GAME NOTES

THIS WEEK: Coming off an upset win last weekend over the first place team in the Northern Sun, the University of Mary men's basketball team looks to close out the 2011-12 season on a high note at home on Seniors Day. The Marauders will host the Wolves of Northern State University on Saturday, February 25. Tip off is set for 6 PM at the McDowell Activity Center.

THE RECORDS / LAST WEEKEND: The Marauders are 7-18 overall and 6-15 (12th) in the Northern Sun. U-Mary split a two-game home series last weekend, losing 90-76 to Concordia University - St. Paul before upsetting Northern Sun-leading St. Cloud State 79-72... The Wolves are 13-12 overall and eighth in the NSIC at 9-12. Northern State split two games at home last weekend, dropping an 87-83 overtime decision to St. Cloud State before rebounding to a, 86-59 win over Concordia.

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.

HISTORY / LAST MEETING:
U-Mary vs. Northern State University: U-Mary is riding a three-game win streak over Northern State. The Marauders and Wolves have played 25 times with the Wolves holding a 17-9 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 last meeting between the two teams, the Marauders pulled out a 70-69 road win at Wachs Arena on January 21, 2012. The Marauders built up a 12 point lead and then had to hold the Wolves off in the second half. Damon Smith scored the go-ahead basket with 2:48 remaining in the game and salted away the victory with two free throws with 28 seconds remaining. Smith led the Marauders with 19 points. Alex Dorr made all four three-point  attempts and he and Lamada Williams both scored 12 points. Josh Turner added 10. Trent Zomer led the Wolves with 19 points and 12 rebounds. Dustin Tetzlaff and Geoffrey Firmin both scored 15.

Playoff Implications: While the Marauders are unable to qualify for the Northern Sun postseason tournament, U-Mary may be able to throw a proverbial monkey wrench into the Northern State postseason plans. Here are the scenarios for the Wolves, courtesy the NSU Sports Information Office.
- An NSU win on Saturday seals the Wolves' spot in the playoffs.
- A loss by Wayne State on either Friday or Saturday seals the Wolves' spot in the playoffs no matter what the Wolves do on Saturday.
- A loss by NSU on Saturday and two wins by Wayne State at Minnesota Crookston and MSU Moorhead knocks NSU out of the playoffs and puts WSC in the eights spot by virtue of the NSIC tiebreaker system. NSU currently has 61 points. A loss @ U-Mary is worth one pt, giving NSU 62 total. WSC currently has 54 points. Wins @ UMC (4) and MSUM (6) give the Wildcats 64 total.

THANKS SENIORS: Three seniors will play their final game for the Blue and Orange on Saturday: Baley Johnson, Damon Smith and Michael Ulmer. Here are comments from Marauders head coach Jevin Budde on each senior.

Baley Johnson (Des Moines, IA / Physical Education)
Coach Budde on Johnson: “Baley has been instant energy for us the last three years. You can always depend on Baley to provide the team with a spark by getting a steal or a big rebound.  He has the uncanny ability to guard in the post or on the perimeter. He is always vocal and communicating with the guys in practice and games.”

Damon Smith (Milwaukee, WI / Liberal Arts)
Coach Budde on Smith: “Damon has developed into one of the best post players in the NSIC. Offensively, he is very skilled and possesses the ability to score it around the basket or drive it by his defender. Defensively, he is one of the best shot blockers in U-Mary basketball history. Currently he leads the league in blocks and ranks 23rd in the country. I am very proud of what Damon has been able to accomplish in his two years at U-Mary.”

Michael Ulmer (Bismarck, ND / Physical Education)
Coach Budde on Ulmer: “Mike has been an outstanding teammate. Ulmer is a three point specialist who has a great work ethic and practices hard every day.”  

BEATING THE BEST: The Marauders have posted two home wins this season at the MAC. Both wins came over teams leading the Northern Sun. U-Mary first defeated MSU Moorhead 72-51 on January 7. The Dragons were undefeated in conference play and #19 in the nation. Last time out the Marauders defeated St. Cloud State 79-72. After Winona State was penalized for playing an ineligible student-athlete, the Huskies took over first place. SCSU received a vote in the national poll the week prior to playing U-Mary.

PERFECT: The Marauders are perfect against St. Cloud State University at the McDowell Activity Center, winning all four games between the two teams.

LINEUP CHANGE: Head Coach Jevin Budde switched up the Marauders lineup prior for the St. Cloud State game. Senior forward Baley Johnson made his first start of the season and freshman wing Justin Ledger made his second start. Both made key contributions to the Marauders win over the Huskies. Johnson was 4-of-6 shooting and scored eight points plus had five rebounds. Justin Ledger scored seven points and dished four assists. One of Ledger's assists was an alley oop pass to Damon Smith for a slam dunk. Ledger also hit a three-pointer late in the game after SCSU cut the lead to four, pushing U-Mary's advantage to seven points.

PERFECTO: Sophomore guard Mike Johnson was perfect from the field in the SCSU win. Johnson hit all four three-point attempts and two free throws for a career-high 14 points. The night before he scored 10 points, his first double digit game.

