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THIS WEEKEND
The University of Mary men's basketball team (2-9 overall, 0-6 Northern Sun) rings in 2014 at the McDowell Activity Center when the Marauders host the Augustana College Vikings (7-5, 4-2) and the Wayne State College Wildcats (4-6, 1-5) on Military Appreciation Weekend. The first games of the calendar year, the Marauders face the Vikings at 8 PM on Friday, January 3. The weekend continues against the Wildcats at 6 PM on Friday, January 4.  

MILITARY APPRECIATION WEEKEND
To honor and recognize the service and sacrifice of our nation's service members and their families, the University of Mary is designating the men's and women's home basketball games on January 3-4 as Military Appreciation Weekend. Military Ovation, the sponsor of Military Appreciation Weekend, will distribute 400 tickets to service members and their families... This week's Coaches Luncheon will be held at the Elks on Friday, January 3. Lunch is served starting at 11:45 AM with the program to begin shortly after noon. Men's basketball coach Jevin Budde, women's basketball coach Rick Neumann and new head football coach Josh Kotelnicki are the featured speakers. Cost is $7.

ON THE LINE
These are the first games of 2014 for U-Mary, Augustana and Wayne State. All three teams last played the weekend of Dec. 20 before taking the week of Christmas off... The Marauders are searching for their first conference win of the season and look to snap a nine-game losing streak... The Wildcats have lost five of their last six games - all NSIC contests - and are looking for their first road win of the season after four straight losses... Augie has played three straight home games and is playing on the road for the first time since Dec. 7.

CROSSING OVER
For the first time this season teams from the NSIC North Division are playing teams from the NSIC South. This will be the only time the Marauders will face Augustana and Wayne State in the regular season. Teams play the other seven schools in their own division twice and face the eight squads in the other division once each.

SEE YOU NEXT YEAR
After playing travel partner Minot State University twice in the first six Northern Sun games - all before Christmas 2013 - the Marauders are done facing the Beavers in the regular season.

THE HISTORY - MARAUDERS v. VIKINGS
U-Mary is 5-8 against Augustana in a series that started in 1999-2000 with an 89-64 Vikings win. The first Marauders win was a 68-64 victory on January 18, 2006. U-Mary's last win was a 90-81 home victory on February 11, 2011. Anthony Moody exploded for 32 points and seven assists for the Marauders and Cody Schilling had 34 points for the Vikings. Augustana has won the last three games, including a 58-45 win over U-Mary on Dec. 12, 2011, in the last game at the McDowell Activity Center between the two teams.

In the last meeting between the Vikings and the Marauders, Augie defeated U-Mary 85-78 on Jan. 18, 2013, in Sioux Falls, SD. Cameron McCaffrey scored 40 points for the Vikings. Brandon Tyler hit six treys and led the Marauders with 18 points and Alex Dorr added 17.

THE HISTORY - MARAUDERS v. WILDCATS
The Wildcats hold a 10-4 series lead over the Marauders. The two teams first met during U-Mary's transition season from NAIA to NCAA play in 2005-06 with the Marauders claiming a 70-65 win. Wayne State followed with six straight wins over U-Mary before the Marauders broke the streak with a 73-62 win at WSC on Dec. 5, 2009. The two squads last played in Bismarck, ND, on Dec. 10, 2011, a 58-55 win for the Wildcats. The two teams have split their last four games, which have been decided by a total of 13 points (3,3,1 and 6). U-Mary's last win was a 61-60 decision at WSC on Feb, 10, 2012, behind 18 points, nine rebounds and three blocks by Damon Smith. The Wildcats are 5-1 in Bismarck and 5-3 at home against the Marauders. U-Mary's only home win was a 62-59 win on Feb. 11, 2011. Eric Erdmann and Anthony Moody both scored 14 points in the Marauders.

Wayne State won the lone meeting between the two teams last season, defeating U-Mary 60-54 on Jan. 19, 2013, in Wayne, NE. Ty Bauschek led the Wldcats with 15 points and Derrell Williams had 14. Alex Dorr was the lone U-Mary player in double figures, posting 22 points and grabbing 13 rebounds. The senior forward also had two assists.   

