GAME NOTES

THIS WEEK: This is travel partner weekend for the University of Mary men's basketball team as the Marauders make a trip to Aberdeen, SD, to face the Wolves of Northern State University. Game time is 8 PM on Saturday, January 21, at Wachs Arena, for U-Mary's lone game this week.

THE RECORDS / LAST WEEKEND: The Marauders are 3-13 overall and 2-10 in the Northern Sun after two road losses last weekend. U-Mary lost 77-62 at Southwest Minnesota State and dropped another contest in the final minute in a 78-73 loss at Minnesota State University... The Wolves are 10-6 overall and eighth in the NSIC with a mark of 6-6. Northern State split its weekend trip, defeating Minnesota State 62-49 before falling at Southwest Minnesota State 67-60.  

LAST YEAR: U-Mary finished 23-6 overall and placed second in the Northern Sun at 18-4. The Marauders qualified for the NCAA tournament and were ranked as high as 14th in the nation before finishing 18th in the final poll... Northern State finished 12-14 overall and 8-14 in the NSIC for 10th place.

HISTORY / LAST MEETING:
U-Mary vs. Northern State University: The Marauders and Wolves have played 25 times with the Wolves holding a 17-8 advantage. NSU had a nine-game winning streak against the Marauders snapped last season when the U-Mary swept the two-game series... In the final regular season game last season on 2.26.11, a huge second half led the Marauders to a 75-47 home win over the Wolves. U-Mary outscored NSU 48-25 after intermission. Damon Smith scored 17 points and snared 10 rebounds to lead the Marauders. Jordan Wilhelm had 17 points and eight rebounds, Eric Erdmann posted 13 points, nine boards and blocked five shots. Anthony Moody added 12 points, seven boards, five assists and three steals. Tom Parks led the Wolves with 10 points and Collin Pryor scored nine.

ONCE AROUND: U-Mary's travel partner, Northern State is the only Northern Sun team the Marauders have yet to play. After this weekend all conference teams will have played 13 conference games with nine remaining.

LAST: The Marauders and the Wolves are the last two NSIC teams to play their travel partner.  

BREAK: After playing six games in 13 days, the Marauders are ready to play just one game this weekend.

ALUMNI NIGHT: The annual Marauders Men's and Women's Basketball Alumni Night is set for Saturday, January 28. Activities begin with an alumni game for both men and women at 8:45 AM at the McDowell Activity Center. Teams will alternate playing for 10 minutes at a time. That evening as the Marauders host the University of Minnesota Duluth, the men's and women's basketball alumni members will be introduced at intermission of the men's game. Following the Marauders games, a social will be held at the Bismarck Country Club by the Tom O'Leary Golf Course. To RSVP or for additional questions, please contact U-Mary women's head coach Fred Fridley (ffridley@umary.edu) or men's head coach Jevin Budde (jmbudde@umary.edu).

TUBE TIME: The Marauders make their season debut on the NBC North Dakota Sports Network (KFYR-TV in Bismarck, KMOT-TV in Minot, KUMV-TV in Williston, and KQCD-TV in Dickinson) when they return home next weekend to host the University of Minnesota Duluth on January 28. U-Mary makes a second appearance February 18 against St. Cloud State. The Marauders also have a second appearance on Midco Sports Net February 17 against Concordia University - St. Paul.

NEARLY PERFECT: Damon Smith made 9-of-10 shots from the field in a 78-73 loss at Minnesota State. His 90 per cent field goal accuracy is the best for any U-Mary player since beginning NCAA play in 2006-07 (minimum eight field goals made). The previous high was UT Udo's 88.9 per cent (8-of-9) against Trinity Bible College on 11.18.09.

WHAT A NIGHT: SR F Damon Smith had a tremendous night on both ends of the court at Minnesota State. The Milwaukee, WI, native scored 20 points while hitting 9-of-10 field goal attempts, including a make on his lone three-point attempts. Smith added four blocks, four assists and five rebounds. The assists tied his best mark of the season and the block total was second best.
 
