JANUARY 27-28 GAME NOTES

THIS WEEK: Round two against Northern Sun competition begins this weekend when the University of Mary men's basketball team hosts the Beavers of Bemidji State University and the University of Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs. The Marauders take on the Beavers at 8 PM on Friday, January 27. The weekend concluded when the Marauders host the Bulldogs on Saturday, January 28, at 6 PM on Alumni Night. Both games will be played at the McDowell Activity Center.

NBC NORTH DAKOTA SPORTS NETWORK TO BROADCAST MARAUDERS-BULLDOGS GAME: 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 U-Mary hosts the University of Minnesota Duluth on Saturday, January 28. KFYR-TV Sports Director Lee Timmerman will handle the play by play and Weekend Sports Anchor and Marauders Weekly host Scott Westerberg provides the color commentary. The Marauders make a second appearance on the NBC North Dakota Sports Network when U-Mary hosts St. Cloud State on February 18.

TV TIME: The Marauders make four televised appearances this season from the McDowell Activity Center. The next U-Mary broadcast is January 28 against Minnesota Duluth on the NBC North Dakota Sports Network (KFYR-TV in Bismarck, KMOT-TV in Minot, KUMV-TV in Williston, and KQCD-TV in Dickinson). On February 17 U-Mary plays on Midco Sports Net against Concordia University - St. Paul. The final appearance is February 18 on the NBC ND Sports Network against St. Cloud State. U-Mary already appeard on Midco against Winona State on January 2.

CANCER AWARENESS WEEKEND: The weekend tips off with a fundraiser during the Friday, January 27, games to support Mia Thinnes, a Bismarck second-grader and pediatric brain cancer patient who was adopted by the Marauders women's basketball team before the season. All donations received will be given to the Thinnes family to help defray Mia's medical expenses.

THE RECORDS / LAST WEEKEND: The Marauders are 4-13 overall and 3-10 in the Northern Sun after defeating travel partner Northern State University 70-69 in the lone game of the week for U-Mary... The Beavers, who received a vote this week in the NABC national top 25 poll, are 14-5 overall and tied for third in the NSIC with a mark of 9-4. BSU captured two home games last weekend, defeating Minnesota State 75-67 and Southwest Minnesota State 70-56... The Bulldogs are 11-6 overall and 8-5 in the NSIC, tied for fifth place. UMD split its home games last weekend, defeating Southwest Minnesota State 94-90 and losing 89-82 to Minnesota State.
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... Bemidji State finished 11-15 overall and 8-14 in the NSIC.... Minnesota Duluth finished 10-16 overall and 8-14 in the NSIC.

HISTORY / LAST MEETING:
U-Mary vs. Bemidji State University: U-Mary leads the series with BSU 9-3. The series began in 1971 with a 92-87 home win for the Marauders. The two teams played twice in the 1987 season with each school winning at home. Since becoming a member of the NSIC, U-Mary captured the first five meetings before BSU broke through with a home win in the 2009-10 season... The Beavers defeated the Marauders 82-61 in Bemidji, MN, on 12.17.11. BSU made 10 straight three point attempts in the second half and finished the day 15-of-20 behind the arc. Dermaine Cockrell led the Beavers with 21 points and James Ellisor added 20. Both were perfect behind the arc in four attempts each. Damon Smith led U-Mary with 20 points and Josh Turner hit five treys and scored 15 points off the bench.

U-Mary vs. Minnesota Duluth: The all-time Marauders and Bulldogs series is tied 3-3 with UMD's win earlier this season. The Marauders first win over the Bulldogs was an 80-77 overtime win on 1.16.09... UMD claimed a 79-75 home win over U-Mary on 12.16.11. The Marauders pulled within two points in the final minute but Ryan Rasmussen hit four straight free throws in the final 23 seconds to seal the Bulldogs win. Damon Smith led the Marauders with 23 points and nine rebounds. Josh Turner chipped in 20 points. Brett Ervin led UMD with 18 points and Jake Hottenstine added 17.

SECOND TIME AROUND: With the win at Northern State, the Marauders have now played every team in the conference. Beginning this weekend, the team has nine games remaining; five at home and four on the road. There are four teams U-Mary will not play again in the regular season: Winona State, Upper Iowa, Southwest Minnesota State and Minnesota State.

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).

THE CLOSE OUT: The Marauders have had difficulties closing out tight ball games but found a way to win in a 70-69 victory at Northern State. Leading by 14 points early in the second half, U-Mary saw its lead evaporate when NSU took a lead with 3:07 left in the game. Damon Smith then took over for U-Mary. He hit a jumper in the lane with 2:48 to regain the lead for the Marauders, this time for good. Smith then pulled down a crucial rebound with 30 seconds left and hit two free throws with 28 seconds remaining for a 70-67 lead. NSU pulled within a point with six seconds left. U-Mary missed a free throw that would extend the Marauders lead but Jalen Jaspers pulled down a long rebound and was able to run the clock out for the win.  

