RAPID CITY, S.D. – A tenacious defense and a balanced offensive attack led the University of Mary men's basketball team to a 61-49 road win over South Dakota School of Mines & Technology in the season opener for the Marauders.
 
One of four Marauders in double figures, Damonta Henry led all players with a game-high 13 points. The sophomore guard hit a triple and all four of his free throw attempts. Marquealis Edwards, Germain Decoste and Brenden Mann chipped in ten points apiece.
 
In all, ten of the 11 Marauders players scored in the game.
 
Konor Kulas led the Hardrockers with 11 points.
 
Up 28-25 at intermission, the Marauders opened the second half on a 13-4 run to create a 14 point lead. A three-pointer by Henry followed by a three point play from Decoste started the run. Mann capped the spurt by hitting one of his three treys in the game.
 
The Hardrockers (0-2 overall) ran off five straight points to close their deficit to nine. The Marauders responded with a Jaycob Velasco three-pointer to begin an 8-0 run, pushing the team's advantage to 17 points. U-Mary maintained a double-digit lead for the remainder of the game.
 
U-Mary shot a solid 48.8 per cent from the floor. Behind Mann's 3-for-4 effort behind the arc, the Marauders made 7-of-14 three-pointers. However U-Mary was just 14-of-25 at the free throw line.
 
SDSMT hit just 31.5 percent of its field goal attempts, including a 4-of-16 mark on trey attempts. The Hardrockers also finished 11-of-22 at the free throw line.
 
Edwards, playing for the first time since he injured his knee four games into last year, added six assists and three steals to his ten points. He also had five rebounds. Devan Douglas came off the bench to haul down a game-high eight rebounds. The senior guard also added three assists and four points.
 
The Marauders next open their home docket when U-Mary hosts Dickinson State University on Monday, Nov. 17, at 7 p.m. in the McDowell Activity Center.
 
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