BEMIDJI, MN – With the opportunity to open the Northern Sun tournament at home, the visiting University of Mary men's basketball team took control on both ends of the court down the stretch to knock off Bemidji State University 87-82. Seniors Damota Henry, Bryan Jefferson and Rickey Suggs combined for 63 points to spearhead the Marauders win.  
 
The victory keeps the Marauders alone in fourth place in the NSIC North division with one game to play and allows Mary to control its own fate. The top four teams in both the North and South divisions host the opening round of the conference tournament on Wednesday, Feb 22. Mary is one game ahead of Minot State. A Marauders win over Minnesota Crookston or a Minot State loss at Bemidji State on Saturday provides Mary the playoff home game. Should Mary and MSU tie, the Beavers hold the tiebreaker due to a better divisional record.
 
The Marauders victory eliminated the Beavers from home playoff contention. Both Beavers teams – Bemidji State and Minot State – started the weekend one game behind Mary. MSU remains one game back while BSU fell two behind. Mary is 12-15 overall and 10-11 in the NSIC. BSU is 10-16 and 8-13.
 
Down by as many as 13 in the first half, Mary closed out the opening session on a 13-4 run featuring 3-pointers from Henry and Trevor Zacher.
 
Mary took its first lead in the game at 49-48 early in the second half on a free throw by Suggs. BSU eventually regained its footing to grab a 69-61 advantage with over eight minutes left in the game.
 
The rest of the night belonged to the Marauders, who ripped off a 20-5 run. Scoring on four straight possessions, Mary quickly pulled within two points. Starting and ending a fastbreak basket, Jefferson ripped down a rebound and scored on the other end to give Mary the lead for good at 75-74. Another fastbreak, triggered by a Henry rebound and outlet pass to Suggs for the finish, pushed the lead to three.
 
Two more defensive stops and Marauders defensive rebounds led to another Jefferson basket and a pair of Henry free throws for a 74-81 lead with 68 seconds left in the game.
 
Henry added two more free throws and Pat Thomas added four in the closing seconds to secure the Mary lead and give the Marauders a season split with the Beavers.
 
Henry led all players with 25 points. He was 12-of-16 at the free throw line and made four steals. Jefferson scored 19 points on 8-of-13 shooting and added six rebounds and three assists. Suggs just missed a double double with 19 points and nine rebounds while chipping in two assists and two steals.
 
Lucas Wendt led BSU with 19 points. Ben Best had 16 points and nine rebounds. Shane White had 12 points and eight rebounds and Peyton Dibble added 10 points.
 
The Marauders close out the regular season Saturday on the road against the University of Minnesota Crookston at 6 pm.
 
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