(ANOTHER) TOUGH LOSS: A Darious Robinson jumper in the key gave U-Mary a 72-70 lead with 3:17 remaining at Minnesota State. The Mavericks would out-score the Marauders 8-1 the rest of the way. Part of the Marauders stretch struggles occurred after Damon Smith fouled out with 2:49 left in the game. Trailing 75-73, the Marauders had an opportunity to tie the game or take the lead but turned the ball over with 23 seconds left in the game. The Mavericks then made 3-of-4 free throws to seal the 78-73 MSU win.     

TOUGH LOSS x 7: The Marauders have come up short seven times in games decided in the final minute of play. Three of the last minute losses have come in U-Mary's last five games.

SHARP SHOOTING: The Marauders shot 56 per cent from the field in their loss at Minnesota State. It was the third best night U-Mary has had shooting the ball this season. Solid shooting hasn't equaled wins, though. Five times the Marauders have shot at least 50 per cent in a game this season with U-Mary losing three of those contests. In four of their past six games the Marauders have shot at least 52.3 per cent and lost three times.

SHARP SHOOTING v2: U-Mary is outshooting its opponents this season, making 46.2 per cent of its shots to 45.3 per cent for the opposition. The Marauders are converting 73.5 per cent of their free throws while the opponents are at 71.8 per cent.

DOMINATING DAMON: Damon Smith scored 19 or more points in three of his last four games to continue a tremendous all-around season. The senior forward is ranked among NSIC leaders in several categories. Smith is 1st in blocks per game (1.88), 3rd in field goal percentage (56.8), 11th in rebound per game (6.2) and 21st in scoring (13.4 PPG). Five times he has scored 20 or more points n a game and he has two double doubles.

OPEN DORR POLICY: JR F Alex Dorr continues to shoot the ball well. In his last seven games he is making 61.7 per cent (29-of-47) of his shots, including 11-of-19 on three point attempts, and is averaging 10.9 points per game. For the season, Dorr is averaging 8.5 points, 5.8 rebounds (13th in the NSIC) and is making 51 per cent of his shots from the field and 80 per cent at the free throw line.

TURNING THE CORNER: JR G Josh Turner is posting a strong season offensively for the Marauders, leading the squad with 14.6 points per game (14th in the NSIC). The Aurora, CO, native is an accurate shooter, making 47.7 per cent of his attempts from the field, including 45.2 per cent behind the arc. Turner made his mark early this season when he hit a game-winning three pointer at Chadron State with two seconds left in the contest.

ARC LEADER: Josh Turner leads the NSIC in treys made per game with 2.94. He is sixth in three-point shooting percentage at 45.2. Turner has attempted 104 treys; the most three point shots by anyone ahead of him on the three point field goal percentage leader board is 44. Darius Robinson is 11th in made treys (1.6).

GET OUTTA HERE! After swatting away four shots at Minnesota State, Damon Smith leads the Northern Sun in blocks with 1.88 per game. The senior forward blocked a career-high six shots in the Marauders 58-55 home loss to Wayne State College, the most by a U-Mary player since the Marauders began NCAA Division II play in 2006-07. The senior forward also had four blocks on the previous game against #16 Augustana. Smith's biggest block of the season was a rejection of a three-pointer as time expired to secure a three-point win for the Marauders at Concordia - St. Paul.
 
GET OUTTA HERE -  NCAA VERSION: Damon Smith is 36th in NCAA Division II in blocks with 1.9 per game.

BLOCK PARTY: The Marauders are fourth in the NSIC in blocks with an average of 3.25 rejections per game. Much of the damage is done by Damon Smith, who has posted 30 of the squad's 52 blocks. Baley Johnson is next with 10 blocks.

