SATURDAY
Playing their third straight home game this week, the University of Mary hosts in-state rival Minot State University to open the 22-game Northern Sun conference schedule on Saturday, Nov. 26. Game time between the Marauders and the Beavers is 6 pm at the McDowell Activity Center.

RECORDS
The University of Mary is 1-4 and has not yet begun Northern Sun play... Minot State is 4-2 this season and has yet to play an NSIC contest.

LAST TIME OUT
The Marauders lost 77-63 to a hot-shooting South Dakota School of Mines & Technology squad on Tuesday... The Beavers defeated Valley City State 75-60 at home on Tuesday.

HISTORY LESSON - MARAUDERS v. BEAVERS
The Marauders trail the Beavers in the all-time series 35-32
Series began in the 1976-77 season
The Beavers have won ten of the last 13 meetings
The Marauders swept last year's series (78-66 at MSU, 72-71 at home)

Last Meeting
In the final meeting before the 2016 Christmas break, Bryan Jefferson scored a career-high 29 points to help the Marauders hold off the Beavers 72-71. Jefferson made all 11 free throws he attempted and made 9-of-13 shots from the floor. He also had 11 rebounds. Brandon Tyler added 13 points and Marquealis Edwards 12 for the Marauders. Tyler Rudolph led the Beavers with 18 points and 12 rebounds and Luis Ricca Maia knocked down four treys and scored 14 points.

LAST YEAR
The Marauders finished 19-12 overall and 12-10 in the NSIC to place 6th overall and third among NSIC North teams. Mary advanced to the NSIC conference tournament semifinals... The Beavers finished 15-14 overall and 10-12 in NSIC play.

LISTEN LIVE
University of Mary fans can listen to all Marauders conference games live on Fox Sports 710 as Rick Anthony, the Voice of the Marauders, brings you all the game action. You can also listen live online at www.foxsports710.com. Click the "Listen Live" link to stream the game in real time.

LAST WEEK
The Marauders split a pair of home games this week. On Monday, a second half surge led Mary to a 85-53 win over Yellowstone Christian. Down 39-37, the Marauders outscored the Centurions 48-14 the remainder of the game. Damonta Henry scored a career-high 26 points and Pat Thomas posted a double double with ten points and ten assists. The assists were one short of the Marauders NCAA-era school record. Trevor Zacher hit four treys and scored 16 points and Bryan Jefferson added 12... The following night the Marauders were unable to hold their halftime lead in a 77-63 home loss to South Dakota School of Mines & Technology. Mary led 37-35 at intermission but Mines shot 59 percent from the floor in the second half to pull away. The Marauders shot just 29 percent in the second half, including a 1-of-10 effort from behind the arc. Jefferson led the Marauders with 22 points. Konor Kulas had 23 points and 12 rebounds for the Hardrockers.

THE OPPONENT
Coming off a 15-14 record last year, the Beavers first NCAA-era winning season, the Beavers have won four straight and are 4-2 entering Saturday's game at the MAC. The Mary game completes a complete throwback NDCAC swing for Minot State, which has faced old North Dakota College Athletic Conference foes Jamestown, Dickinson State, Mayville State and Valley City State leading up to the Marauders meeting. Head coach Matt Murken is in his fifth season at MSU and has a combined record of 51-67 with the Beavers. MSU has demonstrated a potent offense this season, averaging 82.8 points/game while shooting 53 percent from the floor. Additionally the Beavers are making 42.1 percent of their 3-point attempts. The Beavers are also +5.2 in rebounds. One of the top scorers in the NSIC, junior all-conference forward Tyler Rudolph is averaging 21.2 points/game and has 872 points in his career. Rudolph also leads the team with 8.7 rebounds/game. Second on the squad in scoring is Luis Ricci Maia at 13.2 PPG. Stevan Jovanovic is at 12.8 PPG and shoots 57.4 percent from the floor.  

RADIANT SUN
In the Marauders home opener against Yellowstone Christinan, Trevor Zacher took the first four shots of the game for Mary. All four shots were from behind the arc and he buried all four. Zacher later added a dunk and finished the day with a career-high 16 points.

OH HENRY
Damonta Henry scored a career-high 26 points in the Marauders win over Yellowstone Christian. He was 5-for-11 on treys and added six rebounds, four steals and three assists. His previous high was 25 against Augustana. At 15.6 PPG this season Henry is 18th in the NSIC in scoring and 11th in free throw percentage (.846) and 5th in treys/game (3.0).

DROPPING DIMES
Senior guard Pat Thomas just missed the Marauders NCAA-era school single game assist record. His passes directly led to ten baskets for Mary. Thomas also added ten points for the first Marauders double double of the season. Thomas is fifth in the NSIC in assists at 4.4/game and 3rd in steals (1.6).

PRESIDENTIAL
Senior all-NSIC forward Bryan Jefferson broke the 20-point barrier for the first time this season against South Dakota Mines. Jefferson added six rebounds, two assists and three steals. The multi-talented player is 23rd in the NSIC in scoring (14.6 PPG) and 11th in steals (1.4/game).

ROAD TO 1,000
A pair of Marauders seniors are closing in on 1,000 points this season. Bryan Jefferson sits at 889 and Damonta Henry has 817. 16 Maraders have reached four digits in scoring, led by Scott Kleinjan with 2,268. The last Marauder to reach that plateau was Anthony Moody (1,126) and Jordan Wilhelm (1,129) in 2011. A third player on that team, fellow senior Eric Erdmann, also scored 1,642 in his career.

INSTANT IMPACT
Continuing to come off the bench to provide the Marauders an immediate boost, Rickey Suggs exceeded double digits in points three of five games this season. The senior forward had 11 points against Lincoln in the opener and followed with 14 points and eight rebounds against SBU, making 6-of-9 shots. Against Mines he had 10 points and three rebounds, making 5-of-8 shots.

HALFTIME LEADERS
In five games this season, the only team Mary has trailed at intermission was NCAA Division I and Big Ten member Nebraska. The Marauders were tied with Yellowstone Christian at break and led the other three games. None of the leads were more than two points, however.