THIS WEEKEND
The University of Mary men's basketball team rings out the year with a pair of home games at the McDowell Activity Center on the final weekend of 2017. The Marauders open the two-game set against the University of Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs at 6 pm on Saturday, December 30. UMary then hosts the St. Cloud State University Huskies at 4 pm on Sunday, December 31.
 
LAST TIME OUT
The Marauders dropped a 77-65 home game to Minot State University on Dec. 19. Keith Hunter led the Marauders with 18 points and Matthew Kreklow added 15 points and two blocks.
 
THE RECORD
The Marauders are 2-8 overall and 0-6 in Northern Sun play.
 
FAST BREAK

• When the Marauders take the floor against the Bulldogs it will be 11 days since UMary last played. UMD and SCSU also have been idle since December 19.
• In the last 20 days the Marauders have played just once
• The last time the Marauders played back-to-back games was December 8-9
• This weekend concludes a three-game home stand and 6-of-8 games at home
• Eight Marauders are averaging at least 5.0 points per game
• A trio of Marauders are averaging double digits in points: Keith Hunter (15 ppg), Tom Kubank (10.6 ppg) and Trevor Zacher (11.9 ppg)
• Just six different players have started this season for the Marauders. The front line of Tom Kubank, Trevor Zacher and Matthew Kreklow has started all ten games. Jaylan White, Brody Sharkey and Keith Hunter have split the starts at the two guard positions.
• Distribution point: In his first few starts, Jaylan White is garnering assists, including a career-best eight against Yellowstone Christian followed by six against MSU Moorhead. White is 10th in the NSIC in assists at 3.6/game.
• Four out of the Marauders five top scorers and 11 out of 13 made their UMary debut this season
• The Marauders are 9^th in the NSIC in treys made per game (7.7)
• UMary is 4^th in the NSIC in turnover margin at +2.40
• Jaylan White is 2^nd in the NSIC in assist to turnover ratio (3.0)

 
TOUGH RUN
When the Marauders host the Bulldogs on Saturday, it is a matchup between two teams looking for their first Northern Sun win. In their first six NSIC outings, five of the Marauders opponents have winning records. The sixth was the NSIC-defending champion MSU Moorhead.
 
OPPO RESEARCH VS. THE UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA DULUTH BULLDOGS
The Bulldogs have struggled to find their first Northern Sun win of the season… UMD is 3-7 overall and 0-5 in the NSIC… A young squad, UMD has just two seniors on the roster with nine freshmen/sophomores and four juniors… The Bulldogs are second in the NSIC and eighth in NCAA Division II in committing just 9.9 turnovers/game… UMD converts 80.6 of its free throws, fourth in the country… Brandon Myer is the reigning NSIC Player of the Week after scoring 30+ points in consecutive games. He is 6^th in the NSIC in scoring (18.1 ppg)… Logan Rohrscheib averages 14.0 ppg, 20^th in the NSIC… Matt Bowen is in his sixth season leading UMD and is just the third Bulldogs head coach since the mid 1980s.
                                    
HISTORY LESSON - MARAUDERS v. BULLDOGS UMary trails Minnesota Duluth 7-10 in the all-time series… The Marauders first victory over the Bulldogs was an 80-77 overtime win on 1.16.09… The two teams have split their season series the last three years with the home team winning each time… The last Mary win at UMD was 82-72 on Jan. 29, 2011.
 
LAST MEETING On Senior Night for the Marauders, Damonta Henry hit seven treys and scored 27 points to lead UMary to an 81-66 home win over Minnesota Duluth on Feb. 11, 2017. Fellow senior Bryan Jefferson had 20 points, four rebounds and three assists while making 8-of-11 field goal attempts. UMary made 12-of-24 trey attempts and shot 56.1 percent overall. Luke Harris led UMD with 15 points.  
 
OPPO RESEARCH VS. THE ST. CLOUD STATE UNIVERSITY HUSKIES
Second in the NSIC North and fifth overall, St. Cloud State is 8-3 overall and 4-1 in the Northern Sun… Preseason NSIC Player of the Year Gage Davis, a two-time All-NSIC first team selection, has played just three games this season for the Huskies and averages 16 ppg. The junior has a career average of 20 ppg… Sr. Jon Averkamp averages a team-leading 20.1 ppg, 5^th best in the NSIC… Brindley Theisen chips in 13.7 ppg… Defensively SCSU allows just 68.1 ppg and opponents are making only 43.1 percent of their shots; both figures rank 4^th in the NSIC… The Huskies lead the NSIC in steals (7.3/game)… Head coach Matt Reimer has an overall record of 58-45 and a 41-30 mark in the NSIC in his career… The program has won 17 or more games 19 times, including last year, since 1994-95.
                                    
