THIS WEEKEND
The final road trip of the regular season sends the University of Mary to Northwest Minnesota to face the Beavers of Bemidji State University and the University of Minnesota Crookston Golden Eagles on Friday and Saturday, Feb. 12-13. The weekend opens when the Marauders take on the Beavers at the BSU Gymnasium in Bemidji, Minn. The Friday tip off is set for 8 p.m. The trip concludes at Crookston, Minn., on Saturday when the Marauders tangle with the Golden Eagles in Lysaker Gymnasium. Game time is 6 p.m.

PLAYOFF PUSH
Four regular season Northern Sun games remain for the Marauders, who are looking to earn a home playoff game for the first round of the NSIC tournament on Wednesday, February 24. The top four teams in both the NSIC North and NSIC South earn home court in the opening round. Currently the Marauders are fourth in the North division.

4 IS A MAGIC NUMBER
The Marauders are 9-9 in the NSIC North Division with four games to play. One game back of U-Mary is St. Cloud State at 8-10, followed by Bemidji State (7-11) and Minot State (6-12)... While Minot State could tie U-Mary, the Marauders swept the Beavers this season and own the tiebreaker... Bemidji State and U-Mary face each other tonight (Friday). A win by the Marauders, who beat the Beavers earlier this season, would ensure U-Mary remains ahead of BSU for the playoff spot...  St. Cloud State has the best opportunity to catch U-Mary for the fourth and final home spot. The magic number for the Marauders against the Huskies is four; any combination of U-Mary wins and SCSU losses that total four ensures the Marauders remain ahead of the Huskies in the standings. SCSU hosts Northern State and MSU Moorhead this weekend before visiting Minot State and U-Mary to close the regular season. U-Mary visits BSU and Minnesota Crookston before hosting Minnesota Duluth and SCSU.
RECORDS
U-Mary is 14-10 overall and 9-9 in the Northern Sun (9th overall, 3rd North)
Bemidji State is 10-12 overall and 7-11 in the NSIC (12th overall, 6th North)
Minnesota Crookston is 3-19 overall and 1-17 in the NSIC (16th overall, 8th North)


LAST TIME OUT
U-Mary lost two close home games, 76-71 to Minnesota State and 76-72 against Concordia-St. Paul
Bemidji State suffered two road loses, 97-91 at Southwest Minnesota State and 90-62 at Sioux Falls
Minnesota Crookston extended its losing streak to 14 games with a pair of losses, 73-60 at Sioux Falls and 100-68 at Southwest Minnesota State  

HISTORY LESSON - MARAUDERS v. BEAVERS
U-Mary leads the series with BSU 12-8
The series began in 1971 with a 92-87 home win for the Marauders
The two teams played twice in the 1987 season with each school winning at home
Since becoming a member of the NSIC, U-Mary captured the first five meetings before BSU broke through with a home win in the 2009-10 season
After six straight losses to the Beavers, the Marauders swept last year's two-game NSIC series and has now won three straight
Last Meeting
A pair of big runs by U-Mary led the Marauders to a 92-80 home win over visiting Bemidji State University on January 3, 2016. The Marauders used a 28-10 run in the first half to build a 45-30 lead at halftime. A 16-4 run in the second half increased the U-Mary lead to 70-46. Marquealis Edwards scored 23 points, made 6-of-7 field goals and 8-of-9 free throws, grabbed four rebounds and made four assists. Isaac Lindquist added 16 points, Bryan Jefferson 14 and Brandon Tyler 12. The Marauders shot 55.9 percent for the game to just 40.9 percent for BSU. Elijah Valdez led BSU with 16 points.

HISTORY LESSON - MARAUDERS v. GOLDEN EAGLES
Since joining the Northern Sun for the 2006-07 season, the Marauders are 14-4 against the Golden Eagles
U-Mary is 9-1 at home and 6-3 at UMC
The Marauders are 7-1 in the last eight outings against the Golden Eagles
Last Meeting
Behind 20 points from Bryan Jefferson, the Marauders tipped off 2016 with a 65-56 home win over the University of Minnesota Crookston on January 2, 2016. Tied 30-30 early in the second half, the Marauders ran of 11 straight points and 22 of the next 28 to build a 52-36 lead. The Golden Eagles closed within 59-55 with 55 seconds left in the game but the Marauders hit six straight free throws to close out the win. Jefferson made 7-of-11 shots and had eight rebounds and four assists. Marquealis Edwards added 11 points, seven rebounds and four assists. Kobe Chritchley led UMC with 12 points as the Golden Eagles shot just 31.3 percent for the game.

