SATURDAY
Making its first road trip of the Northern Sun season, the University of Mary battles its two closest border schools, the Northern State University Wolves in Aberdeen, S.D., and the MSU Moorhead Dragons in Moorhead, Minn. The Marauders first tangle with the Wolves at 8 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 5, in Wachs Arena. The weekend concludes against the Dragons in Alex Nemzek Fieldhouse on Saturday, Dec. 6, at 6 p.m.

RECORDS
The Marauders are 2-3 overall and 0-1 in the Northern Sun... The Wolves are 5-1 overall and 0-1 in the Northern Sun... The #19 Dragons are 8-0 overall and 1-0 in the Northern Sun.

LAST WEEK
The Marauders opened NSIC play with a 66-61 home loss to Minot State... The Dragons went on the road and defeated the Wolves 75-55 in the NSIC opener for the two travel partners.

CHANGE YOUR RADIO DIAL ON SATURDAY TO 1130 KBMR
Due to scheduling conflicts, the University of Mary basketball games against MSU Moorhead on Saturday, Dec. 6, will be broadcast on 1130 KBMR (www.kbmr.com). Catch the pre-game show with "Voice of the Marauders" Rick Anthony at 3:30 p.m. The Marauders women's game is set for 4 p.m. with the men to follow at approximately 6 p.m. All other games will be heard on Fox Sports 710 AM (www.foxsports710.com), the radio Home of the Marauders.   

HISTORY LESSON - MARAUDERS v. WOLVES
The Marauders and Wolves have played 31 times with the Wolves holding a 21-10 advantage. The Wolves have won the last four meetings... Last Meeting: Damonta Henry hit two straight 3-pointers but just missed a third in the closing seconds of a 72-69 Marauders loss at Northern State on Feb. 21, 2014. Trailing the Wolves by 14 points with 4:06 left in the game, the Marauders went on a 17-6 run that featured 12 points on four treys by Henry. The freshman led the Marauders with 20 points and was 6-of-8 behind the arc. Chris Mason added 11 and Bryan Jefferson and Marc Musungayi both had 10 for U-Mary. Seth Bachand paced NSU with 13 points and Tydan Storrusten and Mitch White both contributed 10.

HISTORY LESSON - MARAUDERS v. DRAGONS
In the all-time series between U-Mary and MSU Moorhead, the Dragons lead 12-11. Since joining the NCAA and NSIC, U-Mary is 6-10 against MSU Moorhead. The Marauders won the first conference match-up with a 75-72 win at MSUM on January 16, 2007. The Dragons followed with five straight wins, including an overtime victory, one win by one point and another by two points. The Marauders snapped the Dragons streak with a decisive 74-58 win at home on Jan. 30, 2010, the first of five straight wins that concluded with a 72-51 win over 19th ranked MSUM on Jan. 7, 2012, at the MAC. At present the Dragons have spun together five straight wins... Last meeting: Chris Mason scored a career-high 29 points but his last second shot in overtime just missed in the Marauders 95-94 barn-burning road loss to the Dragons on February 22, 2014, the final regular season game of the year. The win gave MSUM the Northern Sun North Division title. The Dragons won the game on a three-point play by Tyler Vaughn, who hit the layup in the lane and made the subsequent free throw. Mason was 5-of-8 from the arc and 11-of-17 from the floor on his way to 29 points. Marc Musungayi had 17, Damonta Henry knocked down four treys and scored 16 and Bryan Jefferson added 15. Vaughn led the Dragons with 26 points, Isaac Seville scored 16 off the bench and Tarrell Clark had 15.

RANDOM RAMBLINGS
This is the first full weekend of doubleheader action in the Northern Sun... Both Northern State and U-Mary are looking for the first NSIC wins of the season... Outside of instate rival Minot State, MSU Moorhead and Northern State are the two closest NSIC foes for U-Mary, each just over 200 miles away... Northern State and U-Mary were travel partners the first six seasons the Marauders were members of the NSIC and prior to Minot State joining the league in 2012-13.

COMMONALITY
The Marauders have not played any of the same teams Northern State or MSU Moorhead have faced this season.

THE OPPONENT: Northern State University Wolves
In the midst of a seven-game home stand, Northern State's only blemish on the season is a 75-55 loss to nationally-ranked MSU Moorhead in the NSIC opener last weekend. A balanced Wolves attack is led by senior forward Seth Bachand, who is posting 14.7 points/game and 8.9 rebounds/game. He is shooting an impressive 71 percent from the floor and also has 10 blocks. Darin Peterka is chipping in 12.6 PPG and 4.6 RPG while leading the team with 14 steals and 21 assists. Skye Warwick is the top deep threat, connecting on 20 treys in just 36 attempts for a 55 percent shooting percentage behind the arc. He is averaging 11.1 PPG. Overall the Wolves average 77 PPG and allow 71.

THE OPPONENT: MSU Moorhead Dragons
The defending NSIC North Division champions are off to another strong start. The Dragons have captured all eight of their games and are ranked 19th in the nation, according to the latest NABC poll. Head coach Chad Walthall has posted a mark of 83-41 at MSUM in five seasons and his winning percentage of .669 is second best in school history. He is one win away from 200 career collegiate coaching wins. The preseason favorite to repeat atop the NSIC North, the Dragons allow just 59.9 points per game while scoring 83.9 and shooting 52.6 percent, including 48 percent behind the arc. MSUM is outrebounding its opponents by 7.1 per game. Aaron Lien leads the Dragons with 14.0 PPG behind an amazing 22-of-35 effort behind the arc (62.9 percent). All-NSIC point guard Jordan Riewer averages 13.6 PPG and 5.9 assists/game and has made 19-of-35 3-point attempts. Forward Isaac Sevile chips in 10.8 PPG.    

LAST WEEK
The Marauders opened NSIC play on Thanksgiving weekend with a 66-61 home loss to Minot State. Marquealis Edwards and Bryan Jefferson both scored 13 points for U-Mary and Jaycob Velasco added 12. Everett Robinson led Minot State with 19 and was named the NSIC Player of the Week. The Marauders went to the free throw line just six times (making three), compared to 20 for the Beavers (making 12).

MY PRESCIOUS
Treating the ball like Bilbo Baggins treats The Ring, the Marauders committed just seven turnovers against Minot State. U-Mary is one of the top teams in the NCAA in protecting the ball, averaging just 11.0 turnovers, 25th fewest in the country.

OH HENRY
After reaching double digits in each of the first four games, Damonta Henry just missed a fifth straight when he scored nine against Minot State. For the year he is averaging 14.8 PPG, has made all 11 free throw attempts and is shooting 46.7 per cent.

BENCH BOOST
Coming off the bench, Bryan Jefferson has posted double figure points in all three of his games. He is averaging a team-high 19.0 PPG and shooting 53.6 percent. He also leads the team with 6.5 rebounds.

MR. DO-IT- ALL
Jr. guard Marquealis Edwards averages 11.0 PPG and 4.5 rebounds, leads the team with 4.5 assists/game and is 12-of-14 on free throws.