THIS WEEKEND
The University of Mary sets sail for central Minnesota on the final weekend of the regular season to visit a pair of foes who most likely will host first round Northern Sun tournament games. The Marauders first face the University of Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs on Saturday, Feb. 20. Game time is 8 p.m. at Romano Gymnasium. U-Mary concludes the regular season when the Marauders tangle with the St. Cloud State University Huskies on Saturday, Feb. 21. Tip off is 6 p.m. at Halenbeck Hall.

RECORDS
U-Mary is 8-16 overall and 6-14 in the Northern Sun (6th NSIC North Division, 12th overall)
UMD Bulldogs are 13-13 overall and 10-10 in the NSIC (4th NSIC North, 8th overall)
SCSU Huskies are 16-10 overall and 12-8 in the NSIC (3rd NSIC North Division, t-5th overall)

LAST TIME OUT
The Marauders swept a pair of home games, defeating Bemidji State 75-66 and Minnesota Crookston 59-50
Minnesota Duluth split two road games, falling 89-67 at #9 MSU Moorhead before defeating Northern State 67-63
St. Cloud State defeated Northern State 92-81 before #9 MSU Moorhead snapped the Huskies five game winning streak 94-76 in a pair of road games

WEEKEND HEADLINES
After jumping two spots in the NSIC North standings last weekend, the Marauders look to hold on to sixth place in the division
A pair of U-Mary wins this weekend and a pair of Southwest Minnesota State losses would allow the Marauders to jump into a tie for 11th in the NSIC
The Marauders cannot move ahead in the NSIC North standings
Seniors Alex Anderson, Germain Decoste, Chris Mason and Chad Newell play their final regular season home games for the Marauders
The Marauders are 5-2 on Saturdays in 2015
Marauders are 24th nationally in fewest turnovers/game (11.8)
Marquealis Edwards ranks in the Northern Sun top 23 in points, rebounds, steals, assists and assist/turnover ratio

NSIC PLAYOFFS
The opening round of the Northern Sun tournament begins Wednesday, Feb. 25. The top four teams in both the North and South divisions host. The 1st place team in each division hosts the 8th place team in the other division, the 2nd the 7th, the 3rd the 6th and the 4th the 5th. First round winners advance to the quarterfinals on March 1 at the Sanford Health Pentagon in Sioux Falls, S.D. The semifinals are March 2 and the championship game is March 3. The NSIC tournament champion gains an automatic berth into the NCAA regional tournament.

MARAUDERS PLAYOFF PROJECTION
Currently the Marauders hold the sixth seed in the NSIC North, one game ahead of Minnesota Crookston and two ahead of Bemidji State. With UMC and BSU facing MSU Moorhead and Northern State this weekend, the two top teams in the NSIC North, chances are good U-Mary will remain in the sixth slot. Should the Marauders finish tied with either the Golden Eagles or the Beavers the Marauders will own the tiebreaker over both and would receive the better seed. Should U-Mary and UMC end up tied, the two teams split the season series but the Marauders have a better divisional mark (5-7 for UM and 3-9 for UMC) to win the tiebreaker. U-Mary swept BSU to claim the tiebreaker over the Beavers... The Marauders most likely will face Concordia-St. Paul. Currently third, the Golden Bears hold a one game lead in the NSIC South standings over Upper Iowa. Concordia visits Southwest Minnesota State and Sioux Falls, the 6th and 7th place teams in the South. Upper Iowa hosts NSIC-leading Augustana and last-place Wayne State. Should CSP and UIU finish tied in the standings, the Peacocks hold the tiebreaker by virtue of sweeping the season series with the Golden Bears.

HISTORY LESSON - MARAUDERS v. BULLDOGS
U-Mary trails Minnesota Duluth 5-7 in the all-time series
The Marauders first victory over the Bulldogs was an 80-77 overtime win on 1.16.09.
The Marauders have won the last two meetings against the Bulldogs
Last Meeting
Jaycob Velasco scored a season-high 24 points and U-Mary held off a late rally by Minnesota Duluth to grab a 75-71 home win. The Marauders led 42-25 at half but the Bulldogs managed to tale a lead late in the game. Marquealis Edwards drained a trey with 2:22 remaining to give U-Mary a 71-68 lead. Damonta Henry and Isaac Lindquist both hit a pair of free throws late in the game to secure the Marauders win. Edwards added 14 points and six assists for U-Mary and Germain Decoste chipped in 11 points and six boards. Brett Ervin led all players with 31 points for UMD. Pierre Newton added 18.

