Men's Basketball | 12/10/2015 10:07:00 PM

THIS WEEK
Making their initial Northern Sun weekend doubleheader road trip of the season and facing teams from the southern division for the first time, the University of Mary visits both the Southwest Minnesota State University Mustangs and the University of Sioux Falls Cougars on Friday and Saturday, Dec. 11-12. The trip opens against the Mustangs in the R/A Facility in Marshall, Minn., at 8 p.m. on Friday. The Marauders then visit the Cougars at the Stewart Center In Sioux Falls, S.D., at 6 p.m. on Saturday.

EARLY NEXT WEEK
The Marauders play four games in five days. After returning home from SMSU and USF, U-Mary hosts a pair of non-conference games at the McDowell Activity Center on Dec. 14-15. On Monday the Marauders face the Oglala Lakota College Bravehearts. The Presentation College Saints visit on Tuesday. Tip off is 7 p.m. both nights.

U-MARY VS OGLALA LAKOTA RESCHEDULED FOR MONDAY, DEC. 14
The University of Mary men's basketball game with Oglala Lakota College which was postponed earlier this season will be played on Monday, Dec. 14. Game time for the Marauders - Bravehearts matchup is 7 p.m. at the McDowell Activity Center.

RECORDS
U-Mary is 5-2 overall and 2-1 in the Northern Sun
SMSU is 5-3 overall and 1-2 in the NSIC
Sioux Falls is 6-2 overall and 2-1 in the NSIC
Oglala Lakota is 0-14 prior to a pair of weekend home games
Presentation College is 7-1

LAST TIME OUT
After defeating Northern State 60-58 on Friday, the Marauders lost 98-81 to 6th ranked MSU Moorhead in a pair of home games.
Following an NSIC weekend series where both SMSU and USF defeated Upper Iowa but lost at Winona State, the Cougars defeated the visiting Mustangs 78-72 on Tuesday.
Oglala Lakota lost 135-47 at Briar Cliff on Dec. 6 (OLC hosts Fort Berthold and Malmstron on Dec. 11-12)
Presentation defeated Oak Hills Christian 108-64 on Dec. 5

HISTORY LESSON - MARAUDERS v. MUSTANGS
The Marauders trail the Mustangs in the series 11-2
U-Mary is 0-7 all-time at SMSU's R/A Facility
The Marauders are 2-4 all-time against the Mustangs at the MAC
U-Mary's last win over SMSU was 74-65 in Bismarck on 2/14/14
The Marauders lost their last visit to Marshall, Minn., 82-65 on February 26, 2014, in the opening round of the NSIC tournament

Last Meeting
Behind a stellar shooting performance, visiting SMSU defeated U-Mary 84-72 on Dec. 12, 2014. The Mustangs made 64.6 percent of their field goals - including a 14-of-23 effort on treys - while U-Mary checked in at 50 percent. An 18-5 run to open the second half broke open a 1-point game at intermission. Marquealis Edwards led U-Mary with 16 points, six assists and three steals. He also had five rebounds. Joey Bartlett had a game-high 24 points for SMSU.

HISTORY LESSON - MARAUDERS v. COUGARS
The Cougars lead the series with the Marauders 4-0
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:
Freddie Young hit an athletic basket with 3.3 seconds left in the game to lift visiting University of Sioux Falls past U-Mary 75-73. The game featured 12 lead changes and eight ties, all in the second half. The Marauders took their last lead of the game at 70-68 with 1:42 remaining on a Luke Scott layup in heavy traffic. A 3-pointer and two free throws for USF gave the Cougars a lead before Marquealis Edwards made 3-of-4 free throws in the final minute. Chris Mason led the Marauders with 15 points. Edwards had 13 points and nine rebounds. Jordan Stotts had 19 points for USF and Charles Ward added 18.

HISTORY LESSON - MARAUDERS v. BRAVEHEARTS
This is the first time U-Mary has faced Oglala Lakota College during the Marauders NCAA era.

HISTORY LESSON - MARAUDERS v. SAINTS
Since U-Mary began competing in the NCAA in 2006-07, the Marauders are 1-0 against Presentation College.
Last meeting: A dominant second half led U-Mary to a 75-61 home win over Presentation College on Nov. 16, 2013. Down by as many as nine points on the first half, the Marauders outscored the Saints 46-27 after intermission. Jalen Jaspers led the Marauders with 18 points. Marquealis Edwards added 12 points and five assists. Anthony Hendricks led PC with 17 points.