FULL 40: Damon Smith played a full 40 minutes in dominating fashion as U-Mary earned a 70-69 road win at Northern State. The 6-7 senior scored 19 points, including the winning points, garnered eight rebounds and dished out four assists.

ADVENTURES BEHIND THE ARC: Behind an impressive 4-for-4 performance by Alex Dorr from behind the arc, the Marauders nailed 9-of-18 three-point attempts in the Northern State win. U-Mary has hit nine treys in each of its last two games and four times this season.

BENCH BOOST: Lamada Williams gave the Marauders a huge boost off the bench in the Northern State game. The junior guard scored 12 points in the win, all in the first half.

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 six games.

SHARP SHOOTING: U-Mary is outshooting its opponents this season, making 46.3 per cent of its shots to 45.2 per cent for the opposition. The Marauders are converting 72.3 per cent of their free throws while the opponents are at 72 per cent.

DOMINATING DAMON: Damon Smith scored 19 or more points in four of his last five games to continue a tremendous all-around season. The senior forward is ranked among NSIC leaders in several categories. Smith is 2nd in blocks per game (1.82), 5th in field goal percentage (55.9), 11th in rebound per game (6.3) and 20th in scoring (13.7 PPG). Five times he has scored 20 or more points in a game and he has two double doubles.

OPEN DORR POLICY: JR F Alex Dorr continues to shoot the ball well. In his last eight games he is making 62.3 per cent (33-of-53) of his shots, including 15-of-23 on three point attempts, and is averaging 11.4 points per game. For the season, Dorr is averaging 8.7 points, 5.6 rebounds (15th in the NSIC) and is making 51.9 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 14.4 points per game (13th in the NSIC). The Aurora, CO, native is an accurate shooter, making 47.8 per cent of his attempts from the field, including 45.8 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 2.88. He is fifth in three-point shooting percentage at 45.8. Turner has attempted 107 treys; the most three point shots by anyone ahead of him on the three point field goal percentage leader board is 48. Darius Robinson is 11th in made treys (1.56). Alex Dorr is seventh in three-point field goal percentage.

GET OUTTA HERE! Damon Smith is second in the Northern Sun in blocks with 1.82 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 39th in NCAA Division II in blocks with 1.8 per game.

BLOCK PARTY: The Marauders are fourth in the NSIC in blocks with an average of 3.18 rejections per game. Much of the damage is done by Damon Smith, who has posted 31 of the squad's 54 blocks. Baley Johnson is next with 11 blocks.

NCAA TEAM RANKINGS:
• 32nd in three-point field goal percentage (39)
• 71st in free throw percentage (72.3)
• 77th in three pointers made per game (7.0)
• 83rd in field goal percentage (46.3)

NCAA INDIVIDUAL RANKINGS:
• Josh Turner 18th in three point field goal percentage (45.8)
• Josh Turner 25th in three pointers made per game (2.9)
• Damon Smith 39th in blocked shots (1.8)
• Damon Smith 45th in field goal percentage (55.9)

WORTH THE TICKET: If you attend a U-Mary men's basketball game, make sure you stay until the end. Ten of the 17 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.
Marauders hold off Northern State 70-69.

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).

HOME BREAKTHROUGH: The 72-51 win over #19 MSU Moorhead was the Marauders first home win this season. U-Mary is 1-7 at the MAC in 2011-12 after winning 23 of 26 home games the past two seasons.  

EIGHT STRAIGHT: Sophomore guard Mike Johnson has started eight 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 15 rebounders in the Northern Sun (MSU Moorhead and Northern State are the other two). Damon Smith is 11th overall with 6.3 rebounds/game and Alex Dorr is 15th with an average of 5.6.

BALANCE: Six different Marauders have reached double digits in points this season. Josh Turner leads the way with 12 double digit games. Damon Smith has posted 10 or more points 10 times, Jalen Japers eight times, Darius Robinson seven, Alex Dorr six and Lamada Williams two.

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

SHARING THE LOAD: Three Marauders are averaging double figures in points. Josh Turner leads the team with 14.4 points per game, followed by Darius Robinson at 10.6 PPG and Damon Smith at 13.7 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.  
 
RANKED WIN: The Marauders 72-51 win over #19 MSU Moorhead on 1.7.12 was the first U-Mary win over a ranked opponent since defeating Minnesota State University 84-69 on 1.15.11. U-Mary is 5-17 all-time against ranked NCAA D2 foes.