The Minnesota Timberwolves earned a close but important win over the Denver Nuggets, the St. Cloud Norsemen earned a two-game series sweep of the North Iowa Bulls, the Twins topped Atlanta in a Spring Training matchup, and the SCTCC softball team split a doubleheader on Friday. On Saturday, the St. Cloud State softball and St. John's baseball teams will host doubleheaders, and the Minnesota Wild will hit the road to face the Hurricanes.

RECAPS:

- The Timberwolves fought to the finish to beat Denver 136-130 at Target Center on Friday. Nikola Jokic led all scorers with 38 points and 19 rebounds for the Nuggets. Karl-Anthony Towns led Minnesota with 32 points. D'Angelo Russell added 24. The Wolves improve to 44-34 and sit in seventh place in the Western Conference, while the Nuggets remain in sixth place with a record of 46-32. Minnesota has four regular-season games remaining and will get out of having to compete in the play-in tournament ahead of the playoffs if they move ahead of Denver in the standings.

- The Norsemen notched their fourth straight win with a 3-2 decision over North Iowa on Friday. Blake Mesenburg and Brandon Lajoie each lit the lamp once in the second period to tie the game and steal the lead for St. Cloud. Blake Perbix slid in the game-winner in the third. The Norsemen improve to 36-15-2-1 and will travel to Austin on Saturday to face the 27-23-2-3 Bruins.

- The Twins beat Atlanta 8-7 in a Spring Training game on Friday. Byron Buxton and Carlos Correa each earned two runs for Minnesota. The Twins are now 6-9 in the preseason and will face Tampa Bay on Saturday. First pitch is set for 12:00 p.m. on AM 1240 and 95.3 FM WJON.

- The Cyclones suffered their first loss of the season when they dropped game one of Friday's doubleheader action to Bay College. That was a 9-2 decision. SCTCC rebounded in game two, taking down Central Lakes College - Brainerd 10-1 in five innings. The Cyclones are now 13-1 and will face Itasca Community College and Minnesota West Community and Technical College on Saturday.

PREVIEWS:

- The Huskies (14-9) will host the University of Mary (2-22) in a doubleheader on Saturday. St. Cloud State softball is 12-4 overall against the Marauders. Game one is set to begin at 1:00 p.m.

- The Johnnies (8-10) will open MIAC play when they host Concordia College (5-4) in a doubleheader on Saturday. SJU is 26-25 all-time versus the Cobbers. First pitch for game one is set for 1:00 p.m.

- The Wild (41-20-5) are looking to get back in the win column when they face the Hurricanes (48-15-8) on Saturday. Minnesota beat Carolina 3-2 back in February. Pre-game coverage starts at 5:45 p.m. on AM 1240 and 95.3 FM WJON

$1.4 M MINNESOTA LAKE HOME- BUILT IN 1961, SEE WHY IT'S WORTH IT

Minnesota Twins Top Prospects Entering 2022

More From 1390 Granite City Sports