WEDNESDAY
Postseason play begins this week when the University of Mary Marauders host the Concordia-St. Paul Golden Bears in the opening round of the 2016 NSIC/Sanford Health men's basketball tournament on Wednesday, February 24. The Marauders are the third seed in the NSIC North and the Golden Bears are the 6th seed from the NSIC South. Game time is 7 p.m. at the McDowell Activity Center.

RECORDS
U-Mary is 17-11 overall and finished 12-10 in the Northern Sun (7th overall, 3rd NSIC North)
Concordia-St. Paul is 13-15 overall and 10-12 in the NSIC (tie-10th overall, 6th NSIC South)

LAST TIME OUT
U-Mary split a weekend home series, defeating Minnesota Duluth 68-67 before falling to St. Cloud State 80-73 in the season finale
Concordia-St. Paul claimed two home wins, 82-75 over Southwest Minnesota State and 78-63 over Sioux Falls.

AT STAKE
The Marauders-Golden Bears winner meeting will advance to the quarterfinal round of the 2016 NSIC / Sanford Health tournament and face the victor of the Minnesota State – Bemidji State contest at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday, February 27, at the Pentagon in Sioux Falls, S.D. The semifinals are set for Monday, February 29, with the championship game on Tuesday, March 1.
 
AT STAKE II
The winner of the NSIC tournament earns a spot in the NCAA Division II regional tournament.

TICKETS
Tickets for the Marauders-Golden Bears NSIC first round playoff game are available at the Marauders Athletic Office from 9 a.m. - 1 p.m. and at the Coaches Luncheon on Wednesday and again at 6 p.m. at the gate. Ticket prices are $10 for adults and $2 for students. U-Mary students with their M-card and children ages five and under are free. Please note this is an NSIC postseason contest and not part of the Marauders season ticket package.


FREE ADMISSION, BRUNO'S PIZZA FOR U-MARY STUDENTS
All U-Mary students will be admitted to the Marauders-Golden Bears NSIC playoff game free with their M-cards, courtesy of game sponsor Dakota Community Back & Trust. Additionally, the first 100 U-Mary students receive free Bruno's pizza, while supplies last.

PLAYOFF EDITION COACHES LUNCHEON SET FOR WEDNESDAY
A bonus tournament-edition Marauders Coaches Luncheon is set for Wednesday, February 24, in Chick's Place for all U-Mary fans. The Marauders Coaches Luncheon begins serving at 11:45 a.m. with the program set to start just after 12 noon. Hosted by U-Mary assistant athletic director Dan Huntley, featured speaker include men's basketball coach Joe Kittell, men's and women's track coach Mike Thorson, and wrestling coach Adam Aho, among others. Cost of the lunch is $7.

BEK SPORTS TO AIR MARAUDERS-GOLDEN BEARS PLAYOFF GAME
The opening round Marauders-Golden Bears Northern Sun / Sanford Health playoff game will be carried live by BEK Sports on BEK Prime on Wednesday, Feb. 24, at 7 p.m. BEK Prime can be viewed statewide. Watch in Western North Dakota on BEKTV (Ch. 1002), Midco (Ch.  593), Dish Network (Ch. 24) and Direct TV (Ch. 26). Visit www.bektel.com for complete cable and satellite channel listings. BEK Prime is also available over-the-air on KNDB Ch-26.1 and KNDM Ch-24.1 in Western North Dakota, and in Eastern North Dakota on KRDK Ch-4.1.

REPEATING HISTORY WITH A TWIST
Last season a 6th seeded University of Mary ballclub travelled to the Twin Cities to face a 3rd seeded Concordia-St. Paul squad in the first round of the 2015 NSIC playoffs. The Golden Bears were the most improved team in the NSIC that year. This season, U-Mary is a #3 seed and CSP is a #6. Also U-Mary had the second biggest win increase in the NSIC this season (+5 to +6 for Sioux Falls).

