THIS WEEK
Facing their travel partner for the second and final time of the regular season, the University of Mary men's basketball team visits Minot State University on Saturday, Dec. 17. The final game of the 2016 calendar year for the Marauders, game time is 6 pm at the Minot State Dome.

THE RECORD
After splitting their first Northern Sun home doubleheader of the season last weekend, the Marauders are 5-6 overall and 3-2 in league play.

LAST TIME OUT
Mary defeated Wayne State College 85-78 before suffering an 89-75 loss to #21 Augustana.

FAST BREAKS
The Marauders three game home and overall win streak ended at three with the loss to #21 Augie on Saturday
Mary has five wins in their last seven games
Through five games, Mary is 6th in the NSIC with a 3-2 league record
Mary is one of just seven teams with a winning record in NSIC play
1,000 point watch: Bryan Jefferson has 982 career points and Damonta Henry sits at 889
In only the fourth week of Northern Sun play, the Marauders will play travel partner Minot State for the second and final time this regular season. Mary has yet to face ten other teams in the NSIC.
Home fans won't see the Marauders back at the MAC until Jan. 6-7 against Minnesota Duluth and St. Cloud State.
In their first five conference games the Marauders have faced the two teams ranked nationally in the NSIC in the D2SIDA poll (#20 MSU Moorhead and #23 Augie) and three of the other six teams with winning conference records (Augie, MSUM, Northern State).

MINOT STATE UNIVERSITY HEADLINES
The Beavers are 5-6 overall and 1-4 in the NSIC
Minot State earned probably its biggest win as an NCAA Division II member when it defeated nationally ranked defending national champion Augustana 88-84 last Friday. The Beavers led by as many as 15 points and shot 54 percent from the floor. Tyler Rudolph led MSU with 22 points and had eight rebounds. Five MSU players scored in double figures.
Minot State wrapped up the home weekend with an 85-80 loss to Wayne State College
Head coach Matt Murken is in his 5th season at MSU and is 52-71. Including two seasons at Jamestown College, Murken is 98-87 as a head coach. Last season he led the Beavers to their first winning season in NCAA Division II.
After winning four straight home games against the four NAIA schools in the state, MSU has lost 4-of-5, all NSIC contests
The Beavers are 1-6 against NCAA Division II competition this season
MSU is outscoring its opposition 82.1 to 79.1 and has a .517 to .478 edge in shooting percentage while holding a +2.5 rebounding advantage
Jr. F Tyler Rudolph averages 21.0 PPG and 8.1 RPG and makes 55.4 percent of his field goal attempts
Four other Beavers average double digits: Luis Ricci Maia (14.4 PPG), Nathan Mertens (10.9), Nathaniel Moore (10.5) and Stevan Jovanovic (10.2)

HISTORY LESSON - MARAUDERS v. BEAVERS
The Marauders trail the Beavers in the all-time series 35-33
Series began in the 1976-77 season
Mary has won three straight games
The Beavers have won ten of the last 14 meetings
The Marauders swept last year's series (78-66 at MSU, 72-71 at home) and earned an 81-72 win over the Beavers at home on Nov. 26 to open the 2016-17 NSIC schedule
LAST MEETING: Mary defeated Minot State 81-72 at home in the NSIC opener on Nov. 26, 2016. Damonta Henry led UM with four treys and 19 points. Bryan Jefferson added 17 points and nine rebounds. Pat Thomas scored 10 points. The Marauders took a 41-40 lead on a Luke Scott backdoor layup and never trailed again. Henry and Thomas scored 20 of the Marauders last 28 points to hold off the Beavers. Luis Ricci Maia led MSU with 20 points. Tyler Rudolph added 15 points and 17 rebounds.

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.

REWIND
In its first NSIC home doubleheader weekend of the season Mary split a pair of games. The Marauders opened with an 85-78 win over Wayne State. Down one at half, the Marauders went on a 12-4 run to start the second half. After the Wildcats rallied to tie the game at 48-48, the Marauders took control with a 19-6 run and held off WSC down the stretch. Bryan Jefferson scored a team-high 19 points in 18 minutes. Rickey Suggs scored 16 and led the Marauders to a 27-16 edge in points off the bench. Pat Thomas chipped in 17 points and Damonta Henry added 15 behind a 8-of-9 effort at the free throw line. Mary shot 57 percent to 47 percent for Wayne State. Mary scored 17 of its final 19 points at the free throw line. Kendall Jacks led WSC with 17 points, one of five Wildcats in double figures... Mary closed the weekend with an 89-75 loss to #21 Augustana. Isaac Lindquist and Trevor Zacher both scored 16 points for the Marauders but Mary couldn't keep pace as the Vikings shot 56 percent for the game and held a 38-23 rebounding advantage. Augie led 49-35 at the half. Adam Beyer was 7-of-10 overall and made all four treys to lead the visitors with 24 points. Mike Busak added 16 points and Jordan Spencer had 15 with nine assists.

900
Sr. forward Bryan Jefferson cracked the 900 point barrier against Minot State on Nov. 26 and now has 982 points in his college career. He currently ranks 18th all-time at Mary in scoring and is just one of 24 Marauders to eclipse 900 points. Jefferson is on track to become the firs Marauders player to score over 1,000 points since Anthony Moody and Jordan Wilhelm hit quadruple digits in 2011. 16 Marauders have reached four digits in scoring, led by Scott Kleinjan with 2,268.

