THIS WEEK
Entering the final home weekend of the University of Mary men's basketball 2016-17 schedule, the Marauders are in hot pursuit of the final home court berth in the opening round of the Northern Sun tournament. Besides the action on the court when St. Cloud State University and the University of Minnesota Duluth come to visit Mary at the McDowell Activity Center on Friday and Saturday, Feb. 10-11, Seniors Day, Samaritan's Feet, the NSIC "It's a Slam Dunk, Don't Drive Drunk" and TruMoo events are also on the docket. The Marauders first host the Huskies on Friday at 8 pm before taking on the Bulldogs Saturday at 4 pm.

BEK SPORTS TO BROADCAST WEEKEND DOUBLEHEADER
BEK Sports is televising back-to-back days of Marauders basketball this weekend when St. Cloud State University and the University of Minnesota Duluth come to visit the McDowell Activity Center. The Marauder games against the Huskies and Bulldogs on Friday and Saturday, Feb. 10-11, can be seen throughout western North Dakota on BEK PRIME KNDB/KNDM. The women's game on Friday starts at 6 pm with the men's contest to follow at 8 pm. On Saturday, start times are 4 pm for the women and 6 pm for the men. The games are also available via local cable providers on BEK PRIME. Visit www.bektel.com/bbn/bpcf/ for local channel assignments and current broadcast schedule. Additionally the BEK Broadcasting Network is also available nationally on BEK Now via ROKU streaming device. Visit www.beknow.tv for more information.

SAMARITAN'S FEET EVENTS
To raise awareness for those who may not have shoes, Marauders women's head basketball coach Rick Neumann and men's head basketball coach Joe Kittell will coach barefoot for Samaritan's Feet Night on Friday, Feb. 10, when St. Cloud State University visits the McDowell Activity Center. This is the second straight year Neumann and Kittell have coached in their bare feet to help draw awareness for the need for shoes both here in the U.S. and around the world. For Kittell it is the fourth time in his career... Marauders men's assistant coaches Josh Vaughan, Casey Bruggeman and Justin McCloud and women's assistant coaches Jason Schmitz and Allie Paluchniak also plan to coach barefoot while the St. Cloud State women's coaches will make a donation to Samaritan's Feet.... Fans can make a free will donation for Samaritan's Feet during the Marauders-Huskies games on Friday. Additionally Marauders Athletics will donate a portion of Friday's gate receipts to Samaritan's Feet. Funds raised in Bismarck remain in the community to help provide shoes for local children... On Sunday, Feb. 12, Samaritan's Feet will conduct a shoe distribution at Bismarck's Will-Moore Elementary School for local children in grades K-5 who are in need of shoes. The event lasts from 1-4 pm. Members of the Marauders men's and women's basketball, volleyball and baseball teams, University of Mary campus ministry and other community volunteers anticipate serving over 300 elementary school students.

THE RECORD
After dropping two road games, the Marauders are 9-15 overall and 7-11 against Northern Sun foes. Mary is 9th overall in the NSIC and tied for fourth in the NSIC North with Minot State and Bemidji State.

SENIOR DAY
Saturday is the final regular season home game for six University of Mary senior student-athletes. Erron Collins, Damonta Henry, Bryan Jefferson, Isaac Lindquist, Rickey Suggs and Pat Thomas will be honored for their contributions to the Marauders immediately following the women's game.

TRU MOO CHOCOLATE MILK GIVEAWAY
Tru Moo will give away chocolate milk to the first 300 fans on Saturday, Feb. 11, after the gates to the McDowell Activity Center open at 3 pm.  

FAST BREAKS
Four regular season games remain for the Marauders, who are currently locked in a 3-way tie for a home game in the first round of the Northern Sun tournament
Mary is tied with Minot State and Bemidji State for fourth place in the NSIC North division. All three are tied at 7-11. Mary spit the season series with Minot State - both winning at home - and Bemidji State beat Mary at the MAC. The Marauders and the Beavers close out the regular season in Bemidji, MN, on Feb. 18.
Mary's current four-game home stand is the longest of the season for the Marauders
Wrapping up a three-game run against teams with winning record when the Marauders face the Huskies on Friday, the Marauders last three games are against teams with losing records (Minnesota Duluth, Minnesota Crookston, Bemidji State)
Marauders 1,000 point scorers Bryan Jefferson and Damonta Henry combined for 46 points in the win over Sioux Falls, the third straight game the duo had combined for 40 or more points (43 at Upper Iowa and 48 at Winona State)