LAST WEEK REWIND
The Marauders opened last weekend with a 60-58 slugfest over Northern State University in a matchup between two of the top scoring teams in the Northern Sun. A Brandon Tyler free throw with 25 seconds on the clock broke a 57-57 tie and Marquealis Edwards sank two free throws with two seconds left to seal the win. In the last 3:40 of the game U-Mary dominated defensively, hauling down 9-of-12 live ball rebounds and holding NSU to one basket in six attempts. Edwards scored a game-high 16 points and had six rebounds and four steals. Darin Peterka had 13 points for NSU... The Marauders nearly matched #6 MSU Moorhead point for point in the opening half before the Dragons grabbed control early in the second on the way to a 98-81 win. A 49-46 game at intermission, the Dragons went on a 12-2 run to open the second stanza. Aaron Lein scored 11 of the points during the run for MSUM. The Marauders would close within eight points but no further. Damonta Henry led U-Mary with 14 points. Isaac Sevlie has 22 points and 13 rebounds and Lein 21 for the Dragons. U-Mary shot 50.9 percent for the game and MSUM 55.9 percent.

SOUTHERN HOSPITALITY
After opening up the Northern Sun schedule against fellow North Division foes, the Marauders face NSIC South opposition for the first time this season when U-Mary plays at Southwest Minnesota State and Sioux Falls.

SOUTHERN STRUGGLES
Since the NSIC went to North and South divisions with the conference's growth to 16 teams prior to the 2012-13 season, the Marauders have struggled against teams in the other division. In three seasons U-Mary is 2-22 against NSIC South opposition. The Marauders picked up a home win over Southwest Minnesota State in the 2013-14 season and gained a road win over Upper Iowa University last year.

FAST START
The Marauders five wins in seven games is U-Mary's best start since opening the 2010-11 season with the same record. The Marauders went on to win 23 games that season and capture the school's lone NCAA tournament berth.

FAST START II
The 2-0 start in Northern Sun play was a first for the Marauders since winning their first two conference games to start the 2009-10 season. U-Mary won five of its first seven NSIC games that season and finished 11-9 in league play.

TURNOVER TURNAROUND
After posting 43 combined turnovers in the first two games, U-Mary has given the ball away just 55 times over its next five games, an average of 11.0/game. The most turnovers for the Marauders in the last five games is 16 in the Northern State win while three times the squad has committed nine or fewer.                                           

POINTS
Last season the Marauders scored 77 or more points seven times in 27 games. This year the Marauders have scored 77 or more points six times in just seven games.

GREAT EIGHT
Eight Marauders have played in all seven games and all eight players are averaging at least 5.7 points/game.

BALANCE
At least four Marauders have cracked double digits in five of seven games this season, including six in a win at South Dakota School of Mines. The only times U-Mary hasn't had four double digit scorers was in a 77-76 win over Southern Arkansas when the Marauders fourth-leading scored had nine points and a 60-58 win over Northern State.

BENCH BOOST
Junior guard/forward Rickey Suggs has been an offensive force for U-Mary the last four games. He scored 18 points and hauled down 11 rebounds against MSU Billings and followed with 12 points and five rebounds in the win at Minot State. After scoring just six points but snaring seven rebounds in the Northern State win, Suggs had 10 points and a rebound against #6 MSU Moorhead. In his last four games Suggs is averaging 11.5 points/game and 6.0 rebounds/game while making 22-of-37 field goals.

GO GO GO
The Marauders are averaging 80.4 points per game, seventh among teams in the Northern Sun. U-Mary's field goal percentage of 47.2 percent is seventh in the league and the team's 3-point percentage of 37.8 is seventh. The squad is also making 71.1 percent of their free throws to rank seventh.

BOARD PLAY
The Marauders are one of the top rebounding teams in the Northern Sun. U-Mary is fourth in the NSIC with a rebounding margin of +6.9.  

IMPACT
Marquealis Edwards is ranked among Northern Sun leaders in five categories. He is 2nd in steals (2.3/game), 12th in rebounds (6.4/game), 4th in field goal percentage (59.1), 11th in scoring (16.3/game) and 7th in free throw percentage (.875).