Bongi Hlongwane’s mother and younger brother are not just good-luck charms. They brought great luck all the way from South Africa.

Hlongwane’s mother, Sherry Bhengu, and his brother Gift Bhengu, traveled to Minnesota last week to see their loved one play in-person for the first time on Wednesday.

Hlongwane scored two goals — only his second and third goals of the season — in the Loons’ 3-1 win over Houston Dynamo at Allianz Field.

After Hlongwane’s first goal, he hopped over the advertising boards and walked up into the stands to celebrate with them. Bhengu didn’t know her son was allowed to do that, but it made for a heartwarming scene.

“It was mixed emotions,” Bhengu told the Pioneer Press of seeing her son succeed in the goal right in front of them. “I was nervous, ready and feeling pride. I didn’t know what to think.”

The surreal experience paled in comparison to waking up in the middle of the night to watch games on Apple TV on the other side of the world. When Hlongwane scored Wednesday night, it was around 4 a.m. Thursday in his home country.

Speel steady

Loons rookie goalkeeper Wessel Speel allowed only one goal late in stoppage time on Wednesday, a big improvement after a rocky MLS debut in the 4-2 loss to San Diego on June 14.

While the late goal ruined a clean sheet, the 23-year-old Dutchman made one save and the overall evening was a vast departure after he got chipped from midfield and allowed a penalty kick to sneak underneath him against San Diego.

Speel also rewarded the faith head coach Eric Ramsay put in him and not going to fellow back-up Alec Smir as the team tries to cover for regular goalkeeper Dayne St. Clair, who is with Team Canada in the CONCACAF Gold Cup.

Early plot twist

An uneventful first half ended on a potential game-changing call.

Michael Boxall was whistled for penalty for his right foot apparently hitting the right leg of Houston’s Sebastian Kowalczyk in stoppage time.

Referee Sergii Demianchuck pointed to the PK spot. Ramsay and fans at Allianz Field were dismayed.

But Demianchuck went to the monitor for review and determined the contact happened outside the box and Houston’s free kick ended up being harmless to the Loons.

Three tidbits

After a scoreless first half, the Loons (9-4-6, 33 points) surged to avoid a letdown against Houston (5-9-5, 20 points). … With Canada playing at U.S. Bank Stadium on Sunday, St. Clair, Oluwaseyi and coach Jesse Marsch watched Loons in St. Paul on Wednesday. … With Speel running out of short-term loans, a first-team contract, via one of the supplemental roster spots, is in the Dutchman’s near future.

Related Articles

Loons’ Michael Boxall and Dayne St. Clair named MLS All-Stars

Loons vs. Houston: Keys to the match, projected lineup and a prediction

U.S. men’s soccer team to play at U.S. Bank Stadium

Loons let lead slip away in 4-2 loss to San Diego

Loons vs. San Diego: Keys to the match, projected lineup and a prediction

What’s better than one French center?

Two.

That’s the route Minnesota is taking, as the Timberwolves nabbed Joan Beringer to backup Rudy Gobert. Beringer, 18, was drafted with the No. 17 overall pick in the first round of Wednesday’s NBA draft. The 6-foot-11 Frenchman played last season for Cedevita Olimpija in Slovenia.

“I’m happy. I’m very happy,” Beringer said. “And also to play with Rudy Gobert, it’s an amazing feeling.”

Beringer, who stands at 6 foot 11 with a 7 foot, 4.5 inch wingspan, just started playing basketball four years ago but has impressed with his athleticism, size and motor as he’s climbed the French ranks. He was touted as one of the best, if not the best, rim protector in this year’s draft class, with the athleticism to play a variety of defensive coverages.

He’s a lob threat and a rim runner who fits well into the young group of athletes Minnesota is assembling. Despite his youth, Beringer will come to America and join the Wolves’ organization this next season.

There is an opening for a center of the future within Minnesota’s organization with Gobert at 33 years old. The Wolves played largely sans a true backup center last season.