ST. CLOUD STATE UNIVERSITY HUSKIES HEADLINES
The Huskies are 17-10 overall and 13-5 in the NSIC, currently sitting third in the North Division and tied for fourth overall in the league
SCSU is 12-2 at home and 5-5 on the road
The Huskies have just one win in their last five road games
SCSU is fourth in the NSIC in scoring at 82.9 PPG
So. G Gage Davis has one of the most diverse games in the NSIC. He is leads the NSIC in scoring (22.2 PPG), is third in rebounding (8.8/game) and ninth in assists (3.7/game)
Sr. G Scottie Stone combines with Davis to give SCSU the top 1-2 scoring punch in the NSIC. Stone is 4th in scoring at 19 PPG. He is the NSIC leader in free throw percentage (.935) and treys/game (3.6).  

HISTORY LESSON - MARAUDERS v. HUSKIES
Mary is 8-12 all-time against St. Cloud State
The Marauders are 5-3 at home, 3-7 at SCSU and 0-2 on neutral ground
Mary's first NCAA win came at SCSU 86-77 on 11.18.06
Mary's first signature NCAA win was a 77-48 home victory over #8 SCSU on 12.16.07
After splitting the season series two straight years, SCSU swept the series last season. A win Friday by the Huskies would give SCSU a sweep this season also.
LAST MEETING AT THE MAC: SCSU defeated UM 80-73 in the MAC on Feb. 20, 2016. Bryan Jefferson led Mary with 18 points. Gage Davis and Scottie Stone both hit three treys and scored 25 each for SCSU. Davis also had 11 rebounds.
LAST MEETING: After leading 41-39 at half, the Marauders shot just 30 percent from the field after intermission in an 88-73 loss at SCSU on Dec. 31, 2016. Rickey Suggs led Mary with 17 points. Bryan Jefferson had 14 points and 12 rebounds. Gage Davis led SCSU with 21 points. Trevon Marshall added 19 and Scottie Stone 18.  

UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA DULUTH BULLDOGS HEADLINES
The Bulldogs are 4-20 overall and 3-15 in the NSIC
UMD is in the midst of a 10-game losing streak overall and a six-game losing streak in the road
This season UMD is 3-9 at home, 1-9 away and 0-2 in neutral site games
Head coach Matt Bowen is in fifth season at UMD and is 55-82 with the Bulldogs. Previously he was the Bemidji State head coach and won an NSIC championship in his sixth and final season.
Freshmen Logan Rohrscheib and Luke Harris lead UMD in scoring at 10.2 PPG
Six other players average between 6.0 and 8.5 PPG
13 of the 17 Bulldogs are freshmen or sophomores
HISTORY LESSON - MARAUDERS v. BULLDOGS
Mary trails Minnesota Duluth 6-10 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 two years with the home team winning each time. Mary needs to defeat UMD on Saturday for the trend to continue a third season.
The last Mary win at UMD was 82-72 on Jan. 29, 2011
Last game at the MAC: Mary defeated UMD 68-67 on Feb. 19, 2016 to clinch a home game in the NSIC tournament. UMD missed a shot and two tip-in attempts at the buzzer. Marquealis Edwards had 17 points for UM. Pierre Newton and Taylor Lavery both had 26 for UMD.
LAST MEETING UMD was 9-of-15 on treys in the second half and edged visiting Mary 86-84 on Dec. 30, 2016. Damonta Henry scored 23 points off the bench and Bryan Jefferson had 21 points and nine rebounds before fouling out. Jake Wilson was 4-of-6 behind the arc and scored 24 points for UMD.   

REWIND
Facing two of the top teams in the NSIC South, the Marauders split their home weekend series with an 81-72 win over Sioux Falls and a 76-62 loss to division leader Southwest Minnesota State. Seniors Damonta Henry (25 points), Bryan Jefferson (21) and Isaac Lindquist (10) combined to score 56 points. After a low-scoring first half, the Marauders made 20-of-27 shots following intermission to pull away from the Cougars. Mary had a 36-20 advantage on points in the paint. Mack Johnson led USF with 18 points, one of five Cougars in double figures... SMSU controlled the pain and pulled away from Mary late in the game. Up four at 61-57, the Mustangs went on a 10-0 run to pull away. Henry (17 points) and Lindquist (15) led the Marauders in scoring. Ryan Bruggeman led SMSU with 19 and Carter Kirk had 15.  

