ST. PAUL, Minn. - After keeping the game within striking distance, the University of Mary Men's basketball team had a comeback that fell just short in the second half as they fell in the opening round of the 2015 NSIC/Sanford Health Tournament to Concordia University-St. Paul on the road, 78-65.
 
The Marauders (9-18) kept the game close in the first half as they held the lead by the 3:58 mark against the Golden Bears (19-10), but ultimately the offense stalled late in the second en route to the loss.
 
U-Mary utilized good ball movement and some stringent defense early in the first as they held a 16-13 lead over the Golden Bears by the first media timeout thanks to solid interior play from Germain Decoste and Bryan Jefferson.
 
Jaycob Velasco provided the deep threat and the Marauders built their lead up to 23-17 by the second media break as Concordia-St. Paul struggled to find an answer for the Marauders defense. U-Mary continued that trend all the way to the final media break of the first half as they maintained their lead at 27-23.
 
By the end of the first half, however, the Golden Bears appeared to find their groove and turned the tables on U-Mary with an 11-4 run to close out the half with the Marauders on the negative end of a 34-31 score.
 
U-Mary would not be deterred so easily as they stayed close behind Concordia-St. Paul 40-39 with 13:19 remaining in the second half after a Jefferson free throw.
 
Unfortunately the Golden Bears fired off a 14-2 run that lasted until the 7:57 mark of the second half which put U-Mary into an unrecoverable tailspin. The Marauders were able to match Concordia-St. Paul for each basket but couldn't find the spark to ignite the offense and ended up falling to the Golden Bears, 78-65.
 
Jefferson led the Marauders on offense, as he was one of four U-Mary players to register double-digit points with 15. He also grabbed 12 rebounds to earn his third double double of the year to go with his 4-for-11 shooting from the field and 7-for-10 from the line in 24 minutes on the floor.
 
Decoste kept up his production as of late with 14 points on 7-for-12 shooting to go with five rebounds, one assist, and one block in 31 minutes.
 
Velasco provided a threat from multiple phases of the game as he added 10 points, four rebounds, one assist, and one steal in 22 minutes off the bench.
 
Damonta Henry also got the call from the bench as responded with 11 points, two assists and a rebound in 30 minutes on the court.
 
Marquelis Edwards provided the hustle with five points, six rebounds and two assists in 22 minutes, but was limited due to foul trouble through most of the game.
 
With the Marauders season coming to a close they'll have a lot to look forward to next year, as they'll have a multitude of players returning with extensive playing experience.
 
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