400
In addition to his scoring prowess, Bryan Jefferson also cracked the all-time rebounding chart at Mary, becoming one of just 18 Marauders with at least 400 career rebounds. The senior forward is currently 10th with 472 lifetime boards. The Marauders all-time leader is Roger Klemisch     with 782 (    1971-75).

ROAD TO 1,000
Joining Bryan Jefferson on the road to 1,000 points in senior guard Damonta Henry. Currently Henry has 889 career points with 17 regular season games to go.

OH HENRY
The Marauders primary deep threat this season, Damonta Henry is 14th in the NSIC at 2.4 treys per game and is 26-of-71 overall behind the arc this season. The senior guard is averaging 13.6 points per game, second on the Marauders and 27th in the league.

STOP THIEF
The Marauders are second in the NSIC lead in steals with 6.8 per game.  A true team effort, Pat Thomas leads Mary and is fourth in the NSIC at 1.4 steals/game. Right behind are Rickey Suggs and Bryan Jefferson at 1.0 steals/game, 13th in the league.

TURNOVERS
Feeding off its penchant to steal the ball from its opponents, Mary leads the NSIC in turnover margin. The Marauders are +4.5 per game, committing 10.7 turnovers/game while forcing 15.3. After suffering a -2 in turnover margin in the season opener, the Marauders turned the ball over fewer times than their opponents in eight straight games, including a +3 mark against NCAA Division I and Big Ten member Nebraska. For the season the Marauders have held the turnover edge in eight games with one draw while opponents have held the edge once.  

BENCH BONUS
Outscored the first three games of the season, the Marauders bench has outscored the opposing bench in six of the last eight games, including a 24-12 edge at Northern State, a 38-18 advantage against Peru State and a 27-16 lead over Wayne State, all Mary wins. Rickey Suggs is scoring 9.5 PPG off the bench - 3rd on the team - and Luke Scott checks in at 4.8 PPG.

HELPING HAND
Senior guard Pat Thomas is 3rd in the NSIC in assists per game at 4.3. He missed the Marauders NCAA-era school single game assist record by one as his passes directly led to 10 baskets for Mary against Yellowstone Christian. Thomas also added 10 points against the Centurions for the first Marauders double double of the season. After redshirting last season following his transfer to Mary from Lake Region State, Thomas is also averaging a team-high 1.4 steals/game. The native of South Australia also has found his scoring touch, averaging 15 PPG over his last three games with a career-high 17 against Wayne State. His season average is at 8.5 PPG. Efficient in finding quality shots, Thomas is shooting 52.6 percent from the field (7-of-17 on treys) and makes 72.2 percent of his free throws. He is also averaging 4.0 rebounds.

PRESIDENTIAL
Senior all-NSIC forward Bryan Jefferson gained his first double double of the season with 16 points and 14 rebounds at MSU Moorhead. His game the next night in a win at Northern State may have been better. Jefferson scored 17 points with six rebounds, five assists, two blocks, two steals and a 7-of-9 effort at the free throw line. In just 18 minutes of play against Wayne State he made 9-of-12 shots and scored 19 points. Twice Jefferson has missed double doubles by a single rebound, against both Minot State and Southwest Baptist. The multi-talented player is 16th in the NSIC in scoring (15.1 PPG), 6th in rebounds (6.6/game) and 13th in steals (1.0/game)

INSTANT IMPACT
Continuing to come off the bench to provide the Marauders an immediate boost, Rickey Suggs exceeded double digits in points in seven of 11 games this season, including four of the last five. He also has a steal in all but three games. On the season Suggs is third on the team in scoring at 9.5 PPG. He is also averaging 4.2 rebounds/game and 1.0 steals/game while shooting 50.6 percent from the field.

HALFTIME LEADERS
In 11 games this season, the only teams Mary has trailed at intermission was to NCAA Division I and Big Ten member Nebraska (-18), MSU Moorhead (-12), Northern State (-3), Wayne State (-1) and defending NCAA champion Augustana (-14). Mary came back to defeat NSU and WSC. The Marauders have led three times and been tied three times. Eight of the games were within three points at break.

THE BORTKE COURT MAC ATTACK
After struggling at home the last few seasons, Mary is once again finding success at the McDowell Activity Center (MAC). The playing floor was christened Bortke Court in honor of long-time Mary men's basketball coach and athletic director Al Bortke in July 2009. Here is the Marauders NCAA Division II home record:
2006-07:   5-  7
2007-08:   4-  7
2008-09:   7-  5
2009-10: 11-  2
2010-11: 12-  1
2011-12:   3-10
2012-13:   3-  9
2013-14:   6-  7
2014-15:   4-  8
2015-16:   8-  7
2016-17:       4-  2
The Marauders once won 27 straight home games for Coach Bortke
at the MAC (February 19, 1976 thru November 11, 1978).

TURNAROUND
Under head coach Joe Kittell in his inaugural season at the University of Mary, the Marauders improved by ten wins overall (19-12), jumped six slots in the NSIC standings to 6th place overall (12-10), hosted an NSIC playoff game for just the second time in school history and made the NSIC tournament semifinals for just the second time.