HISTORY LESSON - MARAUDERS v. HUSKIES
U-Mary is 7-9 all-time against St. Cloud State
The Marauders are 5-2 at home, 2-5 at SCSU and 0-2 on neutral ground
U-Mary's first NCAA win came at SCSU 86-77 on 11.18.06
U-Mary's signature NCAA win was a 77-48 home victory over #8 SCSU on 12.16.07
The two teams split last season, each winning at home
Last Meeting
St. Cloud State outlasted U-Mary in a 96-88 Huskies win over the Marauders on 1.23.15 at the McDowell Activity Center. The Marauders connected for six more field goals and held a 41-30 edge in rebounds over the Huskies but SCSU made five more three-pointers and was 23-of-27 at the free throw line while U-Mary was 8-of-14. U-Mary was within 77-76 with less than four minutes remaining before SCSU used a 10-2 run to create separation. Five Marauders reached double figures, led by 22 points from Marquealis Edwards. He also had eight rebounds and seven assists. Bryan Jefferson had a double double with 12 points and 11 boards. Jaycob Velasco and Damonta Henry combined for 31 points off the bench and the Marauders held a 37-7 edge in points by reserves. Scott Stone hit six treys and led SCSU with 29 points. Jordan Poydras added 27 and Donnell Cegers had 25.

THE OPPONENT: Minnesota Duluth
Looking to finish in the upper half of the Northern Sun, the Bulldogs are currently 8th in the league and own a record of 13-13 overall and 10-10 in NSIC contests. UMD has already exceeded last year's win total of 12. Head coach Jeff Bowen is in his third season at UMD after several years at Bemidji State. Senior center Brett Ervin is one of the top offensive players in the NSIC. His 18.2 PPG is fifth in the league. He is making 46 percent of his field goal attempts, 39.1 percent of his trey attempts, and is shooting 80 percent at the line. Ervin also averages 5.3 rebounds/game. Three other Bulldogs also average double digits. Pierre Newton contributes 13.4 PPG and a team-high 5.6 RPG. Brendon Pineda averages 11.3 PPG and 5.4 RPG and Taylor Lavery is scoring 10.8 PPG. Fourteenth out of 16 teams in the NSIC in scoring at 69.6 PPG, the Bulldogs allow just 69 PPG, fifth in the league.

THE OPPONENT: St. Cloud State University
One of the top teams in the league, St. Cloud State was ranked ninth in the first NCAA regional poll of the season. The top eight teams qualify for the regional tournament. Longtime Huskies assistant coach Matt Reimer was elevated to head coach of St. Cloud State during the offseason after the retirement of the highly-successful Kevin Schlagel. Reimer joined SCSU as a graduate assistant in 1995 before becoming an assistant in 1997. Junior guard Jordan Poydras has reached double figures in points 14 straight games and leads a high-powered Huskies offense that averages 81.2 points per game. Poydras is scoring 19.2 points/game and leads the squad with 104 assists and 43 steals. He is 3rd in the NSIC in scoring, fifth in assists and third in steals. Senior center James Fort averages 10.6 PPG, 4.9 rebounds/game and is shooting an NSIC-leading 73 percent. Fort is fifth in blocks with 1.4/game. Sophomore forward Scottie Stone also chips in 13.7 PPG and shoots .450 behind the arc.

REWIND
The Marauders opened their final weekend of the season with a 75-66 win over Bemidji State. U-Mary exploded for 50 points in the second half to run away from BSU. Jaycob Velasco and Chris Mason combined to score 13 points during a 15-3 second half run to build a 55-43 lead. Velasco led the Marauders with 22 points. He had eight rebounds and hit four treys. Marquealis Edwards posted a double double with 14 points and 11 rebounds. Germain Decoste added 10 points. Shane White paced BSU with 12 points and Cody Risseeuw added 11... A dominant first half drove the Marauders to a 59-50 win over UMC on Senior Night. U-Mary led 30-18 at the half and built a 57-38 advantage in the second half. Germain Decoste hit 6-of-9 shots and scored a game-high 14 points in his final home game for the Marauders. Jaycob Velasco added 12 points and Chris Mason added 10. Kevin Larson had 12 points and eight rebounds for UMC.  

