Men's Basketball | 12/16/2015 6:37:00 PM

THIS WEEK
Playing their fifth game in eight days, the University of Mary men's basketball team closes out the 2015 portion of their schedule when intrastate rival Minot State University visits on Friday, Dec. 18. Game time for this Northern Sun contest between the Marauders and Beavers is 8 p.m. at the McDowell Activity Center.

TELEVISION TIME
The Marauders-Beavers Northern Sun basketball doubleheader on Friday, Dec. 18, will be broadcast live throughout central and western North Dakota on the NBC North Dakota Sports Network Me-TV channels starting at 6 p.m. The North Dakota NBC Sports Network stations televising the contest on Me-TV are KFYR-TV in Bismarck (channel 5.3), KMOT-TV in Minot (10.3), KUMV-TV in Williston (8.3) and KQCD-TV in Dickinson (7.3). Nine-time North Dakota Sportscaster of the Year and KFYR-TV sports director Lee Timmerman is the television play-by-play announcer for the Marauders. Joining Timmerman in the booth as color commentator is Marissa DeCandido, the KFYR-TV weekend sports anchor and host of Marauders Weekly.
 
Me-TV can be seen over the air on the following channels:
5.3 Bismarck
10.3 Minot
8.3 Williston
7.3 Dickinson
11.2 Fargo
 
Me-TV can be seen on the following cable channels:
Midcontinent Communications – Ch. 595
Beach Cable TV – Ch. 7.3
Consolidated Cablevision - Ch. 22
BEK Communications – Ch. 7
ND Telephone Company– Ch. 15
SRT Communications - Ch. 109
United Telephone - Ch. 33
Reservation Telephone - Ch. 20
Northwest Communications Cooperative - Ch. 7

BRATS FOR THE BRAVE / MILITARY APPRECIATION NIGHT
The Chamber of Bismarck-Mandan is hosting "Brats for the Brave" to honor members of the United States military in conjunction with the Marauders men's and women's basketball games against Minot State University on Friday, Dec. 18. The Chamber Military Affairs Committee invites community members to dine with members of the military and thank them for their service at Chick's Place on the U-Mary campus. Brats and all the fixings are complimentary and will be served from 6:30-8 p.m. Also Military Appreciation Night at U-Mary, all Military Service members and their immediate family will be admitted to the Marauders-Beavers basketball games for free with a military ID.

RECORDS
U-Mary is 9-2 overall and 4-1 in the Northern Sun
Minot State is 4-6 overall and 0-5 in the NSIC

LAST TIME OUT
U-Mary won four games in five days. The string started with a 91-82 win at Southwest Minnesota State, followed by a 69-65 win at Sioux Falls. After a day off, the Marauders returned home to defeat non-conference foes Oglala Lakota College 144-60 and Presentation College 100-76.
Minot State was edged out in a pair of close games last weekend, 66-65 at Sioux Falls in overtime and 86-84 at Southwest Minnesota State.

HISTORY LESSON - MARAUDERS v. BEAVERS
The Marauders trail the Beavers in the all-time series 35-31
Series began in the 1976-77 season
The Beavers have won ten of the last 12 meetings

Last Meeting
In the opening NSIC game of the season, the Marauders defeated the Beavers 78-66. The U-Mary win snapped a 5-game losing streak to Minot State and was the first Marauders victory in the Magic City in over 11 years. Marquealis Edwards
scored a game-high 22 points to lead UM. He made 8-of-12 shots, including 3-of-5 behind the arc, and had seven rebounds and four steals. The Marauders scored 18 of the final 24 points of the game and 11 of the last 13. In the final 4:00 the U-Mary defense forced two turnovers held Minot State to 1-of-8 shooting.

LAST WEEK REWIND
Grabbing the lead for good during a 26-8 1st half run, U-Mary defeated Southwest Minnesota State 91-82 for the Marauders first-ever road win over the Mustangs. Bryan Jefferson scored 18 points. Marquealis Edwards combined 16 points with nine rebounds and five assists. Brandon Tyler and Damonta Henry both added 14 points. Joey Bartlett scored 12 points for the Mustangs.
U-Mary overcame a double digit deficit and held off a late Sioux Falls rally in a 69-64 Marauders road win over the Cougars. Tied 59-59, the Marauders ran off seven straight points and withstood two Cougars treys in the final 90 seconds. Damonta Henry scored 12 points to lead UM. Devon Douglas added 11 and Edwards had 10 with eight rebounds. Clint Thomas had 17 points for USF.
The Marauders set a team scoring record in a 144-60 non-conference win over Oglala Lakota College. All 11 Marauders scored in the game and ten reached double figures. U-Mary shot .736 from the field. Rickey Suggs led U-Mary with 20 points. Brian Jefferson had a double double with 12 points and 11 rebounds while Isaac Lindquist just missed at 11 and 9. Anthony Hopkins made eight treys and scored a game-high 30 points for the Bravehearts.
All 11 Marauders scored in a 100-76 non-conference win over Presentation College. U-Mary broke open a 6-point game at half with a 21-2 run to open the second half. Marquealis Edwards had U-Mary's first NCAA era triple double with 10 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists. Devan Douglas added 18 points and Bryan Jefferson had 17. Frank Cimino hit six treys and 26 points for PC.