The Timberwolves also have some questions about frontcourt depth this offseason with both Naz Reid and Julius Reid having player options this summer that, if they were to be declined, could allow both forwards to enter free agency this offseason. Wolves president of basketball operations Tim Connelly has stated the team’s goal is to retain both players.

But Beringer feels like a pick with the distant future in mind. Minnesota is in a position with a currently competitive roster to where it can continue to add young talent to its cupboard in a new apron salary cap era, where cores can only be kept together for so long.

On his Game Theory live podcast Thursday night, draft analyst Sam Vecenie said the Beringer selection was “like the easiest pick in the world.”

“Beringer is a real developmental player. He is an incredible athlete. Like an unbelievable athlete,” Vecenie said. “Super long arms, great hands, catches everything in his area. Moves like a wing. Moves at a level that no other big in this class really achieves.”

Yes, Vecenie acknowledged Beringer is “raw.” It will take time for the big man to grow into a contributing role for the Wolves.

“There is legitimately no better player for Beringer to learn from in the NBA than Rudy Gobert, because this is the exact archetype. This is exactly what it is,” Vecenie said. “So I think this is a great pick from Tim Connelly. I think it makes a ton of sense, and I am a huge fan of what they’ve done here.”

Now it’s on the Wolves to commit to Beringer’s development. That’s been a strength of Minnesota’s in recent years. And the teenager seems committed to the work. When asked what his message to Wolves fans is, Beringer responded, “I will give everything for you.”

“I will give my energy, my defense. I want to improve to be the best and I want to keep on this way,” Beringer said. “To practice hard every day, this is my goal. I’m very happy to have the chance to play for Minnesota.”

As Boston showed this week, when it had to trade Kristaps Porizingis and Jrue Holiday from its 2024 title team to duck under the second apron, financial constraints will force teams to continue to turn pages from one edition of their rosters to the next every couple seasons to remain in salary cap compliance.

So, while trading draft picks for players who can upgrade the roster in the moment may be intriguing, selecting players like Beringer who can come in, develop and eventually contribute on cost-controlled contracts helps extend Minnesota’s competitive window for years to come with Anthony Edwards serving as the focal point.

The presence of a fellow countryman like Gobert will not only help Beringer make the transition to living in America, but it’s also a prototype of the dominant defensive player Beringer can hope to emulate in years to come as Minnesota hopes to maintain a consistent defensive, physical identity around its superstar.

This is another step in that direction.

Minnesota also owns the No. 31 pick in this draft, which will be the first selection in the second round on Thursday.

Related Articles

NBA approves Timberwolves and Lynx sale to Lore, Rodriguez

Timberwolves’ draft picks have trade value, but these prospects could help

Can Pacers contend again if Tyrese Haliburton misses all of next season?

Timberwolves/Lynx ownership transfer near, Glen and Becky Taylor say goodbye

St. Paul’s Sean Sweeney reportedly takes top assistant job with Spurs

Minnesota became the latest state Wednesday to face a lawsuit from the Trump administration seeking to force it to give its high school graduates who entered the U.S. illegally as immigrants the same lower tuition rates reserved for in-state citizens.

In addition to targeting the 2013 Minnesota Dream Act, the U.S. Department of Justice’s lawsuit also seeks to strike down a new law that allows the same immigrant students to receive scholarships covering part or all of their tuition under the state’s North Star Promise program, which debuted last fall. The department filed its case in federal district court in Minnesota, naming Democratic Gov. Tim Walz and Democratic Attorney General Keith Ellison as defendants, along with the state’s Office of Higher Education.

The Justice Department has filed similar lawsuits this month against policies in Kentucky and Texas. Last week, a federal judge in Texas blocked that state’s law giving a tuition break to students living in the U.S. illegally after the state’s Republican attorney general, Ken Paxton, said he supported the legal challenge.

Walz’s office said it is reviewing the lawsuit “to better understand what this means for the state.”