NCAA TEAM RANKINGS:
• 41st in three-point field goal percentage (38.3)
• 43rd in free throw percentage (73.5)
• 84th in three pointers made per game (6.9)
• 87th in field goal percentage (46.2)

NCAA INDIVIDUAL RANKINGS:
• Josh Turner 21st in three point field goal percentage (45.2)
• Josh Turner 24th in three pointers made per game (2.9)
• Damon Smith 36th in blocked shots (1.9)
• Damon Smith 35th in field goal percentage (56.8)

WORTH THE TICKET: If you attend a U-Mary men's basketball game, make sure you stay until the end. Nine of the 16 Marauders games have come down to the final minute.
* U-Mary defeated Chadron State 73-72 when Josh Turner hit a game-winning three-pointer with two seconds left in the game.

* The Minot State game went into double overtime after the Beavers hit a trey with four seconds left in regulation.

* MSU Billings hit the go-ahead basket with a minute left in the game.

* The Marauders defeated Concordia University 67-64 when Jalen Jaspers made four free throws in the final 24 seconds and Damon Smith blocked a three point attempt to even the score as time expired.

* U-Mary had possession with the chance to tie the game in the final seconds of a 58-55 loss to Wayne State.

* In a loss at Minnesota Duluth, the Marauders were within two points in the final minute of the game.   

* The Marauders lost in overtime to Upper Iowa.

* U-Mary had possession in the final minute with a chance to tie the game in a 56-53 loss to Minnesota Crookston.

* U-Mary had possession with a chance to tie the game or take the lead in the final 30 seconds of a 78-73 loss at Minnesota State.

THE BORTKE COURT MAC ATTACK: After a tremendous home court advantage the last two years, U-Mary is struggling at the McDowell Activity Center (MAC) in 2011-12. The Marauders are 1-7 on Bortke Court in the MAC this season, the lone win a 72-51 win over #19 MSU Moorhead. Christened Bortke Court in honor of long-time U-Mary men's basketball coach and athletic director Al Bortke in July 2009, the Marauders won 23-of-26 at home the last two years. Here is the Marauders NCAA Division II home record:
2006-07: 5-7
2007-08: 4-7
2008-09: 7-5
2009-10: 11-2
2010-11: 12-1
2011-12: 1-7
The Marauders once won 27 straight home games for Coach Bortke at the MAC (February 19, 1976 thru November 11, 1978).

SUPER SEVEN: Sophomore guard Mike Johnson has started seven straight games for the Marauders, allowing U-Mary to bring Darius Robinson off the bench to provide a scoring punch. Johnson's best two scoring games are against the top two teams in the NSIC. The Grand Rapids, MN, native made both his three-point attempts and scored six points against #11 Winona State. He scored eight points against #19 MSU Moorhead, hitting 2-of-4 shots from behind the arc.

BOARD BUDDIES: The Marauders are just one of three teams to have two of the top 13 rebounders in the Northern Sun (MSU Moorhead and Northern State are the other two). Damon Smith is 11th overall with 6.2 rebounds/game and Alex Dorr is 13th with an average of 5.8.

BALANCE: Six different Marauders have reached double digits in points this season. Josh Turner leads the way with 11 double digit games. Damon Smith has posted 10 or more points nine times, Jalen Jaspers eight times, Darius Robinson seven, Alex Dorr five and Lamada Williams once.

LEADERS: Four different players have led the Marauders in scoring this season. Including shared game highs, Josh Turner and Damon Smith have led the team in scoring six times, Darious Robinson five and Jalen Jaspers once.

SHARING THE LOAD: Three Marauders are averaging double figures in points. Josh Turner leads the team with 14.6 points per game, followed by Darius Robinson at 11.1 PPG and Damon Smith at 13.4 PPG. All three are in the NSIC's top 30.   

STOP THIEF! Baley Johnson had four steals against Minot State, the fifth best total for a U-Mary player in the past six seasons. Impressively, the senior owns two of the team's four top totals as he has had posted five steals twice. Johnson leads U-Mary and is 12th in the NSIC with 1.25 steals per game.