Ashford knocks off Wildcats

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Fifth-seeded Ashford pulled the upset 85-67 in the opening round of the Association of Independent Institutions tournament over Johnson & Wales, a four seed, though at times it looked like the seeds should have been flopped.

Ashford led 22-20 when it embarked on a 17-4 first-half run that effectively sank Johnson & Wales, which spent the rest of the game trying to eliminate a double-digit lead Friday at the Civic Center.

Quinn Rear had 10 of her team’s first 14 points to finish with 22 for Ashford, and teammate Madison Wagner posted a game-high 26 points to help the Saints (14-16) into today’s semifinals against top-seeded Jamestown College (24-5).

Johnson & Wales rallied in the second half after trailing by more than 20. The Wildcats had the deficit down to 11 at 65-54 with 7 minutes remaining in the game, when Ashford used an 8-0 run to end all hope.

Caitlin Durkin finished with a team-high 19 points in the season-ending loss for Johnson & Wales (14-17).

Ashford (Iowa) 85, Johnson & Wales (Color.) 67

Johnson &Wales 28 39 — 67

Ashford 42 43 — 85

J&W: Caitlin Durkin 19, Samantha Neal 13, Kristen Ward 12, Tameka Manning 8, Tori Curneen 4, Amanda Weber 4, Kourtney Shirley 4, Alex Courtney 3. Totals 21-55 13-23 67

Ashford: Madison Wagner 26, Quinn Rear 22, Gaby Ayon 15, Deana Bledsoe 10, Jennifer Forge 7, Jessica Mlachnik 3, Clare Gloede 1, Griffin Reed 1. Totals 27-64 25-38 85

3-pointers: JW 12-29 (Durkin 5, Neal 3, Ward, Manning, Weber, Curneen), A 6-15 (Rear 3, Wagner 3). Rebounds: JW 31 (Durkin 7), A 56 (Bledsoe 13, Ayon 12, Rear 8). Assists: JW 10 (3 with 3), A 11 (Forge 3). Steals(Courtney, Weber), A 4 (Forge 2). Blocks: JW 3 (3 with 1), A 0. Fouls: JW 27, A 20. Fouled out: None. Turnovers: JW 14, A 14.

Men

Dakota State 82, North. New Mexico 67

A dominant second half brought Dakota State within one win of returning to nationals.

Down 35-25 at halftime, the Trojans dropped a 57-point second half on Northern New Mexico to move into today's semifinals with an 82-67 win.

Dakota State meets 23rd-ranked Valley City State (21-7) today at 5:30 p.m. The Vikings won both meetings during the regular season by a combined 15 points.

Dakota State made 16 of its 30 second-half shots and 19 of 24 free throws.

Luke Lamb led all scorers with 21 points for the 20-9 Trojans. Yusuf Vinson added 15 points. Both Vinson and Lamb grabbed seven rebounds. Marcus Smith and Tyrone Gordon Jr. contributed 12 each and Cameron Krump had 10 points and eight rebounds in 20 minutes off the bench.

Brandon Jones led Northern New Mexico (10-18) with 18 points. Illya Glover added 17.

Men

Dakota State 82, Northern New Mexico 67

Dakota State 25 57 — 82

Northern New Mexico 35 32 — 67

Dakota State: Yusuf Vinson 15, Luke Lamb 21, Tyrone Gordon Jr. 12, Keith Lee II 4, John Lamb 8, Marcus Smith 12, Cameron Krump 10. Totals: 24-58 FG, Three-pointers: L.Lamb 2, J.Lamb 2, Smith 2, Vinson, 27-34 FT, 36 Rebounds (Vinson 7, L.Lamb 7), 16 Fouls, 15 Assists (Gordon Jr. 8), 12 Turnovers, 3 Blocked shots (Smith 2), 14 Steals (Gordon Jr. 4, J.Lamb 4).

Northern New Mexico: Eric Garcia 2, Rodney Coles 3, Gabriel Martinez 10, Brandon Jones 18, Matthew Brito 2, Christian Barraza 6, Illya Glover 17, Brandon Holland 7, Orlando Echave 2. Totals: 26-56 FG, Three-pointers: 5-17 (Martinez 2, Coles, Jones, Holland), 10-13 FT, 35 Rebounds (Coles 6), 22 Fouls, 15 Assists (Holland 4, Coles 4), 20 Turnovers, 3 Blocked shots (Holland 3), 4 Steals (4 with 1).

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