Men's Basketball | 12/11/2014 1:47:00 PM

THIS WEEKEND
It's the first home doubleheader weekend of the season for the University of Mary when Northern Sun South Division foes Southwest Minnesota State University and the University of Sioux Falls visit the McDowell Activity Center. The Marauders opens the weekend against the Mustangs on Friday, Dec. 12, at 8 p.m. On Saturday, Dec. 13, the Marauders and the Cougars tip off at 6 p.m.
 
RECORDS

• U-Mary is 2-5 overall and 0-3 in the Northern Sun
• SMSU is 6-3 overall and 2-1 in the NSIC
• USF is 3-5 overall and 1-2 in the NSIC

LAST WEEK

• The Marauders lost 86-79 at Northern State and 81-63 at #19 MSU Moorhead
• The Mustangs split a pair of NSIC games at home, defeating Winona State 61-60 before losing 78-74 to Upper Iowa
• The Cougars opened a home weekend with an 82-66 loss to Upper Iowa before defeating Winona State 76-54

WEEKEND HEADLINES

• The Marauders are searching for their first NSIC win of the season
• The Mustangs are the third straight Marauders opponent who is ranked in the D2SIDA Central Region Rankings
• Despite a 2-10 record all-time against the Mustangs, the Marauders have won the last two meetings at the MAC
• The Marauders last NSIC win came against the Mustangs on 2.14.14U-Mary hasn't beaten Sioux Falls in three outings

HISTORY LESSON - MARAUDERS v. MUSTANGS

• The Marauders trail the Mustangs in the series 10-2
• After losing the first three meetings at the MAC, U-Mary has won the last two meetings, including a 74-65 win last year on 2.14.14
• The Mustangs last win at the MAC was a 66-63 victory on 12.13.08

Last Meeting

• The Mustangs defeated the Marauders 82-65 on 2.26.14 in the opening round of the 2014 Northern Sun tournament
• SMSU broke the game open with an 11-0 run in the first half
• Chris Mason led the Marauders with 22 points and was 3-of-6 on treys
• Marc Musungayi added 20 points and made 10-of-12 shots in his final game with the Marauders. The senior center also had six rebounds.
• Fr. C Isaac Lindquist scored a season-high 9 points
• SMSU shot 54.2 percent from the field to 43.1 percent for UM
• Vinyard Birch led SMSU with 18 points and Joey Bartlett scored 17 off the bench

HISTORY LESSON - MARAUDERS v. COUGARS

• The Cougars lead the series with the Marauders 3-0
• The two former NAIA competitors first met as NCAA and NSIC foes on 2.9.13 with USF gaining a 75-70 home win
• The Marauders joined the Northern Sun for the 2006-07 season and the Cougars began NSIC play in 2012-13.

Last meeting:

• USF scored all 12 of its points in overtime at the free throw line to defeat U-Mary 79-71 at the MAC on 2.15.14
• The Marauders hit two treys in the final 38 seconds to force overtime, the second by Damonta Henry with six seconds remaining
• U-Mary was 1-of-9 from the field and 2-of-6 at the free throw line in overtime
• For the game the Cougars were 31-of-36 on free throw attempts to 16-of-30 for the Marauders
• Marc Musungayi led the Marauders with 16 points and fellow senior Jalen Jaspers added 13. Chris Mason and Bryan Jefferson both scored 11.
• Mahlon Jones led USF with 16 points.

COMMONALITY
While USF and U-Mary do not have any common opponents this season, the Mustangs and the Marauders have both played at Northern State. The Wolves defeated the Mustangs 93-88 in overtime in a non-conference game. NSU defeated U-Mary 86-79 last weekend in an NSIC game.

THE OPPONENT: Southwest Minnesota State University Mustangs
Coming off a 19-12 season and 6th place in the NSIC, SMSU lost two all-conference 2nd team performers to graduation (F Nick Smith and G Vinard Birch). Despite the losses, the Mustangs are 6-3 overall and 2-1 in the conference. A solid defensive team, opponents are shooting just 43.9 percent against the Mustangs, including a 35.4 percent effort behind the arc, and scoring 72.2 PPG. SMSU is making 47.7 percent of its shots (42.6 percent on 3-pointers) and averages 77.9 PPG. Three players average double figures: So. F Joey Bartlett (12.4 PPG, 6.1 RPG), So. F Mitch Weg (12.1 PPG. 7.2 RGG) and Sr. G Cole Martin (12.1 PPG, 5.0 RPG, 13 steals, 24 assist). A young squad, six of their top eight scorers are freshmen or sophomores.

THE OPPONENT: University of Sioux Falls Cougars
Coming off a big weekend win over perennial power Winona State University, the University of Sioux Falls is 3-5 overall and 1-2 in the NSIC. Despite allowing 74.0 PPG, 12th in the NSIC, the Cougars are fifth overall in field goal shooting defense (41.8 percent) and 3-point shooting defense (34.1 percent). USF is also fifth in rebounding margin (+8.9/game) and sixth in blocked shots (2.8/game). USF has struggled offensively, averaging 69.1 PPG and shooting 44.3 percent from the floor and 35.4 percent behind the arc. Sr. G Charles Ward is one of the best scorers (16.3 PPG) and rebounders (7.1 RPG) in the NSIC. He has reached double figures in 15 straight games. Mack Johnson forms a potent sidekick for Ward, averaging 15.1 PPG. Johnson is 4th in the NSIC with 2.63 treys/game.

