THIS WEEKEND
After spending the past month at home in the McDowell Activity Center, the University of Mary men's basketball team leaves town for the Marauders first road trip of 2018, visiting #13 Northern State University and defending Northern Sun champion MSU Moorhead on Friday and Saturday, Jan. 5-6. The Marauders will face the Wolves 8 pm on Friday at Wachs Area in Aberdeen, SD. The weekend concludes in Moorhead, MN, against the Dragons in Alex Nemzek Fieldhouse at 6 pm on Saturday.
 
LAST TIME OUT
On the final weekend of 2017, the Marauders dropped a pair of home game, falling narrowly 63-58 to Minnesota Duluth before letting a halftime lead escape in a 77-66 loss to St. Cloud State. Keith Hunter led the Marauders with 17 points against the Bulldogs while Matthew Kreklow had a team-high and career-high 17 against the Huskies.  
 
THE RECORD
The Marauders are 2-10 overall and 0-8 in Northern Sun play.
 
GAMES MOVE TO KFYR 550 FOR JANUARY 6 AND JANUARY 13 GAMES
Make sure to adjust your radio dial the next two Saturdays (January 6 and January 13) from Fox Sports 710 to KFYR 550 AM to hear award-winning Voice of the Marauders Rick Anthony call the UMary men's and women's basketball contests.
 
FAST BREAK

• The Marauders make their first appearance on the road since visiting Wayne State College and Augustana on Dec. 8-9, a span of four weeks
• Six of the Marauders last eight games – including the last three – were played at home at the McDowell Activity Center
• The WSC-Augie weekend was the last time the Marauders played a Friday-Saturday weekend series
• The last time the Marauders played on a Friday was Dec. 8 at Wayne State
• Eight Marauders are averaging at least 4.8 points per game
• A trio of Marauders are averaging double digits in points: Keith Hunter (14.9 ppg), Trevor Zacher (10.8 ppg) and Matthew Kreklow (10.3 ppg). Tom Kubank is barely off the pace at 9.6 ppg.
• Only six players have started games this season for the Marauders. The front line of Tom Kubank, Trevor Zacher and Matthew Kreklow has started all 12 games. Jaylan White, Brody Sharkey and Keith Hunter have split the starts at the two guard positions.
• Four out of the Marauders five top scorers and 11 out of 13 made their UMary debut this season

 
TOUGH RUN
Out of their first eight conference contests, six of the Marauders games came against teams with winning records. A seventh game was against the defending conference champion. It gets no easier this weekend when UMary visits #13 Northern State and defending NSIC titleholder MSU Moorhead.
 
OPPO RESEARCH: #13 NORTHERN STATE UNIVERSITY WOLVES
#13 Northern State University tops the Northern Sun standings with a record of 14-1 overall and 8-0 in league play… the Wolves are the only NSIC team without a conference loss and the only conference team ranked in the nation's top 25 polls… The squad's lone loss was to Northwest Missouri State, the top-ranked NCAA Division II team in the country… Five Wolves are averaging double figures, led by Ian Smith (12.9 ppg). He also tops the team in assists at 4.5 per game… Logan Doyle averages 11.1 ppg and tops the team in rebounding at 7.1 per game… DJ Pollard averages 12.5 ppg and makes 46.8 percent of his trey attempts… Darin Peterka averages 12.3 ppg and tops the Wolves with 2.0 treys/game… In a reserve role, Carter Evans averages 11.1 ppg and 5.0 rpg... The 22^nd head coach in Northern State history, Paul Sather is in his 8^th season directing the Wolves and has a mark of 126-78. He was head coach at Black Hills State for five years before joining the Wolves for the 2010-11 season.
 
HISTORY LESSON UMary vs. Northern State
The Marauders trail the Wolves 25-13 in the all-time series… UMary and NSU have split their series the last three seasons… The road teams won last season after each team protected its home floor the previous two seasons… The two teams have split the last six games with the Wolves winning the last two contests.
LAST MEETING Brody Sharkey and Keith Hunter both scored 16 points for the Marauders in a 75-66 home loss to #21 Northern State on December 2, 2017. Gabe King scored a game-high 18 points for NSU and DJ Pollard added 16 points, six rebounds and four assists. UMary shot just 41.8 percent for the game and was 6-of-17 on trey attempts. NSU shot 5 percent overall and made 11-of-27 beyond the arc.
 
