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THIS WEEKEND
Back home following their longest conference road trip of the season, the University of Mary (2-13 overall / 0-10 Northern Sun) men's basketball team tips off a four-game home stand this weekend against a pair of fellow Northern Sun North Division squads. The Marauders open up against the NSIC North-leading St. Cloud State University Huskies (11-3 / 7-3) at 8 PM on Friday, Jan. 17, in the McDowell Activity Center. U-Mary then hosts the University of Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs (6-8, 4-6) on Saturday, Jan. 18, at 6 PM.
 
ON THE LINE
For the second straight week the Marauders open their weekend against an NSIC divisional leader. Last-place U-Mary faced NSIC South-leading Winona State last Friday. This Friday U-Mary hosts the Huskies, which is in a four-way tie for first in the NSIC North... The Marauders look to turn the tables on both the Huskies and the Bulldogs, both of whom beat U-Mary earlier this season... After opening the season with two straight wins, the Marauders have dropped 13 in a row, including ten conference games. Dating back to last season the squad has dropped 13 straight NSIC regular season games. ... This four-game home stand is the longest of the year for U-Mary.

WAY UP NORTH
After playing four straight games against teams from the NSIC South, the Marauders return to their roots to play four consecutive games against fellow NSIC North squads.

HISTORY LESSON - MARAUDERS v. HUSKIES
The Marauders are 6-8 all-time against St. Cloud State. The Marauders are 4-1 at home, 2-5 at SCSU and 0-2 on neutral ground. U-Mary's first NCAA win came at SCSU 86-77 on 11.18.06. U-Mary's signature NCAA win was a 77-48 home victory over #8 SCSU on 12.16.07. The Huskies have won three straight. The Marauders last won on Feb. 18, 2012, a 79-72 home decision highlighted by 23 points from Damon Smith.  

Last Meeting: The Huskies sled past the Marauders 80-55 in St. Cloud, Minn., on Dec. 14, 2013. Marc Musungayi was the lone U-Mary player in double figures, scoring 11 points and hauling down seven rebounds. James Fort was 6-of-9 from the field and led SCSU with 13 points. Scott Stone added 12 off the bench and Jordan Poydras had 11 points and seven assists. U-Mary held a 35-30 rebounding advantage but committed 17 turnovers to nine for SCSU.  

HISTORY LESSON - MARAUDERS v. BULLDOGS
The Bulldogs lead the all-time series with the Marauders 7-3, sweeping the season series the last two years and winning the last five games. The Marauders first victory over the Bulldogs was an 80-77 overtime win on 1.16.09.

Last meeting: The Bulldogs built a big second half lead and held off the Marauders 72-65 on Dec. 13, 2013, in Duluth, Minn. Leading by two at break, UMD grew its lead to 16 points in the second half. Devan Douglas led the Marauders with 18 points and also had six rebounds. Damonta Henry had 12 points and seven rebounds and Chris Henry added 10 points. Jordan Reetz posted 22 points for UMD to lead all players and Peter Crawford added 17 and three steals.
THE OPPONENT: St. Cloud State University Huskies
In his 17th and final season as head coach of the Huskies, Kevin Schlagel has led SCSU to five conference titles and eight NCAA tournament appearances, including a visit to the NCAA Final Four in 2010. Currently the Huskies are in a four-way tie for the NSIC North division lead at 7-3 in conference games and are third overall in the league. Four players average double figures in points, led by sophomore guard Jordan Poydras at 14.6 points per game. Senior forward Matt Craggs contributes 12.1 points per game while shooting 55.0 per cent from the floor and hauls down 6.9 rebounds/game. After averaging 81.1 PPG and allowing 69.7 PPG, the Huskies are fifth in the league in scoring margin (11.4).

