Men's Basketball | 12/18/2014 3:27:00 PM

FRIDAY
The University of Mary closes out the 2014 portion of its schedule with a single road game against travel partner Minot State University on Friday, Dec. 19. Game time is 8 p.m. at the Minot State Dome.  
 
RECORDS
U-Mary is 2-7 overall and 0-5 in the Northern Sun
Minot State is 6-4 overall and 2-4 in the NSIC

LAST WEEK
The Marauders lost twice at home, 84-72 to Southwest Minnesota State and 75-73 to the University of Sioux Falls
The Beavers split two home games, defeating Sioux Falls 70-68 before losing 91-81 to Southwest Minnesota State

WEEKEND HEADLINES
Final game for U-Mary prior to the Christmas break
Following the Beavers game, the Marauders won't play again for 14 days
This meeting concludes the Marauders-Beavers series for the season
The Marauders have yet to play 10 teams on their schedule
U-Mary is looking to snap a four-game losing streak to MSU
The Marauders are searching for their first NSIC win of the season
U-Mary is searching for its first win in Minot since a DAC-10 playoff win on Feb. 25, 2004.

HISTORY LESSON - MARAUDERS v. BEAVERS
The Marauders trail the Beavers in the al-time series 34-30
Series began in the 1976-77 season
The Beavers have won four straight and nine of the last ten meetings
The last U-Mary win over MSU was 12.1.12, a 77-65 victory at the Bismarck Civic Center
The Marauders have lost four straight in Minot, last winning in the Magic City on Feb. 25, 2004. In the 87-82 DAC-10 playoff win, Barton led the Marauders with 16 points and Cadwallader had nine rebounds.
Last Meeting
The Beavers defeated the Marauders 66-61 in the Northern Sun season opener at U-Mary on 11.29.14
The Beavers scored first and held the lead the entire game
Marquealis Edwards and Bryan Jefferson both scored 13 points to lead the Marauders
Jaycob Velasco added 12 points and team-high seven rebounds for U-Mary
Velasco and Jefferson combined to score 25 points off the bench
Luke Scott had a career-high six assists
Everett Robinson hit 8-of-10 shots and scored a game-high 19 points with seven rebounds for MSU and was named the NSIC Player of the Week
Marauders were a combined 3-of-6 at the free throw line, the Beavers were 12-of-20
Beavers outrebounded the Marauders 30-22 but U-Mary committed just seven turnovers to 14 for MSU

COMMONALITY
Against common foes, the Marauders are 1-4 and the Beavers are is 3-2. Both teams beat South Dakota School of Mines & Technology on the road. U-Mary lost to Dickinson State and Sioux Falls at home while MSU defeated both those teams at home. Both U-Mary and MSU have lost to MSU Moorhead and Northern State on the road and Southwest Minnesota State at home.

THE OPPONENT: Minot State University Beavers
Returning three starters and six players from last season's team that finished 8-19 overall and 4-18 in the NSIC (15th), the Beavers started this season 5-1 before dropping three of their last four. The Beavers are scoring 70.1 PPG and shooting 47 percent from the floor while connecting on just 60.9 percent of their free throw attempts, the lowest figure in the Northern Sun. Behind the arc the Beavers are making 40.1 percent of their attempts, 4th best in the NSIC. MSU leads the NSIC in rebounding defense (28.8/game) and is second in rebounding margin (+8.8). Two-time NSIC Player of the Week Everett Robinson leads the Beavers in scoring (12.4 PPG), rebounding (6.7 RPG) and field goal percentage (61.4). Three other MSU players also average double figures in scoring: Thomas Korf (11.3 PPG), Dominique McDonald (10.8 PPG) and LaMont Prosser (10.2). Korf is 28-of-55 on three pointers. McDonald averages 4.4 assists/game. Prosser shoots over 60 percent from the field and averages 5.6 rebounds/game.