THE OPPONENT: Augustana College Vikings
In his 11th season at the helm of the Vikings program, head coach Tom Billiter has created one of the most successful programs in the region. Augie has advanced to the NCAA tournament five times in the last six years and posted 20 or more wins four times over that same period of time. A young team, the Vikings expect to start two freshmen and two sophomores this weekend. Just two seniors and three upperclassmen are part of the 10-man rotation. Sophomore forward Casey Schilling leads the team in scoring and rebounding, averaging 18.4 points and 9.3 rebounds per game. He also paces Augie with 35 assists, 20 blocks and 27 steals. Fellow sophomore forward Daniel Jansen averages 17.8 points and 6.1 rebounds per game, second on the squad. Schilling has five double doubles and Jansen has two. The pair is first and third in scoring in the the NSIC.

THE OPPONENT: Wayne State College Wildcats
After seven seasons directing fellow Northern Sun member Upper Iowa University's program, Brian Dolan is in his first year at Wayne State. Dolan led UIU to a 20-12 mark last season and the Peacocks first NCAA tournament berth. After opening with three wins in four games, Wayne State is 1-5 since, all conference contests. Averaging an NSIC low 67.6 points per game, the Wildcats allow just 71.6 points per game, the 8th best figure in the league. Senior guard Ty Bauscheck paces the Wildcats offense, averaging a team-high 13.3 points per game, along with 3.6 rebounds and 2.7 assists. Fellow senior guard Adol Aluong averages 12.8 points, 3.8 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game. A third senior, 6-8 center Jared Bartling, scores 9.4 points and hauls down 3.6 rebounds per game. The top-scoring reserve is also a senior. 6-7 forward Ryan Rolfzen scores 8.4 points per game and is second on team with 17 three-pointers. An experienced squad, Wayne State starts three seniors and two juniors.

LAST TIME OUT
The cold outside temperatures seemingly permeated the University of Mary's offense as a frigid shooting performance cost the Marauders in a 71-49 loss to Minot State University on Dec. 20. In U-Mary's final game of the 2013 calendar year, the Marauders made just 36 per cent of their field goal attempts, including a 5-for-24 effort on three-point shots. The Beavers had no such issues, converting 51.9 per cent of their shots, including a 55 per cent effort in the second half. While Minot State was just 5-of-16 on trey attempts, the Beavers went 23-of-38 inside the arc and outscored U-Mary 34-20 in the paint. The Beavers led from tipoff to buzzer. Up 14-13 midway through the first half, Minot State went on a 14-3 run to build a 28-15 lead. Baskets by Jalen Jaspers and Marc Musungayi cut the U-Mary deficit to nine. The Beavers immediately responded with a 9-0 run to push their advantage back into double digits, where it remained the rest of the night. For the second straight game the Marauders only had one player reach double figures. Douglas led the squad with 11 points. He also had three rebounds and two assists. Jalen Jaspers, Damonta Henry and Mike Johnson each had six points and 10 Marauders overall appeared in the scoring column. Chris East paced all players with 14 points for Minot State. Thomas Korf added 12, E.J. Williams 11 and Lazar Boskovic 10. Minot State held a 17-9 advantage in turnovers and had a 23-4 edge in points off turnovers.
SWEET 16
With six Northern Sun contests already completed, the Marauders have only scratched the surface of the conference season. U-Mary has 16 NSIC games remaining. Eight of the games are set for home.

MUSUNGAYI MAKES THE MARK
Senior center Marc Musungayi ranks among Northern Sun leaders in several categories. He is 11th in blocked shots (1.1 blocks/game), 13th in defensive rebounds (4.09 rebounds/game) and 20th in total rebounds (5.6 rebounds/game). Junior guard Devan Douglas is the only other U-Mary player listed among the NSIC leaders. Douglas is shooting 59 per cent from the floor, sixth in the conference.

