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THIS WEEK
Making its first trip to Alaska, the University of Mary men's basketball team will compete in the 2013 GCA Alaska Invitational in Fairbanks, AK. Hosted by the Alaska Nanooks (i.e. the University of Alaska Fairbanks), the Marauders will play three games in the Patty Center. U-Mary opens against the host Nanooks on Thursday, Nov. 21, at 10 PM Central. In the second game on Friday, Nov., 22, the Marauders face the Fresno Pacific Sunbirds at 8 PM Central. The Invitational concludes with a contest against the Emporia State University Hornets on Saturday, Nov. 23, at 8 PM Central.

THE RECORD
The Marauders are 2-0 after winning two non-conference home games.

LAST WEEK
In its lone action last week, U-Mary defeated Presentation College 75-61.

GCI ALASKA INVITATIONAL
The Alaska Nanooks hosts the 5th annual GCI Alaska Invitational this week. The round-robin formula allows the Marauders to face the other three participants over the three-day event: the Nanooks, the Fresno Pacific Sunbirds and the Emporia State Hornets. Not only their first time in Alaska, this is also the first time the Marauders have faced any of these three programs.

ALASKA NANOOKS: The host team is 1-1 this season, dropping a 72-63 decision to Regis before bouncing back with a 72-48 win over Holy Names at the AT&T Jamboree in Anchorage, AK, last weekend. The Nanooks return four of their top six scorers and two starters from a squad that finished 16-12 overall and 10-8 in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference. Senior center Sergej Pucar was a 2nd team all-GNAC selection after averaging 10.8 points and 6.6 rebounds a game last year. Senior guard Ronnie Baker averaged 8.9 points and 3.9 rebounds.  

FRESNO PACIFIC UNIVERSITY: After finishing 21-9 overall and placing second in the Pacific West Conference with a 14-4 mark in their first season of NCAA Division II play in 2012-13, the Sunbirds have opened this season 3-2. Senior guard Malcom Griffin, who played two years at NCAA Division I Toledo, earned 1st team NCCAA All-American and 1st team All-PacWest honors last year after posting 17.7 points and a conference-leading 5.2 assists per game. Five different Sunbirds are averaging double digits in scoring this season, led by Griffin at 14.6 PPG through five contests. A transfer from Alabama State, senior forward Jonathon Jefferson is averaging 10.2 points and 8.4 rebounds per game.
 
EMPORIA STATE UNIVERSITY HORNETS: The Hornets (4-0) are off to an undefeated start in 2013-14 after finishing 13-14 overall and 8-10 in the MIAA last year. Led by Kaleb Wright's 14.0 points per game, six Emporia State players average at least 7.5 points per game. A guard, Wright was an All-MIAA honorable mention selection last year after averaging 14.4 points and 2.9 assists per game. Center Paul Bunch was named to the 2012-13 MIAA all-defensive team and joined Wright as an honorable mention selection after averaging 12.7 points, 8.0 rebounds and 3.2 blocks. Bunch was third in the nation in rejections last year.

FOLLOW THE GCI ALASKA INVITATONAL: The official tournament page featuring links to live stats, live video and results is located at:
http://alaskananooks.com/sports/2012/12/7/MBB_1207121527.aspx?path=mbball

Links for live stats and live video for the Marauders games can also be found at: www.GoUMary.com.

RADIO
Home radio broadcasts on ESPN 710 AM will begin on Nov. 30 when the Marauders travel to Minot State University.

TWO TO START
For the first time since the 2010-2011 season the Marauders have won their first two scheduled games of the year. U-Mary opened 2010-11 with five straight wins.

WELCOME BACK
The Marauders return just four players from last season's squad, including three seniors. Guard Jalen Jaspers is in his third year as a starter for U-Mary. A key reserve on the Marauders 2010-11 NCAA playoff team as a freshman, the Minneapolis, MN, native averaged 10.3 points a game last year. After two seasons starting at point guard, Mike Johnson is a key reserve for the Marauders. One of the most accurate shooters in the Northern Sun last year, senior center Marc Musungayi averaged 10.5 points and 5.7 rebounds in his first year at U-Mary while shooting 56.5 per cent from the floor and 79.6 per cent at the free throw line. The fourth returner is sophomore guard Brandon Tyler, who has moved into the starting lineup after averaging 6.5 points a game as one of the team's top reserves as a freshman.

WHO ARE YOU?
The Marauders are sporting a new look this season. Four returning players were joined by 12 newcomers. Six of the newcomers are community college transfers, five are true freshmen right from high school and one transferred to U-Mary last January from a four-year college.

JASPERS LEADS THE WAY
Senior guard Jalen Jaspers has had a spectacular start to the season, leading the Marauders to wins in each of their first two games. He scored 18 points and made 7-of-9 field goal attempts in each of U-Mary's wins over the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology and Presentation College.

CONTINUATION PLAY
Playing the best ball of his career at the end of last season, Jalen Jaspers averaged 21 points per game and 5.3 rebounds while shooting 62.8 per cent from the floor over the last two weekends of 2012-13. This season he posted 18 points each of his first two games of this year, making 7-of-9 shots in each game. In his last five games dating back to last year, the senior wing from Minneapolis, MN, is averaging 19.8 points and shooting 67.2 per cent from the field.

Q RATING
Junior guard Marquealis "Q" Edwards has stepped into the Marauders starting lineup in his first year at U-Mary after transferring from Southwestern (IA) College, where he was a two-time all-region selection. Edwards has reached double figures in scoring in both his games and is averaging 12.5/game. He is shooting .583 from the floor and has made 9-of-11 free throws. In addition to leading the team in free throws he is also pacing the squad in assists (8) and steals (5).

ALL IN
The Marauders have not been reliant on one or two players for scoring. In the opening win over South Dakota Tech five different Marauders hit double digits. Eleven different Marauders contributed points in the win over Presentation College.

STEPPING FORWARD
Sophomore Brandon Tyler has stepped forward and snared a starting spot for the Marauders. After averaging 6.5 points per game as a freshman, Tyler scored 12 points in the opener and added nine against Presentation. He is tied for the team lead in treys made with three.

647
Two games into his senior season Jalen Jaspers has scored 647 in his Marauders career, the seventh most by a U-Mary player since the school began NCAA play during the 2006-07 season.

TURN UP THE HEAT
After two games the Marauders are averaging 8.0 steals per game. U-Mary was next to last in the NCAA a year ago with 3.3 steals/game. Marquealis Edwards paced the squad with five steals through two games. Chris Mason is second with three.

DEFT TOUCH
In his first season with the Marauders last year, senior center Marc Musungayi finished among the Northern Sun leaders in several categories. The 6-7 native of Hamilton, Ontario, was fourth in the NSIC in shooting percentage (56.5 per cent), 10th in blocked shots (.93/game) and 14th in rebounding (5.7/game). He also averaged 10.7 points and made 79.6 per cent of his free throw attempts.

GET OUTTA HERE!
U-Mary averaged just 2.0 blocks a game last season, 14th out of 16 teams in the NSIC. After two games this year, the Marauders are rejecting 6.5 blocks per game. Marc Musungayi leads the team with five blocks and Devan Douglas has three.


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