THIS WEEK
The University of Mary makes its first Northern Sun road trip of the season when the Marauders visit MSU Moorhead and Northern State University on Dec. 2-3, 2016. The Marauders meet the Dragons at Alex Nemzek Fieldhouse in Moorhead, MN, on Friday at 8 pm before concluding the weekend against the Wolves on Saturday at 6 pm at Wachs Arena in Aberdeen, SD. The Marauders return home Tuesday, Dec. 9, for a home game against Peru State at 7 pm at the McDowell Activity Center. It is the final non-conference game of the regular season for Mary.

THE RECORD
After opening Northern Sun play with a win last weekend, the University of Mary is 2-4 overall and 1-0 in league play.

LAST TIME OUT
The Marauders defeated visiting Minot State University 81-72 in the NSIC opener for both teams. Damonta Henry scored 19 points to lead the Mary effort and Bryan Jefferson had 17 points and nine rebounds in the win. Pat Thomas added 10 points and four assists. The Marauders shot 50 percent from the field overall and made 9-of-15 3-point attempts while the Beavers shot 41 percent overall. Henry and Thomas combined to score 20 of the Marauders final 28 points as Mary held off Minot State down the stretch. It was teh Marauders third straight win over the Beavers.

MSU MOORHEAD HEADLINES
The Dragons are 5-1 overall and 1-0 in the NSIC
MSUM opened the NSIC schedule with a 93-92 road win on a long three-pointer by Tanner Kretchman as time expired
Currently receiving votes in the NABC national poll, the Dragons are the coaches' choice to win the NSIC North division and to finish third overall
Last season the Dragons finished 30-6 overall and 2nd in the NSIC at 19-3, advancing to the NCAA playoffs for the third time in five years
Head coach Chad Walthall is in his seventh season at MSUM and has a record of 146-53. Overall in 14 seasons as a head coach he is 262-121.
Sr. G Aaron Lien and Sr. F Ayob Ayob both have earned NSIC Player of the Week honors this season. Lien leads MSUM in scoring at 20.7 PPG while shooting 61.6 percent from the floor and 53.8 on treys (14-26). Ayob averages 20.0 PPG and makes 60.3 percent of his shots, including 59.5 percent on 3-pointers (22-37).
The Dragons average 94.2 PPG and allow 80.8

HISTORY LESSON - MARAUDERS v. DRAGONS
The Marauders trail the Dragons 16-12 in the all-time series
Since joining the NCAA and NSIC, Mary is 7-14 against MSUM
The Marauders won the first conference match-up with a 75-72 win at MSUM on January 16, 2007
The Dragons followed with five straight wins, including an overtime victory, one win by one point and another by two points
The Marauders snapped the Dragons streak with a decisive 74-58 win at home on Jan. 30, 2010, the first of five straight UM wins that concluded with a 72-51 win over 19th ranked MSUM on Jan. 7, 2012, at the MAC.
The Marauders snapped an 8-game losing streak to the Dragons with a 77-73 upset win at 3rd ranked MSUM on January 8, 2016
The last Marauders home win against the Dragons was a 72-51 victory on 1.7.12 at the MAC
The 7th ranked Dragons won the last meeting 89-65 at the NSIC tournament semifinals. Marquealis Edwards led the Marauders with 14 points and six assists. Isaac Lindquist added 12 points, Bryan Jefferson added 11 poinst and eight rebounds and Devon Douglas had 10 points and eigt boards. Isaac Seville had 21 points for MSUM, Tyler Vaughan had 17 points and 12 rebounds and Tanner Kretchman posted 13 points and 10 assists.

NORTHERN STATE HEADLINES
The Wolves are 4-3 overall and 0-1 in the NSIC
NSU opened the NSIC schedule with a gutwrenching 93-92 home loss on a long three-pointer by Tanner Kretchman as time expired. Mack Arvidson had given the Wolves, who scored 62 points in the second half, the lead on a 3-pointer with 2.5 seconds left in the game.
The Wolves are 1-2 at home this season with losses to MSUM and Southwest Minnesota State with a win over Mayville State
In his seventh season at Northern State, head coach Paul Sather is 104-70 with the Wolves. He was 94-62 in five seasons at Black Hills State.
Sr. G Mack Arvidson, who scored 37 points in the loss to the Dragons, leads the Wolve in scoring at 20.9 PPG. He's shooting 53.1 percent overall and 52.5 behind the arc. JR G DJ Pollard checks in at 14.3 PPG with 5.6 rebounds/game.
The Wolves score 84.4 PPG and allow 80.9. NSU has a field goal percentage of 51.0 (42.7 on 3-pointers) with the opponents at 47.8 percent (43.9 on treys).