DYNAMIC DOUGLAS
Moved into the starting lineup four games ago against Northern State, junior guard Devan Douglas extended his streak of reaching double figures in points to five games when tied his career-high of 18 points at Minnesota Duluth. In his last seven games he is averaging a team-high 13.1 PPG. His most impressive stat is shooting 59 per cent from the field this season overall and is knocking down 71.4 per cent of his free throws. Douglas, who is averaging 10.4 points per game, is sixth in the NSIC in field goal percentage (.590). He leads the Marauders in assists with 17 and is second in blocks (6) and steals (9).

DOPPELGANGERS
Until the Minot State game on Dec. 20, Chris Mason and Devan Douglas had both reached double figures in each of the same six games: the opener against South Dakota Mines and five straight games against Emporia State, Minot State, MSU Moorhead, Northern State and Minnesota Duluth. The streak ended when Douglas scored a team-high 11 points against Minot State. Over the last seven games, Douglas is averaging a team-high 13.1 points while Mason is second at 12.1 points per game.
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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 nine contests. During that stretch the Marauders are 108-of-174 (62 per cent) on free throws and the other squad is 199-of-260 (74.8 per cent). In the past seven games U-Mary is 82-of-131 compared to a 162-of-209 effort for the opposition. The Marauders have lost those six games by a combined 93 points while being outscored at the line by 80 points.

MASON STEPS FORWARD
After a big home weekend with 22 points against Northern State and 17 against MSU Moorhead, Chris Mason struggled with his shot the last three games. However he is still the Marauders second leading scorer over the past seven games, averaging 12.1 points and a team-leading 5.9 rebounds.

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.

FORCEFUL FRESHMAN
Freshman Damonta Henry is quickly catching onto the college game. After scoring just three points in his first two games at U-Mary, the Chicago native has posted double figure games in six of his last nine contests. His season high is 18 at Minot State. The team leader with 15 three pointers, Henry averages 9.1 points per game, fourth best total on the Marauders. At the free throw line Henry is 17-of-20.

SIX BY SEVEN
Seven Marauders are averaging at least 5.8 points per game. Marc Musingayi leads the team at 10.9 points per game, followed by Devan Douglas at 10.4 and Chris Mason at 9.7. Damonta Henry checks in at is just under 10 points/game with 9.1. Jalen Jaspers averages 9.0, Marquealis Edwards 8.0 and Brandon Tyler 5.8.

DOUBLE DIGIT THREAT
Eight different Marauders have reached double figures in a game this season: Devan Douglas (7 times), Chris Mason (6), Damonta Henry (6), Marc Musungayi (6), Jalen Jaspers (4), Brandon Tyler (3), Marquealis Edwards (2) and Germain Decoste (1).

TURN UP THE HEAT
After 11 games the Marauders are averaging 5.18 steals per game. U-Mary was next to last in the NCAA a year ago with 3.3 steals/game. Chris Mason leads the Marauders with 11 steals.

GET OUTTA HERE!
U-Mary averaged just 2.0 blocks a game last season, 14th out of 16 teams in the NSIC. After ten games this year, the Marauders are rejecting 3.1 blocks per game, seventh in the league. Marc Musungayi leads the team with 11 blocks, which is 11th in the NSIC.

710
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 710.

TWO TO START
For the first time since the 2010-2011 season the Marauders won their first two scheduled games of the year.

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.

HISTORY LESSON
The University of Mary men's basketball team was the school's first athletic program and played its inaugural season in 1970-71. Over the course of 43 years the Marauders have a combined record of 653-514. Longtime head coach athletic director Al Bortke posted a record of 335-157 in 16 seasons (1973-89) before stepping aside to take over the role of athletic director full time... U-Mary played its first NCAA season in 2006-07, competing in the Northern Sun. The following season the Marauders were granted full NCAA membership in what was the quickest transition in association history... The Marauders made their first NCAA tournament appearance in 2011. Current head coach Jevin Budde was an assistant for that team and seniors Jalen Jaspers and Mike Johnson were both freshmen.