REWIND
The Marauders dropped two tough home games last weekend. Despite connecting on half its shots, U-Mary couldn't keep pace with Southwest Minnesota State in an 84-72 loss. A 9-0 run provided the Marauders an early 24-20 lead. The Mustangs entered the half up 40-39 and pulled away with an 18-5 run in the second half. SMSU hit 64.6 percent of its shots in the game, including a 14-of-23 effort behind the arc. The Marauders shot 50 percent overall but finished 5-of-17 on treys. Marquealis Edwards led UM with 13 points, Bryan Jefferson added 13, Damonta Henry 12 and Jaycob Velasco 11. Joey Bartlett scored 24 to lead the Mustangs and was 6-of-8 on 3-pointers... The Marauders suffered a heartbreaking 75-73 loss to Sioux Falls the following night when Freddie Young hit the game-winning shot with 3.3 seconds left in regulation. The game featured 12 lead changes and eight ties, all in the second half. U-Mary took its last lead of the night on a Luke Scott basket for a 70-68 lead before USF scored seven of the last ten points in the game. Chris Mason led U-Mary with 15 points and Edwards added 13 with nine rebounds, three assists and two steals. Jefferson added 13 points and Velasco 10. Jordan Stotts led USF with 19 points.      

WELCOME BACK
For the first time since opening night, senior guard/forward Chris Mason is back in the lineup. After missing six games with injury, the Marauders leading returning scorer contributed seven points and three rebounds in 17 minutes against Southwest Minnesota State in his first game back. He followed with a team-high 15 points on 6-of-11 shooting against Sioux Falls while playing 30 minutes. He also had three rebounds and two assists.

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 13th lowest figure in NCAA Division II and 3rd fewest in the Northern Sun. Last weekend U-Mary turned the ball over just 21 times combined in the two games to stay right on average.

TURNING TURNOVERS INTO POINTS
In the five Northern Sun games this season, the Marauders have outscored the opponents off turnovers three times.

DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM
The Marauders rank sixth in the NSIC in assist to turnover ratio with a mark of 1.2. U-Mary averages 12.3 assists/game and 10.5 turnovers.

LEGAL THEFT
U-Mary ranks fifth in the NSIC in steals per game with 6.5. Marquealis Edwards is the ringleader with 1.8 per game, 3rd in the NSIC.

CHARITY DISPARITY
U-Mary opponents have made as many free throws this season as the Marauders have attempted - 126. The Marauders have gone to the free throw line 126 times and made 84 (66.7 percent). Opponents are 126-of-169 at the line (74.6 percent). Per game the Marauders attempt 15.75 free throws and make 10.5/game. Opponents average 21.25 attempts and a 15.75 makes. Since opening night, opponents have held the edge in both free throws attempted and made in each game.

BENEVOLENCE
Junior guard Marquealis Edwards is fourth in the NSIC in assists per game with 4.5. He is tied for third in steals.

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 14.1 PPG and Jefferson is right behind at 13.7 PPG. Scott is shooting 47.6 percent from the floor and has an impressive assist-to-steal ratio of 15-to-2. Lindquist is averaging over 20 minutes a game in the middle and 2.6 rebounds and 3.1 points.  

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 13th in the NSIC at 14.1 PPG. His 2.1 treys made per game is 7th in the NSIC. He has reached double figures in seven of nine games this season and has yet to miss a free throw in 12 attempts. For the season he is shooting 45.7 percent from the floor and is 17-of-42 behind the arc. He does have three games with three treys. One of his strongest games of the season came 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 six out of seven games this season. 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 13.7 PPG, a team-high 5.7 RPG and 1.0 steals while shooting 51.7 percent from the field and 73.3 percent at the line.

SHORTHANDED
The Marauders have played shorthanded much of the season but are close to whole now. Bryan Jefferson, Brandon Tyler and Luke Scott all missed the first two games. Leading returning scorer Chris Mason was injured in the opener and missed six games. While those four are now back in the lineup, senior guard Devan Douglas has missed four straight games.

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 14.1 PPG. Bryan Jefferson checks in at 13.7 PPG and Marquealis Edwards is at 13.0 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 11 minutes a game. Marquealis Edwards leads the way with 31.1 minutes/game with Damonta Henry checking in at 30.1.

MR. DO-IT-ALL
Marquealis Edwards does a little of everything for the Marauders. Averaging 13 PPG, which is third on the team, the junior guard is fourth in the NSIC in assists (4.5/game) and third in steals and 12th in assist-to-turnover ratio. Edwards is second on the team in rebounding (5.4/game) and free throw shooting (78.6 percent).

NEXT UP
After a 14 day break following the Minot State game, the Marauders open the 2015 portion of their schedule with games at the University of Minnesota Crookston and Bemidji State University on Jan. 1-2.