LAST WEEK REWIND
In a battle for fourth place in the Northern Sun, visiting Minnesota State University rallied past the University of Mary 76-71. In a game that featured 11 lead changes and 12 ties, the Mavericks outscored the Marauders 13-3 in the final 3:50 of the game. MSU outrebounded UM 44-34 and shot 31 free throws to 21 for the Marauders. After a Brandon Tyler trey gave the Marauders a 67-63 lead, the Mavericks scored seven straight points to take a lead they wouldn't relinquish. Bryan Jefferson led the Marauders with 18 points. Marquealis Edwards added 17 points and Isaac Lindquist 10. Jalen Pendleton led MSU with 28 points. Jon Fuqua had 21 points and 12 rebounds... Almost a mirror image of Friday's game, the Marauders lost a late lead in a 76-72 home loss to Concordia-St. Paul. U-Mary led 68-66 with 3:30 remaining but CSP scored 10 of the next 14 points to win the game. The contest featured 16 lead changes and 14 ties. A 7-0 run by the Golden Bears provided CSP a permanent lead as Matt Ambriz hit a trey and Cole Olstad made back-to-back layups. Devan Douglas scored 21 points to lead the Marauders. Isaac Lindquist had his second double double of the season with 10 points and 12 rebounds. Bryan Jefferson added 11 points and Rickey Suggs had 12 points and eight rebounds off the bench. Diallo Powell and Shea Mandli nboth scored a team-high 17 points for CSP.

THRILL-A-MINUTE
If you enjoy close contests where both teams have a chance to win, last weekend's Marauders games were something to behold. In a pair of home losses to Minnesota State and Concordia-St. Paul, there was a combined 27 lead changes and 26 ties. The Marauders held a lead with less than four minutes remaining in both contests.

SINKING STANDINGS
Despite recent setbacks, prior to last weekend the Marauders had remained towards the top of the NSIC and the North Division. U-Mary was third in the North and fifth overall. However two losses at home last weekend dropped the Marauders to fourth in the North and ninth overall with a record of 9-9 in league play. Despite the recent 1-8 stretch, the Marauders are still in position to host a playoff game in the opening round of the NSIC tournament for the first time since 2011 and what would be just the second time since U-Mary joined the Northern Sun in 2006-07.

THE BORTKE COURT MAC ATTACK
After struggling at home the last few seasons, U-Mary is once again finding success at the McDowell Activity Center (MAC). The playing floor was christened Bortke Court in honor of long-time U-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:   6-  6
The Marauders once won 27 straight home games for Coach Bortke
at the MAC (February 19, 1976 thru November 11, 1978).

DOUGLAS DOMINATES
Senior guard Devan Douglas scored a career-high 21 points against Concordia-St. Paul. The Clinton, Iowa, native was 8-of-18 from the field and made all four free throws. Douglas is now averaging 9.0 points/game.

SENSATIONAL SUGGS
Rickey Suggs may be coming off the bench for the Marauders but he is producing like a starter. The junior forward made 6-of-9 shots against Concordia-St. Paul, scored 12 points and had eight rebounds. He has reached double digit points in four of his last five games. During that stretch he is averaging 10 points/game, 5.8 rebounds.game, and has made 23-of-32 shots (71.9 percent). For the year Suggs averages 7.3 PPG and 4.7 RPG and is shooting 54 percent.
VERGE OF 700
Three Marauders could pass 700 career points scored for U-Mary this weekend. Junior forward Bryan Jefferson leads the way with 696 career points. Junior guard Damonta Henry is right behind with 690 points. Senior Marquealis Edwards is close by with 678 points.
 
BOARD GAMES
The Marauders have been tremendous on the boards this season. U-Mary is third in the NSIC and 54th nationally in rebounding margin at +4.5 rebounds/game. Additionally the Marauders are adept at halting second chance point opportunities. U-Mary is hauling down .733 percent of the defensive rebounds available in each game, ninth in the NSIC.

14
The 14 wins this season is already the third best total for U-Mary in ten seasons of NCAA competition. The Marauders won 23 games in 2010-11 and 15 in 2009-10, the only other two double-digit win seasons. U-Mary won just nine games last year.

9
With nine Northern Sun wins this season, the Marauders have their third highest single-season total in ten years playing in the NSIC. U-Mary won 18 league games in 2011 and 11 in 2010.

90
Seven times the Marauders have scored 90 or more points in a game. That EXCEEDS the U-Mary total of six from the previous NINE YEARS COMBINED! In only two other seasons during the NCAA era has U-Mary reached at least 90 points in a game twice (2009-10 and 2010-11).