HISTORY LESSON - MARAUDERS v. GOLDEN BEARS
Concordia-St. Paul has a 12-6 series lead over U-Mary
The Golden Bears have won the last six meetings
The Golden Bears won the lone playoff game between the two schools, 78-65 on 2.21.15
The Marauders won the first two meetings between the schools in the 1980s when both were members of the NAIA
When U-Mary joined the NSIC in 2006-07, CSP won the next five meetings
The Marauders broke their losing streak to the Golden Bears with an 83-74 win at the NSIC Holiday HoopsFest on 11.29.09, soon followed with a 75-68 win at the MAC on 1.23.10 behind 24 points by Eric Erdmann. It was the first NSIC win for U-Mary over CSP.
CSP is 6-1 at U-Mary and 6-5 at home
The last U-Mary home win was January 23, 2010
Last Meeting
Devan Douglas scored a career-high 21 points for U-Mary but visiting Concordia-St. Paul closed the game on a 10-4 run in a 76-72 Golden Bears win over the Marauders on 2.6.16. The game featured 16 lead changes and 14 ties. U-Mary won the battle of the paint, outscoring CSP 40-24 inside and 21-9 in second chance points. The Golden Bears, though, went 10-of-20 on treys to a 5-of-17 effort by the Marauders. U-Mary last led in the 68-66 with 3:56 left in the game. Bryan Jefferson added 11 points and eight rebounds and Isaac Lindquist had 10 points and 12 rebounds. Rickey Suggs came off the bench to scored 12 points and record eight rebounds. Diallo Powell led CSP with 17 points and six assists and Shea Mandli also added points.
                                                                                                                 
MARAUDERS NSIC POST-SEASON HISTORY
The Marauders are 1-6 in the NSIC tournament
The lone win was a 70-65 1st round home victory over MSU Moorhead on March 2, 2011. Anthony Moody scored 25 points with eight rebounds and seven assists. Eric Erdmann added 17 points and Jordan Wilhelm 12.
U-Mary has faced Winona State three times in the NSIC tournament, more than any other team

MARAUDERS NSIC PLAYOFF HISTORY (1-6)
March 1, 2008              at Winona State (1st round)                            L 77-50
March 3, 2010      at Winona State (1st round)                            L 76-57
March 2, 2011      MSU Moorhead (1st round)                            W 70-65
March 5, 2011            vs. St. Cloud State (semi-finals)                    L 65-59
Feb. 27, 2013       at Winona State (1st round)                            L 77-64
Feb. 27, 2014            at Southwest Minn. State (1st round)            L 82-65
Feb. 21, 2015            at Concordia-St. Paul (1st round)                    L 65-78

MARAUDERS NCAA PLAYOFF HISTORY
March 12, 2011     vs. Metro State (at Mankato, MN)                L 78-73

THE OPPONENT
The NSIC's biggest turnaround story a year ago, the Golden Bears backslid this season before an impressive close. After losing the first eight NSIC games of the season, the Golden Bears went 10-4 and 7-1 in the final eight games. Sr. G Cole Olstad leads Concordia-St. Paul with 15.3 points/game, 53 treys and 81 assists. Shea Mandli posts 11.7 PPG and 6.2 rebounds/game while shooting 52.3 percent from the floor. Bryndan Matthews also averages 11.7 PPG with 56 RPG.Junior G Diallo Powell, who played for Marauders head coach Joe Kittell last season at Lake Region State College, averages 10.0 points/game. Head coach Joey James is in his second year at CSP. He led the Golden Bears to a 19-11 record last year and a 13-15 mark this season... CSP is 3-12 all-time in postseason play, including a 1-9 mark in road games.  

LAST WEEK REWIND
In the final weekend of the regular season, the University of Mary clinched a home playoff spot while splitting a pair of games. The Marauders opened with a narrow 68-67 win over Minnesota Duluth to gain just the second NSIC playoff home game. Leading by as many as 15 points in the second half, the Marauders couldn't claim the win until a last second shot and two tip-in attempts failed to fall for the Bulldogs. Bryan Jefferson led the Marauders with 16 points and seven rebounds and added three assists and three steals. Rickey Suggs scored 10 points off the bench and Devan Douglas added 10. Pierre Newton led UMD with 24 points and four assists... Having already clinched a home playoff game, the Marauders closed the regular season with an 80-73 loss to St. Cloud State, providing the Huskies a season sweep of U-Mary. Up by as many as seven points in the first half, the Marauders maintained their advantage until early in the second half when the Huskies went on an 11-0 run for a 52-45 SCSU lead. U-Mary would get no closer than six points the rest of the night. Jefferson led U-Mary with 18 points. Brandon Tyler hit four treys and scored 12 points. Marquealis Edwards added nine points, seven assists and four steals. Gage Davis had 25 points and 11 rebounds for SCSU. Scottie Davis also chipped in 25 points.