WELCOME HOME
Former Marauders player Nick Kaeding is in his third season as an assistant coach at Sioux Falls. A Fargo, N.D., native, Kaeding was a three-year letter-winner at U-Mary and was the team captain as a senior in 2006-07. A member of the 2007 NSIC All-Academic team, Kaeding graduated that spring from U-Mary with degrees in accounting and business administration.

REWIND
The Marauders dropped a pair of road games over last weekend. At Northern State, U-Mary jumped out to a 16-4 lead but NSU scored nine of the final ten points in the game for an 86-79 Wolves win. Five Marauders reached double figures; Bryan Jefferson (16 points), Damonta Henry (15), Marquealis Edwards (15), Isaac Lindquist (10) and Luke Scott (10). Seth Bachand led the Wolves with 19 points, 15 rebounds, six assists and five blocks... The following night the Dragons, ranked 19th in the country, scored the first 15 points of the game and defeated the Marauders 81-63. MSUM hit 14-of-35 3-point attempts and shot 45 percent from the floor overall. U-Mary was 7-of-22 behind the arc and hit 39.7 percent of its shots. Damonta Henry led UM with 18 points and Marquealis Edwards added 16 points, seven rebounds and four assists. Jordan Riewer was 6-of-11 behind the arc and led MSUM with 24 points.  

MY PRECIOUS
Treating the ball like Bilbo Baggins treats The Ring, the Marauders refuse to turn the ball over. U-Mary committed a season-low seven turnovers against Minot State and averages just 10.5 turnovers/game, the 16th lowest figure in NCAA Division II and 3rd fewest in the Northern Sun. Last weekend U-Mary turned the ball over just 19 times combined in the two games.

SOPHOMORE SUCCESS
The Marauders have three sophomores in the starting lineup and a fourth is one of the team's leading scorers. Guards Damonta Henry and Luke Scott start in the back court and Isaac Lindquist opens at center. Additionally, forward Bryan Jefferson is a key reserve for U-Mary. Henry leads the team in scoring at 15.7 PPG and Jefferson is right behind at 14.0 PPG. Scott is shooting 53.3 percent from the floor and is second on the team with 1.8 assists/game. Lindquist is averaging over 20 minutes a game in the middle.

OH HENRY
With a shot as sweet as the Oh Henry candy bar, Damonta Henry has developed into one of the top scorers in the Northern Sun. The sophomore guard from Chicago, Ill., leads the Marauders in scoring and is 9th in the NSIC at 15.3 PPG. He has reached double figures in six of seven games this season and has yet to miss a free throw in 12 attempts. For the season he is shooting 46.7 percent from the floor and is 12-of-32 behind the arc. He does have three games with three treys. One of his strongest games of the season came Saturday at #19 MSU Moorhead, scoring 18 points and making 7-of-12 shots overall, including a 3-of-6 effort behind the arc.

BENCH BOOST
After missing the first two games of the season, Bryan Jefferson has provided a tremendous spark off the bench for the Marauders. The sophomore forward from Auroa, Ill., reached double figures in each of his first four games before scoring just two points at MSU Moorhead. Jefferson posted his first double double of his career at Point Loma, scoring 25 points and added 10 rebounds. For the season Jefferson is averaging 14.0 PPG, 5.5 RPG and 1.5 steals while shooting 53.8 percent from the field and 70 percent at the line.

SHORTHANDED
The Marauders have played shorthanded all season. Bryan Jefferson, Brandon Tyler and Luke Scott all missed the first two games. Leading returning scorer Chris Mason was injured in the opener and has not played since. Devan Douglas missed both games last weekend.

SHARING THE LOAD
Seven different Marauders are averaging at least 4.0 points per game with three averaging in double figures. Damonta Henry averages a team-high 15.3 points. Bryan Jefferson checks in at 14.0 PPG and Marquealis Edwards is at 12.5 PPG.

TIME SHARE
The Marauders have a deep bench this season and are making use of it. Nine different U-Mary players average at least 12 minutes a game. Marquealis Edwards leads the way with 32.2 minutes/game with Damonta Henry checking in at 31.3.

MR. DO-IT-ALL
Marquealis Edwards does a little of everything for the Marauders. Averaging 12.5 PPG, which is third on the team, the junior guard is sixth in the NSIC in assists (4.5/game), eighth in free throw shooting (.810) and 13th in steals (1.5/game). Edwards is second on the team in rebounding (4.8/game).

NEXT UP
The Marauders close out the 2014 portion of the schedule when U-Mary plays at Minot State University on Friday, Dec. 19. The Marauders then take a little break until opening the new year at the University of Minnesota Crookston and Bemidji State University on Jan. 2-3, 2015.