HISTORY LESSON - MARAUDERS v. WOLVES
The Marauders trail the Wolves 23-12 in the all-time series
The two teams split last year's meetings with each winning at home, the Marauders winning 60-58 and the Wolves 94-70
The Wolves win snapped the Marauders two-game winning streak in the series
In the last meeting Brandon Tyler hit 3-of-4 trey attempts and scored 17 points but the rest of the Marauders were 1-of-11 behind the arc in the 94-70 loss. Bryan Jefferson added 13 points and Devan Douglas 10. The Wolves made 13-of-22 trey attempts and shot 62.1 percent overall. Darin Paterka posted a game-high 21 points and seven assists.

PERU STATE HEADLINES
Entering this weekend the Bobcats are 4-5 overall and 3-3 in Heart of America Athletic Conference
Peru State is an NAIA member
This is the first meeting between the two schools during the Marauders NCAA era (since 2006-07)
While this game counts in the Marauders overall record it will be an exhibition game for the Bobcats
Peru State visited fellow NSIC member Augustana University on Nov. 25. The Vikings won 89-66.
Former Marauders student-athlete Ben Cruickshank is an assistant coach for the Bobcats
Head coach Eric Beherns is in his third season at Peru State, leading the Bobcats to an 18-13 season his first year and a 22-11 mark last season.
Jr. F Lyle Hexom averages a team-high 19.6 PPG and 8.8 RPG and has blocked 25 shots. He is also 18-of-41 on 3-pointers.
Sr. G Rashad Brackeen averages 18.9 PPG and Sr. G Matej Delinac checks in at 14.4 PPG and 5.8 RPG.

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.

NSIC OPENERS
The Marauders have won their Northern Sun season opener the last two seasons following Mary's 81-72 home win over Minot State. Overall the Marauders are 6-5 in NSIC openers, including wins in six of the last nine seasons.

900
Sr. forward Bryan Jefferson cracked the 900 point barrier against Minot State on Nov. 26 and now has 906 points in his college career. He currently ranks 22nd 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 Maraders 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 13th with 434 lifetime boards.

ROAD TO 1,000
Joining Bryan Jefferson on the road to 1,000 points in senior guard Damonta Henry. Currently Henry has 836 career points with 22 regular season games to go.

OH HENRY
After scoring a career-high 26 points to open the week, Damonta Henry finished Thanksgiving weekend with a team-high 19 points in the Marauders 81-72 win over Minot State to open NSIC play. Henry leads the Marauders in scoring at 16.2 PPG. He is shooting 46.6 percent from the floor and leads Mary with 18 treys. Henry is 11-of-13 at the free throw line. At 16.2 PPG Henry is 10th in the NSIC in scoring.

CLOSERS
Damonta Henry and Pat Thomas provided the clutch points the Marauders needed to hold off Minot State in the NSIC opener. The pair combined to score 20 of the Marauders 28 points. Henry scored 11 of his game-high 19 points down the stretch and Thomas nine of his 10.

THIEF
The Marauders are tied for second in the NSIC in steals per game with 7.0. Southwest Minnesota State leads at 7.7/game. Pat Thomas leads the team with 1.3/game, 10th 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 +5.83 per game, committing 11.8 turnovers/game but forcing 17.7. After suffering a -2 in turnover margin in the season oppener, the Marauders have turned the ball over fewer times than their opponents in each of the last five games, including a +3 mark against NCAA Division I and Big Ten member Nebraska.

DROPPING DIMES
Senior guard Pat Thomas is fourth 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 ten baskets for Mary against Yellowstone Christian. Thomas also added ten 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 finding his scoring touch. He scored 10 points against Minot State to reach that figure for the second straight game.  

PRESIDENTIAL
Senior all-NSIC forward Bryan Jefferson broke the 20-point barrier for the first time this season against South Dakota Mines and has reached double figures in all six games this season. 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 PPG) and 16th in rebounds (5.8/game).

INSTANT IMPACT
Continuing to come off the bench to provide the Marauders an immediate boost, Rickey Suggs exceeded double digits in points three of six 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. He also has a steal in all bu one game. On the season Suggs is averaging 8.7 PPG, 4.0 rebounds/game and 1.1 steals/game.

HALFTIME LEADERS
In six 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 Minot State and Yellowstone Christian at break and led the other three games. None of the leads were more than two points, however.