeville North, and McKinley Wright, Champlin Park.

The committee was altered last month in the wake of the resignation of former Mr. Basketball chairman Ken Lien, who relinquished his duties in the wake of a series of offensive and racist tweets.

The Mr. Basketball winner will be announced Sunday, March 26.

Jim Paulsen

The Gophers softball team climbed three spots to No. 7 in the USA Today/NFCA national rankings released this week. Minnesota, at 18-0 one of only three unbeaten teams with 10 wins or more, received two first-place votes and 610 points.

Last week's No. 10 ranking was the previous high for the Gophers program.

Two present Gophers and four alumnae were among the 23 players named to the U.S. women's team for the 2017 IIHF Women's World Championships from March 31-April 7 in Plymouth, Mich.

Forward Kelly Pannek and defensemen Lee Stecklein are the current Gophers picked along with Megan Bozek, Hannah Brandt, Amanda Kessel and Gigi Marvin.

• The Gophers scored three runs in the first inning — two on an error — and four in the third when Matt Stemper had a two-run double, in beating South Dakota State 7-5 at U.S. Bank Stadium. It was the third win in the past four games for Minnesota (7-4).