HISTORY LESSON - MARAUDERS v. HUSKIES
UMary is 9-12 all-time against St. Cloud State… The Marauders are 6-3 at home, 3-7 at SCSU and 0-2 on neutral ground… UMary's first NCAA win came at SCSU 86-77 on 11.18.06… UMary's first signature NCAA win was a 77-48 home victory over #8 SCSU on 12.16.07… UMary and SCSU have split their season series three out of the last four years (SCSU swept in 2015-16).
LAST MEETING
Ricky Suggs scored 25 points and UMary shot 60 percent from the field in a 99-79 home win over St. Cloud State on February 11, 2017. Suggs hit 11-of-12 shots and added nine rebounds. Damonta Henry chipped in 22 points. Bryan Jefferson had 14 points, nine rebounds and four assists. Isaac Lindquist and Pat Thomas both had 11 and Trevor Zacher added 10 points. Gage Davis led SCSU with 36 points and ten rebounds.
 
STOP THIEF!
The Marauders are third in the NSIC in steals at 6.7/game. The main culprits are Jaylan White (11 steals), Tom Kubank (11), Trevor Zacher (12) and Keith Hunter (10).
 
GUARDIAN OF THE GOAL
Fr. F Matthew Kreklow is off to a strong start on the defensive end. The 6-9 man in the middle is averaging 1.5 blocks/game (4th in the NSIC) and influences many others. Kreklow leads the Marauders in rebounds (5.6 rpg). He averages 9.5 ppg and shoots 52 percent from the floor.
 
DOWNTOWN
Jr. G Keith Hunter has been the Marauders deep threat, averaging 2.2 treys per game while hitting 43.5 percent of his 3-point attempts. He also leads the team in scoring at 15 ppg while making an efficient 50 percent of his shots.
 
NEW BLUE
The Marauders feature a new look in the 2017-18 season with just three players back who saw action last year for UMary. Senior forward Trevor Zacher started 13 games last season for the Marauders and is UMary's lone returner who played significant minutes. Senior forward Michael Gorder enters his fourth season at UMary and has been a key reserve. Sophomore guard Jaylan White is also back and has stepped into the starting lineup.
 
STEPPING FORWARD
While the Marauders return three players with experience playing in the Blue & Orange, not all players are new to the roster. Junior forward Tom Kubank, sophomore guard Evan Anderson, and freshmen Matthew Kreklow, Connor Hellebust and Levi Clagett all redshirted at UMary last season.
 
FIRST
Junior guards Keith Hunter and Brody Sharkey, redshirt freshman Connor Hellebust and freshmen Wyatt Carr and Lucas Mayer are in their first year with the Marauders and all have made key contributions. Hunter leads the team in scoring at 14.6 points per game. He's making 49.4 percent of his shots overall and hitting 43.9 percent of his trey attempts… Sharkey has started four games and averages 8.0 ppg… Hellebust is scoring 6.1 ppg and making 40 percent of his trey attempts. His last weekend out Hellebust scored a career-high 10 points at Wayne State and nine at Augustana, making a combined 5-of-8 3-pointers in the two games… Carr chips in 5.2 ppg and is making 47.4 percent of his shots overall… Mayer has played in all seven games and averages 1.7 ppg.
 
FRONT LINE
The Marauders mobile front line quickly learned to play together. Senior F Trevor Zacher is second on the Marauders in scoring (11.9 ppg) and 3-pointers (16). He leads the team in shooting percentage (.513) and second in rebounding (4.2 rpg)… Junior F Tom Kubank is third in scoring at 10.6 ppg, pulls down 3.8 rebounds/game and is shooting 48 percent from the field… Freshman center Matthew Kreklow registered his first career double double with 11 points and ten rebounds against Yellowstone. He is averaging 9.5 ppg, 5.6 rpg, 1.5 blocks and is making 52 percent of his shots.
 
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:   8-  6
2017-18:   1-  4
The Marauders once won 27 straight home games for Coach Bortke at the MAC (February 19, 1976 thru November 11, 1978).
 
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.
 
BACK AT THE MAC
After the Marauders take a road trip to Northern State and MSU Moorhead on Jan. 5-6, UMary hosts Concordia-St. Paul and Minnesota State on Jan. 12-13.
 
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