THE OPPONENT: University of Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs
Under the direction of second year head coach Jeff Bowen, who won a Northern Sun title with Bemidji State in 2012, the Bulldogs have lost three of their last four games. A guard-centric offense, UMD's top three scorers play on the perimeter. Senior guard Jordan Reetz is the top scoring threat for the Bulldogs, averaging 16.3 points per game. Shooting 37 per cent behind the arc, he also has a team-high 26 treys. Senior guard Peter Crawford averages 15.9 PPG and shoots 52.4 per cent from the field. Junior guard Reece Zoelle chips in 14.5 PPG and hauls down 5.6 boards per game. Towards the bottom of the NSIC in both points scored (70.4) and points allowed (76.2) per game, the Bulldogs are 14th in scoring margin at -5.9 points per game. Third in the league in free throw shooting (.743), UMD is 13th out of 16 in field goal shooting percentage (.430).  

LAST TIME OUT
Taking their longest conference road trip of the season, the Marauders suffered two tough contests. Leading early in the second half, U-Mary was unable to hold off NSIC-leading and #21 Winona State University in a 74-60 loss to the Warriors. Devan Douglas led the Marauders with 11 points and Marc Musungayi and Jalen Jaspers each added 10 points. Kellen Taylor paced WSU with 20 points and nine rebounds... Jaspers posted 31 points and hit 12-of-14 shots from the field the next night at Upper Iowa but his efforts still left U-Mary short in a 79-71 loss to the Peacocks. The game featured seven lead changes and five ties in the second half. Upper Iowa trailed 68-63 with 3:08 remaining in the game and outscored the Marauders 16-3 down the stretch. Joey Woods, who scored 26 points in the game, was unstoppable for the Peacocks in the final 1:42, scoring 12 straight points for UIU at one point. Germain Decoste added 10 points for U-Mary.   

MIDCO SPORTS NET COMING TO TOWN
Midco Sports Net will record the University of Mary men's basketball home game against the University of Minnesota Duluth for later playback as the HD Tape Delayed Game of the Week, set to be aired on Wednesday, January 29, at 9 PM.

PLAYING WITH THE LEAD
The Marauders have posted leads in the second half in three of their last four games but have been unable to find the winning combination. Against Augustana, the Vikings tied the game with 1.1 seconds remaining in the game to force overtime. At #21 Winona State last Friday, the Marauders held a 33-31 lead early in the second half. The following night U-Mary led Upper Iowa 68-67 with 1:42 remaining in the game.

Alumni Weekend / 3-ON-3 Tourney
The U-Mary men's and women's basketball teams will be holding alumni weekend January 24-25. Instead of holding an alumni game, the Marauders will be hosting a 3-on-3 tournament to benefit former players Nate and Karie Welstad, whose newborn son, Karson, is facing medical complications. For more information or to register a team go to www.goumary.com/3on3.

CAREER NIGHT FOR JASPERS
Jalen Jaspers put together one of the top performances by a University of Mary basketball player during the school's NCAA era when the senior guard exploded for a career-high 31 points in a loss at Upper Iowa University. The eighth-highest individual single game point total for U-Mary since the 2006-07 season, the 31 points is the most by a Marauders player since All-American Anthony Moody scored 31 against Minnesota State on January 11, 2011. Jaspers connected on 12-of-14 shots in the contest. His single-game shooting percentage of .857 is fourth best during the same time span. A solid weekend for the Minneapolis, Minn., native, Jaspers also had 10 points on a 5-for-6 shooting performance at Winona State University. Over the two games Jaspers averaged 20.5 points per game and made an amazing 85 per cent (17-of-20) of his shot attempts from the floor.

QUICK START
Since inserting senior guard Mike Johnson, junior forward Germain Decoste and freshman center Isaac Lindquist into the starting lineup four games ago, the Marauders have gotten off to strong starts in each game. U-Mary built a nine-point first half lead against Augustana, ran off to a 10-2 lead over Wayne State, led Winona State by seven late in the first half and had a five-point first half lead at Upper Iowa.