OPPO RESEARCH: MSU MOORHEAD DRAGONS
The defending Northern Sun champion, MSU Moorhead is 4-10 overall and 2-6 in the NSIC (6^th NSIC North, 12^th overall NSIC)… The Dragons return just one starter from last season when MSUM claimed a conference crown for the second time in three seasons and made its third straight NCAA tournament… First team all-NSIC guard Tanner Kretchman is the Dragons all-time assist leader and is 12^th in scoring with 1,383 points. The senior averages a team-high 16.2 points/game, 3.5 assists/game and 2.8 treys/game… Five Dragons average double digit points. In addition to Kretchman, Johnny Beeninga checks in at 14.1 ppg, followed by Addison Park (11.2 ppg), Travaun Coad (11.2 ppg) and Evan Hines (11.1 ppg)… Head coach Chad Walthall is in his eighth season leading the Dragons and is 169-67 at MSUM.
 
HISTORY LESSON The Marauders trail the Dragons 19-12 in the all-time series… Since joining the NCAA and NSIC, Mary is 7-17 against MSUM… MSUM has won the last three games… The Marauders won the first conference match-up 75-72 at MSUM on January 16, 2007… The Dragons followed with five straight wins, including an overtime victory, one win by one point and another by two points… The Marauders snapped the Dragons streak 74-58 at home on Jan. 30, 2010, the first of five straight UM wins that concluded with a 72-51 win over 19th ranked MSUM on Jan. 7, 2012, at the MAC. It is also the last UMary home win… The Marauders snapped an 8-game losing streak to the Dragons with a 77-73 upset win at 3rd ranked MSUM on January 8, 2016… The Dragons have won six straight at the MAC.
LAST MEETING Keith Hunter led UMary with 30 points on a night a mid-game dry spell cost the Marauders in an 89-82 loss to visiting MSU Moorhead on December 1, 2017. Hunter had five treys and six assists. Tom Kubank added 16 points and Matthew Kreklow 14 with eight rebounds and two blocks. Johnny Beeninga scored 26 points for MSUM and Travaun Coad added 19 points and 12 rebounds.
 
STOP THIEF!
The Marauders are third in the NSIC in steals at 6.7/game. The main culprits are Jaylan White (14 steals), Tom Kubank (14), Trevor Zacher (14) and Keith Hunter (11).
 
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 1.3 blocks/game (4th in the NSIC) and influences many other shots. Kreklow leads the Marauders in rebounds (5.3 rpg). He is also picking up the pace offensively, leading the team in field goal percentage (.567, 12^th in the NSIC) and is up to third among Marauders in scoring at 10.3 ppg. Kreklow was a force in the paint against UMD and SCSU. He scored 12 points on 6-of-8 shooting against the Bulldogs. Against the Huskies Kreklow was 6-of-7 from the floor and 5-of-6 at the line for a career-best 17 points. He has reached double figures for points in four straight games.
 
FRESHMAN FIREPOWER
Matthew Kreklow is third among NSIC freshmen in scoring at 10.3 ppg, trailing only Upper Iowa's Joe Smoldt (12.2) and Minnesota Crookston's Ben Juhl (11.0 ppg). Winona State's Devin Witelow (10.1 ppg) is right behind. Kreklow leads all conference freshmen in shooting percentage (.567) and rebounding (5.3 rpg).
 
DOWNTOWN
Jr. G Keith Hunter has been the Marauders deep threat, averaging 2.3 treys per game while hitting 42.3 percent of his 3-point attempts. He also leads the team in scoring at 14.9 ppg while making an efficient 48.3 percent of his shots. The top scorer among newcomers in the NSIC, Hunter is 15^th in the NSIC in scoring and ninth in treys/game. He has led the Marauders in scoring seven times this season with a high of 30 against MSU Moorhead.
 
DISTRIBUTION POINT
Since moving into the starting lineup in the second game of the season, Jaylan White has been one of the conference leaders in assists. The sophomore guard leads the Marauders with 3.7 assists per game, 10^th in the NSIC. He had a career-high eight against Yellowstone Christian and six against MSU Moorhead. White is also 4^th in the NSIC in assist to turnover ratio (2.6).
 
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 14.9 points per game. He's making 48 percent of his shots overall and hitting 42 percent of his trey attempts… Sharkey has started four games and averages 8.0 ppg… Hellebust is scoring 5.6 ppg and making 35 percent of his trey attempts… Carr chips in 4.8 ppg and is making 46 percent of his shots overall… Mayer has played in all 12 games and averages 1.8 ppg.
 
FRONT LINE
The Marauders mobile front line quickly learned to play together. Senior F Trevor Zacher is second on the Marauders in scoring (10.8 ppg) and 3-pointers (17). He is second on the team in team in shooting percentage (.484) and rebounding (4.5 rpg)… Junior F Tom Kubank is 4th in scoring at 9.6 ppg, pulls down 3.3 rebounds/game and is shooting 45 percent from the field… Freshman center Matthew Kreklow registered his first career double double with 11 points and ten rebounds against Yellowstone. He averages 10.3 ppg, 5.3 rpg, 1.3 blocks and is making 54 percent of his shots.
 
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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