ANDERSON RECEIVES OLSON AWARD
Kevin Olson was known on the basketball court as an exceptional shooter and fierce competitor. Professionally, his business abilities, values and ethics brought him success and admiration. What truly set him apart in life, though, was his integrity, courage, moral values and commitment to his family, friends, faith and community. Kevin helped the Marauders to 94 wins while scoring 1,496 points, the fifth-greatest point total in school history. In 1982, the Marauders compiled a 30-2 record and advanced to the NAIA national tournament. As a senior in 1983, Kevin earned All-District 12 honors. Twice Kevin was inducted into the Marauders Hall of Fame, first in 1991 as a member of the 1981-82 team and again in 1996 as an Outstanding Athlete.     In March 2006 at the age of 45, Kevin died after battling cancer.     In memory of Kevin's truly successful life and integrity, moral values and commitment that made him an exceptional husband, father, friend and teammate, Kevin's friends established the Kevin Olson Basketball Scholarship at the University of Mary. The scholarship will be awarded annually to a men's basketball player who exemplifies the things his friends remember most about Kevin – integrity, leadership and teamwork.     The ninth annual Kevin Olson Basketball Scholarship recipient is Alex Anderson. A senior guard from Oshkosh, Wis., Alex is working on a degree in Exercise Science. He is the son of Karen and James Anderson.     "There is nobody more deserving than Alex Anderson of a reward that is based on integrity, leadership and teamwork," said Marauders head coach Jevin Budde. "He exemplifies each of those attributes on a daily basis."     Bill Shetler was the inaugural recipient of the Kevin Olson Scholarship in 2007. Subsequent recipients are Jason Weidman (2008), Jordan Engelhardt (2009), Danny Sandvig (2010), Jordan Wilhelm (2011), Baley Johnson (2012), Alex Dorr (2013) and Mike Johnson (2014).

SATURDAY NIGHT'S ALRIGHT (FOR WINNING)
The Marauders have won five of their seven Saturday games in 2015.

SUCCESSFUL SENIOR NIGHT
Nine different Marauders scored in a 59-50 Senior Night win over Minnesota Crookston, including three of the four seniors. Forward Germain Decoste tied his career high with 14 points to lead all players in his final game in the McDowell Activity Center. Chris Mason added ten points and Alex Anderson two. While Chadwick Newell was the only U-Mary senior not to score, he entered the contest late in the game to probably the biggest ovation of the night.

VELASCO ON FIRE
Jaycob Velasco continued his tremendous play of late with another strong performance last weekend. The junior forward scored 34 points in the two games, popping for 22 against Bemidji State and 12 against Minnesota Crookston. In the last eight games Velasco is averaging a team-high 16.4 PPG and converting 59.1 percent of his shots. Behind the arc he is clicking at 52.8 pecent (19-of-36). The transfer from Cosumnes River CC has now reached double figures in nine of his last 11 games and 16 times overall. He averages 11.2 PPG and shoots 48.5%.

DIVERSIFICATION
Five Marauders are averaging 9.5 PPG for the season. Marqualis Edwards leads the way at 12.5 PPG, followed by Jaycob Velasco (11.2 PG), Bryan Jefferson (10.4 PPG), Damonta Henry (9.7 PPG) and Chris Mason (9.5 PPG).

STAT STUFFER
One of the top all-around players in the Northern Sun, junior guard Marquealis Edwards is 23rd in the NSIC in scoring (12.5 PPG), 13th in rebounding (5.6 RPG), 4th in assists (4.5 APG), 6th in steals (1.5 SPG), 9th in assists to turnover ratio (1.8) and 8th in defensive rebounds (4.5 RPG).

REJECTION COLLECTION
In two seasons at U-Mary, Germain Decoste has cracked the Marauders career leader board in blocked shots (since 1989). The senior forward has 42 career blocks, moving him into fifth place all-time. For the season the Fort Lauderdale, Fla., native is 10th in the NSIC with 0.9 blocks/game. He had 20 blocks last season in 27 games. In fourth place ahead of Decoste in blocks with 52 is Marc Musungayi (2012-14). The all-time school leader is Marc Hawley (1995-97) with 108... Decoste is also 12th in the NSIC in shooting percentage (55.1) and averages 7.9 points and 4.3 rebounds per game.