ST. CLOUD, Minn. – After slumping offensively last weekend, a potent University of Mary men's basketball lineup once again found ways to fill up the basket. Led by Marquealis Edwards and Bryan Jefferson, four Marauders starters reached double figures in scoring.
 
Unfortunately U-Mary's offensive success didn't carry over to the defensive end. St. Cloud State University struck early and often from long range and eventually held on late for a 90-84 win over the visiting Marauders.
 
The Huskies drained an impressive 11 treys in 18 attempts in the opening stanza and made 20-of-39 shots overall to build a 53-40 lead at intermission. While U-Mary's defense limited SCSU to a 29 percent shooting effort in the second half, the Huskies went 17-of-24 from the free throw line to withstand the Marauders late rally.
 
A close contest midway through the first half, Rickey Suggs tied the game 25-25 on a putback of an offensive rebound. Andy Foley responded with a 3-pointer for SCSU and the Huskies would lead the remainder of the game.
 
Looking to stay within single digits at half, Edwards hauled down a defensive rebound and went coast-to-coast for a fastbreak basket with 1:20 left, pulling U-Mary within 45-40. SCSU responded by scoring eight points in the final 65 seconds. Two treys by Scottie Stone and a Seth Mortag jumper sent the Huskies into the locker room with a 53-40 lead at intermission.
 
A Stone 3-pointer at 11:55 of the second half pushed the Huskies lead to 69-52, the home team's largest advantage of the night.
 
Refusing to just look to the next game, the Marauders began to cut into the deficit. An Edwards jumper at 5:38 pulled U-Mary within single digits at 73-64. After four straight points by the Huskies, an 6-0 run by the Marauders capped by a 3-point play by Suggs closed the gap to 77-70 at 2:54.
 
U-Mary could draw no closer until Devan Douglas hit a layup with 41 seconds remaining to make the score 84-78. After a two free throws combined on the Huskies next two possessions, a Darius Sparks trey decreased the gap to 86-81 with 13 seconds left. A pair of Mark Hall free throws with seven seconds seemed to seal the Marauders fate but Brandon Tyler hit a 3-pointer with three seconds left for an 88-84 deficit, the closest U-Mary had been to SCSU since midway through the first half. Hopes of a miracle faded, though, as Stone made two more free throws with a second remaining to clinch the SCSU win.
 
Despite the Huskies blistering start, the Marauders ended up with the better field goal percentage for the game, 47.6 percent to 41.4 percent. SCSU managed to hit 13 treys in the game, however, to nine for U-Mary. St. Cloud State also was 19-of-26 at the line while U-Mary finished 15-of-20.
Edwards led the Marauders with 19 points, making 7-of-11 shots from the floor. He also had eight rebounds, two steals, two blocks and two assists. Jefferson made 6-of-7 shots from the floor and made 6-of-8 free throws for 18 points. The junior forward led the team with three assists and added two steals. Douglas had 13 points and eight rebounds. Tyler was 4-of-9 behind the arc and added 12 points.
 
Stone scored a game-high 32 points for SCSU, hitting six treys in 12 attempts. Gage Davis added 20 points and nine rebounds.
 
Despite losing a fourth straight game, the Marauders (13-6 overall, 8-5 NSIC) didn't lose their slot in the standings. U-Mary remains fourth overall in the overall standings and is third in the NSIC North. SCSU is 9-10 and 6-7.
 
The Marauders next face the University of Minnesota Duluth on Saturday, January 23, at 6 p.m. U-Mary is one game back of UMD in the overall and divisional standings.
 
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