THE FRESHMEN
Three different freshmen have started games this season for the Marauders. Guard Damonta Henry, fourth on the team in scoring at 9.0 points per game, has started seven times. Isaac Lindquist now has four straight starts in the post and Luke Scott has one at guard.

FORCEFUL FRESHMAN
Freshman Damonta Henry is quickly catching onto the college game. He posted his biggest night of the season with a 25 point outburst in an overtime loss to Augustana. Henry knocked down five treys in seven attempts and tied his career-high with three assists. After scoring just three points in his first two games at U-Mary, the Chicago native has posted double figure games in seven of his last 12 contests. The team leader with 23 three pointers, Henry averages 9.0 points per game, third best total on the Marauders. At the free throw line Henry is 20-of-24.

MUSUNGAYI MAKES THE MARK
Senior center Marc Musungayi ranks among Northern Sun leaders in several categories. He is 9th in blocked shots (1.27 blocks/game), 14th in defensive rebounds (4.1 rebounds/game) and 19th in total rebounds (5.7 rebounds/game).

MAKING SHOTS
Two Marauders are among the Northern Sun leaders in field goal percentage. After making 17-of-20 shot attempts last weekend, senior guard Jalen Jaspers is connecting on 56.9 per cent of his field goal attempts, sixth in the NSIC. Junior guard Devan Douglas is shooting 55.4 per cent from the floor, 10th in the conference.

DYNAMIC DOUGLAS
Moved into the starting lineup eight games ago against Northern State, junior guard Devan Douglas continues to provide scoring punch for the Marauders. He has reached double figures in points in seven of his last 11 games. During that stretch he averaging a team-high 11.3 PPG. His most impressive stat is shooting 55.4 per cent from the field this season overall while also knocking down 77.8 per cent of his free throws. Douglas, who is averaging 9.7 points per game, is tenth in the NSIC in field goal percentage (.554). He leads the Marauders in assists (23) and steals (15) and is third in blocks (6).
 
LINE WOES
After outscoring the opposition at the free throw line in the first game of the season, U-Mary's foes have had the edge in the last 13 contests. During that stretch the Marauders are 139-of-223 (62.3 per cent) on free throws and the other squad is 259-of-352 (73.6 per cent). In the past 11 games U-Mary is 124-of-198 compared to a 237-of-320 effort for the opposition. The Marauders have lost those 11 games by a combined 131 points while being outscored at the line by 113 points.

TEAM PLAY
During a recent four game run, U-Mary had at least four players in double figures in each contest. Five U-Mary players scored 10 or more points against Minot State and MSU Moorhead and four players against Emporia State and Northern State.


FIVE BY EIGHT
Five Marauders are averaging at least 8.5 points per game. Marc Musingayi leads the team at 10.7 points per game, followed by Jalen Jaspers at 10.1, Devan Douglas at 9.7, Damonta Henry at 9.0 and Chris Mason at 8.6.

DOUBLE DIGIT THREAT
Eight different Marauders have reached double figures in a game this season: Devan Douglas (9 times), Marc Musungayi (9), Chris Mason (6), Damonta Henry (7), Jalen Jaspers (6), Brandon Tyler (3), Marquealis Edwards (2) and Germain Decoste (2).

TURN UP THE HEAT
The Marauders are averaging 5.00 steals per game. U-Mary was next to last in the NCAA a year ago with 3.3 steals/game. Devan Douglas leads the Marauders with 15 steals.

GET OUTTA HERE!
U-Mary averaged just 2.0 blocks a game last season, 14th out of 16 teams in the NSIC. This year the Marauders are rejecting 3.13 blocks per game, seventh in the league. Marc Musungayi leads the team with 19 blocks, which is 9th in the NSIC.

763
Jalen Jaspers became just the fifth U-Mary men's basketball player to crack 700 points in a career during the Marauders NCAA era, which began during the 2006-07 season. The senior guard now has 763.