JEFFERSON JOTTINGS
Sr. forward Bryan Jefferson joined an exclusive club in Marauders history after cracking the 1,000 point and 500 rebound barrier. The 17th Marauder with 1,000 points, he is one of only seven Mary players have 500 rebounds. Additionally, the Aurora, IL, native is the 5th player in school history to crack both 1,000 points and 500 rebounds. The others are Roger Klemisch (1,465 points and 782 rebounds), Jerome Nichols (1,366 and 707), Rory Entzi (1,870 and 609) and Eric Erdmann (1,642 and 603).
Jefferson is currently 9th all-time with 1,195 points. Scott Kleinjan is the Marauders all-time scoring leader with 2,268.
Next on the list but maybe out of reach is Jerome Nichols with 1,366 points.
Jefferson is 6th all-time in rebounding with 581. With at least five games remaining he has a chance to move past Eric Erdmann (603) and Rory Entzi (609). Roger Klemisch is the all-time Marauders rebounding leader with 782.
After scoring 19 or more points in five straight games, was linited to six against SMSU
The Aurora, IL, native has four double doubles this season
He has just missed double digits in rebounds several times this season, ending with nine boards in eight different games
Only the third Mary player to earn All-NSIC 1st team honors, Jefferson is currently 10th in the league in scoring (16 PPG) and 5th in rebounds (7.6 RPG)
Jefferson has led the Marauders in scoring five times and rebounding 17 times this season
Six times this season Jefferson has scored 20 or more points

OH HENRY
Damonta Henry reached 1,000 career points against Bemidji State on Jan. 21, the 18th Marauder to reach that career milestone.
Has led the Marauders in scoring the last four games
Henry has cracked 20 points seven times this season, including a career-high 26 points against Yellowstone Christian and Winona State
In his past six games Henry is averaging 20 points per game while making 18-of-42 3-pointers and 57-of-113 field goals
The senior guard has led the Marauders in scoring 11 times this season
Henry leads the Marauders in treys (51) and scoring (16 PPG). His scoring average is 8th in the NSIC
Henry is 11th in the NSIC in 3-pointers per game (2.2)

SUGGS STORYLINE
After providing a jolt to the Marauders offense and defense all season, senior G/F Rickey Suggs has made a recent move into the starting lineup.
In eight games as a starter he is averaging 12.9 PPG and 5.5 RPG while shooting 50.4 percent.
Missed the Winona State and Sioux Falls games after suffering an injury at UIU
Playing in his back yard, the Woodbury, MN, native posted a career-high 19 points in the win at Concordia-St. Paul. He followed up last weekend with 19 points against UMC.
Suggs is 3rd on the team with 10.2 PPG, third in rebounds at 4.3/game, first in field goal percentage (.526) and fourth in steals with 18

LINDQUIST LINE SCORE
Sr. C Isaac Lindquist was one of nine Marauders to receive the Northern Sun's Myles Brand All-Academic with Distinction honor, one of the highest honors awarded by the NSIC. Student-athletes must have at least a 3.75 grade point average and be a senior on course to graduate and will exhaust their athletic eligibility this year.
The Milbank, SD, native is in his third season as a starter in the post for the Marauders and will earn a degree in Business Administration and Psychology.
4th on the team in scoring at 9.0 PPG
With 673 career points, he is 11th in scoring during Mary's NCAA era and needs five more to move into tenth

COLLINS CHALK TALK
Sr. G Erron Collins earned his first carer starts for the Marauders against Northern State and MSU Moorhead and has started ten straight games
16 of his 18 baskets this season are three-pointers

STOP THIEF
The Marauders are fifth in the NSIC lead in steals with 6.3 per game.  A true team effort, Pat Thomas leads Mary and is 6th in the NSIC at 1.3 steals/game and 30 on the season. Damonta Henry is second on the team with 25, Luke Scott (19) is third and Bryan Jefferson (18) and Rickey Suggs (18) are right behind.

TURNOVERS
Feeding off its penchant to steal the ball from its opponents, Mary is second in the NSIC in turnover margin. The Marauders are +2.37 per game, committing 10.5 turnovers/game while forcing 13.1. 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 14 games with one draw while opponents have held the edge nine times.  

HELPING HAND
With 99 assists this season, senior guard Pat Thomas has the 5th best single season total of Mary's NCAA era. With at least five games to go he could reach Anthony Moody's top year of 126 in 2010-11. Thomas is 21st in the nation in assist-to-turnover ratio at 2.89 and is 5th in the NSIC in assists per game at 4.1. 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.

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:       6-  6
The Marauders once won 27 straight home games for Coach Bortke
at the MAC (February 19, 1976 thru November 11, 1978).