VILLANOVA: U-Mary made 75 per cent of its shots from the floor in the second half of the win over St. Cloud State. Down 40-27 at intermission, the Marauders outscored the Huskies 52-32 after the break. In addition to making 15-of-20 shots down the stretch, the Marauders also went 17-of-23 at the free throw line. The Huskies shot just 38.6 per cent in the second half.

DOMINATING DAMON: Once again, Damon Smith was the focal point of the U-Mary offense last weekend. Smith led the Marauders to a 77-72 upset over Northern Sun-leading St. Cloud State, scoring a game-high 23 points and delivering a career-high six assists. The leading shot blocker in the NSIC had three blocks and grabbed five rebounds. Smith also shot 9-of-14 from the field. The senior forward also started the weekend with a strong effort against Concordia University, scoring 23 points, grabbing nine rebounds, and blocking two shots while making 8-of-10 free throw attempts. On the weekend Smith averaged 22.5 points, 7.0 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 2.5 blocks and shot  57.1 per cent from the field.

DOMINATING DAMON 2.0: Damon Smith scored 18 or more points in 11 of his last 13 games. During this stretch he is averaging 19.7 points, 7.1 rebounds and 1.9 blocks while shooting 63 per cent from the field and 70 per cent at the line.

DOMINATING DAMON 3.0: Senior forward Damon Smith is shooting up the conference stat sheets. The Milwaukee, WI, native is sixth in the league in scoring (16.4 PPG), seventh in rebounding (6.6 RPG), third in field goal percentage (57.4%), and first in blocked shots (2.0).

TOUGH LOSS x 9: The Marauders have come up short nine times in games decided in the final minute of play. Five of the last minute losses have come in U-Mary's last ten games.
SHARP SHOOTING: U-Mary is outshooting its opponents this season, making 47.4 per cent of its shots to 45.4 per cent for the opposition.

OPEN DORR POLICY: JR F Alex Dorr continues to shoot the ball incredibly well. In his last 16 games he is making 62 per cent (57-of-92) of his shots, including 62.2 per cent on three point attempts (28-of-45) on three point attempts, and is averaging 9.9 points per game. For the season, Dorr is averaging 8.7 points, 5.5 rebounds (16th in the NSIC) and is making 54.5 per cent of his shots from the field (7th), hitting 49.3 per cent on trey attempts (3rd) and shooting 78.4 per cent at the free throw line.

TURNING THE CORNER: JR G Josh Turner is posting a strong season offensively for the Marauders. He is second on the squad with 12.5 points per game (22nd in the NSIC). The Aurora, CO, native is an accurate shooter, making 45.5 per cent of his attempts from the field, including 43.8 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 is third in the NSIC in treys made per game with 2.56. He is 9th in three-point shooting percentage at 44.7. Darius Robinson is 12th in made treys (1.67). Alex Dorr is third in three-point field goal percentage.

GET OUTTA HERE! Damon Smith leads the Northern Sun in blocks with 2.04 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 24th in NCAA Division II in blocks with 2.0 per game.

BLOCK PARTY: The Marauders are sixth in the NSIC in blocks with an average of 3.05 rejections per game. Much of the damage is done by Damon Smith, who has posted 51 of the squad's 76 blocks. Baley Johnson is next with 11 blocks.

NCAA TEAM RANKINGS - TOP 100:
• 19th in three-point field goal percentage (39.5)
• 71st in three pointers made per game (7.2)
• 45th in field goal percentage (47.4)

NCAA INDIVIDUAL RANKINGS:
• Josh Turner 26th in three point field goal percentage (43.8)
• Josh Turner 57th in three pointers made per game (2.6)
• Damon Smith 22th in blocked shots (2.0)
• Damon Smith 27th in field goal percentage (57.3)

WORTH THE TICKET: If you attend a U-Mary men's basketball game, make sure you stay until the end. Twelve of the 21 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.
U-Mary pulls within two points of Minnesota Duluth with 35 seconds left in the game.
U-Mary misses two shots that could have given the Marauders a lead in the last minute in a 67-66 loss at MSU Moorhead, including a three pointer at the buzzer.

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 2-10 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: 2-10
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 2-10 at the MAC in 2011-12 after winning 23 of 26 home games the past two seasons.  

BOARD BUDDIES: The Marauders are just one of three teams to have two of the top 16 rebounders in the Northern Sun (MSU Moorhead and Northern State are the others). Damon Smith is 7th overall with 6.6 rebounds/game and Alex Dorr is 16th with at 5.5.

BALANCE: Six different Marauders have reached double digits in points this season. Josh Turner leads the way with 16 double digit games. Damon Smith has posted 10 or more points 14 times, Jalen Jaspers 11 times, Darius Robinson and Alex Dorr nine apiece and Mike Johnson and Lamada Williams twice.

LEADERS: Four different players have led the Marauders in scoring this season. Including shared game highs, Damon Smith led the team in scoring 12 times, Josh Turner and Darious Robinson six each and Jalen Jasers once.

SHARING THE LOAD: Three Marauders are averaging double figures in points. Damon Smith leads the team with 16.4 points per game, followed by Josh Turner at 12.5. Darius Robinson checks in at 10.1.   

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 15th in the NSIC with 1.15 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.