ABOUT TIME
For the first time in five seasons the Marauders will host a Northern Sun tournament game. The last time U-Mary hosted a playoff game was 2011.

TREMENDOUS TURNAROUND
Picked 14th in the NSIC preseason coaches poll, the Marauders improved seven spots to finish seventh overall in the league. U-Mary improved its win total in conference play by five (7 wins to 12), the second best increase in wins in the NSIC this season. The only bigger increase was six wins by the University of Sioux Falls.  

CONSISTENCY
The Marauders have started the same lineup for all 28 games this season: senior guards Devan Douglas, Marquealis Edwards and Brandon Tyler and junior forwards Bryan Jefferson and Isaac Lindquist.

DAPPER DOZEN
The 12 conference wins is the second-most for U-Mary since joining the NSIC. The high-water mark is 18 in 2010-12.

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:   7-  7
The Marauders once won 27 straight home games for Coach Bortke
at the MAC (February 19, 1976 thru November 11, 1978).

WINNING
With 17 wins the Marauders are guaranteed a winning record this season. In the school's NCAA/NSIC era, there are only two other winning seasons; a 23-6 mark in 2010-11 and a 15-13 record in 2009-10.

SWEET 17
U-Mary's 17 wins this season is the most victories for the Marauders since posting 23 in 2010-11
17 wins is the second-most wins for U-Mary since beginning NCAA and NSIC play with the 2006-07 season
The 17 wins exceeds the Marauders win total from the previous two seasons combined (16)

SENSATIONAL SUGGS
Rickey Suggs may be coming off the bench for the Marauders but he is producing like a starter. In his last nine games Suggs has produced double digit points seven times and is averaging 10.4 points and 5.4 rebounds per game while making 66.1 percent of his field goals. For the year Suggs averages 7.9 PPG and 4.9 RPG and is shooting 55 percent.

700 CLUB
Three Marauders passed 700 career points in the lst two weeks. Junior forward Bryan Jefferson now sits with 774 career points. Junior guard Damonta Henry is at 717 points for his career and senior Marquealis Edwards is right behind at 716 points.
 
BOARD GAMES
The Marauders have been tremendous on the boards this season. U-Mary is 6th in the NSIC and 74th nationally in rebounding margin at +3.4 rebounds/game.

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 28 games this season U-Mary has scored at least 80 points 11 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 6.7/game. Marquealis Edwards is 3rd 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 12 times this season and rebounding seven times. He has posted double digit point totals in 26 of 28 contests. Averaging 15.9 points per game, he is 12th in the NSIC in scoring. Additionally Jefferson is 9th in rebounding (6.5/game) and 6th in field goal shooting (.591). He is second on the squad in assists (2.1/game) and third in steals (24).

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: 3rd in steals (1.8/game), 14th in rebounds (5.8/game), 9th in assists (3.6/game), 22nd in scoring (12.8/game) and 10th in free throw percentage (.820).

SEVENTH HEAVEN
Seven Marauders average at least 7.6 points per game. Bryan Jefferson averages a team-high 15.9 PPG and Marquealis Edwards is right behind at 12.8 PPG. Brandon Tyler and Isaac Lindquist are at 9.7 and 9.6 PPG respectively, followed by Devan Douglas (8.9 PPG), Rickey Suggs (7.9 PPG) and Damonta Henry (7.6 PPG). Suggs and Henry are doing their damage off the bench.  

DEPTH
All 11 Marauders have played in at least 15 of 28 games this season. All 11 average at least 9.0 minutes per game.

MAKING SHOTS
U-Mary is connecting on 48.0 percent of its field goal attempts, ranking 50th in NCAA Division II and fifth in the Northern Sun.