THIS WEEK
The University of Mary men's basketball team opens its Northern Sun home schedule by hosting the Northern State University Wolves and the nationally-ranked MSU Moorhead Dragons. The Marauders first tangle with the Wolves at 8 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 4. The weekend concludes against the Dragons at 6 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 5. Both games are set for the McDowell Activity Center.  

RECORDS
U-Mary is 4-1 overall and 1-0 in the Northern Sun
Northern State is 4-3 overall and 0-1 in the NSIC
MSU Moorhead is 7-1 overall and 1-0 in the NSIC

LAST TIME OUT
Following a 96-92 overtime loss to MSU Billings in the Marauders home opener, U-Mary defeated Minot State 78-66 on the road to open NSIC play
The Wolves defeated the University of Jamestown 87-82 on Monday
The 6th ranked Dragons defeated the University of Jamestown 86-74 on Tuesday

RADIO CHANGE FOR SATURDAY
Due to a scheduling conflict, Saturday's U-Mary basketball games against MSU Moorhead will air on Country 1130 KBMR instead of Fox Sports 710.

MARAUDERS-DRAGONS IS MIDCO SPORTS NET GAME OF THE WEEK
The Marauders - Dragons men's and women's basketball games will air tape-delayed as Midco SportsNet Game of the Week on Tuesday, December 9. The women's replay is set for 9 p.m. with the men's following at 11 p.m.

HISTORY LESSON - MARAUDERS v. WOLVES
The Marauders trail the Wolves 22-11 in the all-time series
U-Mary snapped a 5-game losing string against NSU 80-76 on 1.10.15, the last meeting between the two teams

Last Meeting
Despite playing on an injured leg, senior wing Chris Mason led the Marauders to an 80-76 home win over the Wolves on 1.10.15, who were receiving votes in the national poll. Mason scored 27 points and made 10-of-12 shots, including 3-of-5 behind the arc. Bryan Jefferson capped the win with a dunk with .8 seconds left in the game. Jaycob Velasco added 11 points and Jefferson nine. Skye Warwick had 14 for NSU.

HISTORY LESSON - MARAUDERS v. DRAGONS
The Marauders trail the Dragons 14-11 in the all-time series
Since joining the NCAA and NSIC, U-Mary is 6-12 against MSUM
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 UM wins that concluded with a 72-51 win over 19th ranked MSUM on Jan. 7, 2012, at the MAC.
The Dragons have won the last seven meetings with the Marauders
The Marauders last defeated the Dragons 72-51 on 1.7.12 at the MAC

Last Meeting
13th-ranked MSU Moorhead broke open a close game with an 11-0 run just before intermission and sailed past the homestanding Marauders 81-52. Germain Decoste led U-Mary with 11 points. Damonta Henry and Marquealis Edwards both added nine points. Aaron Lien has a game-high 20 points for the Dragons. Jordan Riewer hit 4-of-6 treys and added 16 points and nine assists.

LAST WEEK REWIND
Slow play to start the 1st and second half and overtime cost the Marauders in a 96-92 overtime loss to MSU Billings in U-Mary's home opener. The Yellowjackets opened the game with a 29-11 lead, scored 16 of the first 18 points in the second half and registered nine of the first 11 overtime points. U-Mary managed to overcome the first two deficits but couldn't dig out from the third. Bryan Jefferson led U-Mary with 18 points and 13 rebounds. Rickey Suggs nearly matched Jefferson with 18 and 11 off the bench. Marquealis Edwards and Brandon Tyler both had 14 points. Jace Anderson, who made 10-of-12 free throws in the final 58 seconds of overtime, had 30 points for MSUB. Christian Evans added 29... The Marauders opened NSIC action with a 78-66 win at Minot State. The win snapped a 5-game losing streak to the Beavers and was the first U-Mary win in Minot since 2004. Tied 60-60, the Marauders closed the game on an 18-6 run featuring points from six different players. Edwards led the Marauders with 22 points. He was 8-of-12 from the floor with seven rebounds and four steals. Tyler had 13 points and Suggs 12. Tyler Rudolph led MSU with 17 points and 10 rebounds.   

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

DOUBLE DOUBLE
The Marauders have had someone post a double double in each of the first four games of the season. Marquealis Edwards had 12 points and 10 rebounds against HSU. Bryan Jefferson followed with 21 and 12 against SAU. In the SDSMT win, Isaac Lindquish posted 12 points and 11 rebounds. Against MSU Billings, Jefferson had 18 points and 13 rebounds and Rickey Suggs added 18 and 11.

TURNOVER TURNAROUND
After posting 43 combined turnovers in the first two games, U-Mary has given the ball away just 31 times over its next three games (8 at SD Mines, 12 vs. MSU Billings, 11 at Minot State).                                          

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 in all five games.

FOUR SCORE
Four Marauders are averaging double figures this season. Senior guard Marquealis Edwards leads the way at 17.0 points/game. Close behind is junior forward Bryan Jefferson at 14.2 ppg. Senior guard Brandon Tyler pops for 13.4 PPG and junior forward Isaac Lindquist averages 10.2 PPG.

BALANCE
At least four Marauders have cracked double digits in four of five games this season, including six in a win at South Dakota School of Mines. The only time 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.

CONSISTENCY
Senior guard Brandon Tyler has posted double figures in points in all five U-Mary games this season, a feat he didn't accomplish last season and just three times as a sophomore. The Oshkosh, Wis., native posted double figures five times as a freshman. With consistent playing time this season Tyler is shooting .444 percent from the floor and is making half of his 3-point attempts (15-of-30). He also has made 12-of-15 free throws and is averaging 13.4 PPG.

BENCH BOOST
Junior guard/forward Rickey Suggs has been an offensive force for U-Mary the last two 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. He made 8-of-12 shots against the Yellowjackets and was 6-of-9 against the Beavers for a 66.7 percent field goal percentage on the week.

GO GO GO
The Marauders are averaging 84.4 points per game, fourth among teams in the Northern Sun. U-Mary's field goal percentage of 48.1 percent is fifth in the league and the team's 3-point percentage of 39.8 is fourth. The squad is also making 73.7 percent of their free throws to rank fourth.

BOARD PLAY
The Marauders are one of the top rebounding teams in the Northern Sun. U-Mary is second in the NSIC with a rebounding margin of +10.6.  

IMPACT
Marquealis Edwards is ranked among Northern Sun leaders in five categories. He is 2nd in steals (2.2/game), 7th in rebounds (7.2/game), 7th in field goal percentage (60.4), 8th in scoring (17.0/game) and 12th in free throw percentage (.833).