80
In 20 games this season U-Mary has scored at least 80 points nine different times. Out of the school's ten NCAA era seasons (beginning with 2006-07), the previous high for 80 points in a season was seven in 2009-10.

BEST START
It took only 16 games for the Marauders to win 13 games this season, the fewest games needed to reach that level in U-Mary's NCAA era, which began with the 2006-07 season.

LEGAL THEFT
The Marauders lead the NSIC in steals with 6.6/game. Marquealis Edwards is fourth in the Northern Sun individually with 1.8 steals/game.


JEFFERSON STEPS FORWARD
Junior forward Bryan Jefferson continues to develop into one of the top players in the Northern Sun. The Aurora, Ill., native has led the Marauders in scoring ten times this season and rebounding eight times. He has posted double digit point totals in 21 of 24 contests. Averaging 15.3 points per game, he is 13th in the NSIC in scoring. Additionally Jefferson is ninth in rebounding (6.6/game) and sixth in field goal shooting (.588). He is second on the squad in assists (2.1/game) and fourth in steals (18).

CLUTCH
Marquealis Edwards has shined in the closing minutes of close games this season for U-Mary. Twice he has scored the winning points in the closing seconds and twice he has key free throws to cement wins. His latest starring role came in the 77-73 win over #3 MSU Moorhead. The senior guard scored the last four points of the game, hitting the winning layup with 15 seconds remaining and adding two free throws with 1.2 seconds left. The Minneapolis, Minn., native the winning layup with three seconds left in a 77-76 win over Southern Arkansas. In a 60-58 win over Northern State Edwards scored the last two U-Mary points with two seconds left. He also hit two free throws in the closing seconds of a 69-65 win at USF.

STAT STUFFER
It's no surprise that Marquealis Edwards would post the Marauders first triple double of the NCAA era when he recorded 10 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists in a win over Presentation. The senior guard from Minneapolis, Minn., ranks among Northern Sun leaders in five categories: 4th in steals (1.8/game), 13th in rebounds (6.2/game), 9th in assists (3.5/game), 20th in scoring (13.4/game) and 6th in free throw percentage (.836).

TRIPLE PLAY
Three Marauders are averaging over 10 points per game and two more are close behind. Bryan Jefferson averages a team-high 15.3 PPG and Marquealis Edwards is right behind at 13.4 PPG. Brandon Tyler is a consistent third in scoring at 10.0 PPG. Not far off is Isaac Lindquist at 9.8 PPG and Devan Douglas at 9.0 PPG.

DEPTH
Ten Marauders have played in at least 16 of 24 games this season. All ten average at least 10.8 minutes per game.

MAKING SHOTS
U-Mary is connecting on 47.9 percent of its field goal attempts, ranking 54th in NCAA Division II and fifth in the Northern Sun.

SHARING THE LOAD
Eight different Marauders are averaging at least 5.0 points per game this season.

POINTS POINTS POINTS
U-Mary is averaging 81 points per game, 8th in the NSIC.

DOUBLING DOWN
Bryan Jefferson owns four of the Marauders eight double doubles and four of the team's seven 20 point outbursts this season. For his career Jefferson has seven double doubles and has scored 20 or more points six times.

DOWNTOWN
After playing limited minutes the last two seasons, SR G Brandon Tyler is averaging 10.0 points per game and leads U-Mary with 51 treys. He is 8th in the NSIC with 2.1 treys/game and makes 40.5 percent of hits shots beyond the arc.

500
Senior guard Brandon Tyler has accumuated 527 career points.

TRIPLE DOUBLE
One of just six players in NCAA Division II to post a triple double this season, Sr. G Marquealis Edwards recorded U-Mary's first triple double of the school's NCAA era in a 100-76 win over Presentation College on Dec. 15, 2015. The Minneapolis, Minn., native posted 10 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists. Edwards is also the first U-Mary player during the NCAA era to hit double figures in assists.

NATIONAL NOTORIETY
For the first time in five years, U-Mary received votes in a national poll. The Marauders earned ten points in the January 10 NCAA Division II Media Poll, sponsored by D2SIDA. The last time the Marauders appeared in a national poll was March 2011. In the final NABC/Division II Coaches Poll of the 2010-11 season U-Mary was ranked 18th overall. The Marauders ranked as high as 14th that season on their way to the only NCAA tournament berth in program history.

EIGHT STRAIGHT
The Marauders eight game winning streak earlier this season was the second longest streak during the school's NCAA era, which began with the 2006-07 season. The longest mark is 16 in 2010-11.