FAST START
The Marauders nine wins in 11 games is U-Mary's best start during U-Mary's NCAA era, which began with the 2006-07 season.

FAST START II
It took the Marauders 11 games this season to reach nine wins. In the last decade the fewest games it took to reach nine wins was 13 games in 2010-11.

FAST START III
With four wins in five games, this is the Marauders best start in Northern Sun play. It took U-Mary six games to win four in 2009-10.

FIRST
For the first time since the NSIC went to North and South Divisions with the conference's expansion to 16 teams prior to the 2012-13 season, the Marauders swept a weekend series against NSIC South Division foes when U-Mary defeated SMSU 91-82 and Sioux Falls 69-64. The previous three seasons U-Mary was a combined 2-22 against NSIC South opposition.

THREE
Dating back to last year's win at St. Cloud State in the regular season finale, the Marauders have won three straight regular season conference road games, the team's best run since winning eight straight in Jan-Feb. 2011.

FOUR
The Marauders current four-game winning streak is the program's longest since winning 16 straight in Jan. - Feb. 2011.

NINE
With nine wins already this season the Marauders have matched last year's total. The last time U-Mary had more than nine wins was 2010-11 when the Marauders registered 23.

144
The 144 points scored by the Marauders in a win over Oglala Lakota College broke the school's previous mark of 129 set on Feb. 12, 1976. The 64 field goals is also a new team record. Additionally the Marauders set new NCAA era (fall 2006 and on) highs for field goal percentage (.736), rebounds (59) and assists (30).

600
Damonta Henry cracked 600 career points in the Marauders win over Presentation College. In 64 career games he has scored 605 points, an average of 9.5 PPG.

500
Marquealis Edwards surpassed 500 career points in the win over Oglala Lakota. The senior guard has scored 518 points in 42 games, an average of 12.3 PPG... Bryan Jefferson should be the next U-Mary player to eclipse 500 points. The junior forward is sitting at 477 points in 62 games.

REGIONAL RECOGNITION
The Marauders are receiving votes in the latest USBWA Central Regional poll released earlier this week. Here is the Week 5 poll:
1. MSU Moorhead (6) - 60
2. Augustana - 54    
3. Central Missouri - 42    
4. Northwest Mo. - 37    
5. Minnesota State - 35    
6. SW Oklahoma - 21    
7. Missouri Southern - 17    
8. Arkansas Tech - 16    
9-T. Pittsburg State - 10    
9-T. UM - Duluth - 10    
RV - Washburn, East Central, U-Mary

TRIPLE DOUBLE
Sr. G Marquealis Edwards recorded U-Mary's first triple double of the school's NCAA era in a 100-76 win over Presentation College on Dec. 15, 2015. The Minneapolis, Minn., native posted 10 points, 10 rebounds and 11assists. Edwards is also the first U-Mary player during the NCAA era to hit double figures in assists.

STAT STUFFER
It's no surprise that Marquealis Edwards would post the Marauders first triple double. He is ranked among Northern Sun leaders in five categories: 1st in steals (1.9/game), 8th in rebounds (6.9/game), 8th in assists (3.6/game), 12th in scoring (14.6/game) and 3rd in free throw percentage (.887).

MAKING SHOTS
U-Mary is connecting on 52.1 percent of its field goal attempts, ranking third in NCAA Division II and first in the Northern Sun.

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 nine times in 11 games.

TURNOVER TURNAROUND
After posting 43 combined turnovers in the first two games, U-Mary has given the ball away just 100 times over its next nine games, an average of 11.1/game. The most turnovers for the Marauders in the last nine games is 16 in the Northern State win while three times the squad has committed nine or fewer.                                           

GREAT EIGHT
Eight Marauders are averaging at least 8.3 points/game. A ninth checks in at 6.5 points/game.  

BOARD GAMES
The Marauders are one of the top rebounding teams in the nation. U-Mary is out-rebounding its opposition by 10.4 rebounds/game, the 6th best figure in NCAA Division II and the top mark in the NSIC.

BENCH BOOST
Damonta Henry has been on a roll coming off the bench for the Marauders. The junior guard has hit double digits in five straight games. During that stretch he is 13-of-20 behind the arc, 23-of-37 overall, and has averaged 12.2 points/game. For the season he is 4th on the Marauders in scoring at 9.3 PPG. He is shooting .467 overall and .500 on treys.