Justice Department says state discriminates against US citizens

The lawsuit argued that Minnesota is “flagrantly violating” a federal law that prevents states from providing a benefit in higher education to resident students living in the U.S. illegally if U.S. citizens cannot receive the same benefits. States generally set higher tuition rates for out-of-state students.

Also, President Donald Trump issued executive orders in February directing federal agencies to see that public benefits do not go to immigrants living in the U.S. illegally and to challenge state and local policies seen as favoring those immigrants over some citizens. The lawsuit argues that the Republican president’s orders enforce federal immigration laws.

The lawsuit also argues that Minnesota’s policies discriminate against U.S. citizens.

“No state can be allowed to treat Americans like second-class citizens in their own country by offering financial benefits to illegal aliens,” U.S. Attorney General Pamela Bondi said in a statement.

More lawsuits could be coming

The Justice Department’s lawsuit in Minnesota noted the cases filed earlier this month in Kentucky and Texas but did not mention any other states as potential targets of litigation. However, in discussing the Texas case, Bondi has suggested more lawsuits might be coming.

Last year, Florida ended its tuition break for students living there illegally, but at least 21 states have laws or policies granting them, in addition to the University of Michigan system, according to the National Immigration Law Center, which favors them. Those states include Democratic-leaning ones such as California and New York, but also GOP-leaning ones like Kansas and Nebraska.

According to the center, at least 16 states allow the immigrant students to receive scholarships or other aid to go to college.

States deny discrimination against US citizens

Supporters of the state tuition breaks argue that they don’t violate federal law if they provide the same rates to U.S. citizens in the same circumstances — meaning they are residents of the state and graduates of one of its high schools.

Generally states have imposed other requirements. For example, Minnesota requires male students to have registered with the U.S. Selective Service System and all students to be seeking legal resident status if that’s possible.

Backers of the laws also argue that the students generally were brought to the U.S. illegally by their parents, often when they were far younger, and are as much a part of their local communities as U.S.-born students. Also, they contend that such immigrants tend to be motivated high achievers.

The Twins’ pitching staff has endured a relatively turbulent month of June. That’s been especially noticeable in the rotation, which has had a shaky month.

But not Joe Ryan.

Ryan, who has been the Twins’ most consistent starter this season, gave the team exactly what it needed on Wednesday night, throwing six scoreless innings in the Twins’ 2-0 win over the Seattle Mariners at Target Field on Wednesday.

Ryan’s effort was badly needed and kept his team in the game on a quieter day for the offense. Within those six innings, he struck out Major League Baseball’s home run and RBI leader, Cal Raleigh, three times, catching him looking twice. Those three strikeouts came on a night in which Ryan recorded eight of them.

He negated a hit by pitch and a pair of errors behind him, allowed just three hits and did not see a runner reach third base in a dominant effort. With the performance, he lowered his ERA on the season to 2.86.

And he did so for a team that entered the day with a bloated collective ERA this month and was riding a five-game losing streak.

Ryan had limited run support in his start, but what he got ended up being just enough.

The Twins, who finished the day with just four hits of their own, finally got on the board in the sixth inning with a Willi Castro single, which brought home Byron Buxton. It was the only run the Twins would scratch across against Mariners starter George Kirby in his six innings of work.

An inning later, second baseman Kody Clemens gave the Twins a bit of breathing room, getting hold of a breaking ball and sending it out to left field. The opposite-field homer was his ninth of the season, a new career high for him.

That two-run lead was enough for Jhoan Duran, who responded to Tuesday’s effort in which he hit two batters and allowed the game-winning run in the ninth inning, with a perfect ninth inning on Wednesday. Louie Varland and Griffin Jax also threw scoreless innings in the Twins’ win.

Related Articles

Twins pitching staff searching for answers amid tough stretch

Twins battle back but fall yet again to Mariners

Report: Twins pick up option on manager Rocco Baldelli’s contract for 2026

Twins blown out yet again — this time by Mariners

Twins say selling at deadline ‘not at all our focus’