BISMARCK, ND –
Dennis Austin III hit a buzzer-beating three-pointer at the end of overtime to carry the University of Mary men's basketball team to a 73-70 win over visiting University of Minnesota Duluth, setting off a wild celebration at the McDowell Activity Center.
Jaylan White exploded for a career-high 29 points to pace the Marauders offense, knocking down 5-of-7 shots from behind the arc. The junior guard also added three assists and two steals.
Matthew Kreklow scored 14 of his 18 points in the second half. He made all ten free throw attempts, had six rebounds, made three assists and blocked three shots.
Clutch baskets littered the last five minutes of regulation and all of overtime for the Marauders. It was a sharp contrast from the loss the night before to St. Cloud State in which UMary couldn't score down the stretch. Against the Bulldogs the Marauders hit multiple clutch shots in the closing minutes and overtime.
Trailing by eight with 5:52 to go in the game, Kreklow hit four straight free throws to close the gap to 55-51. A Kreklow block ignited the Marauders next basket, a driving layup in traffic by Austin to pull UMary within two points. Jack Paper then countered with a basket to extend the UMD lead to 57-53.
Needing another basket soon, the Marauders turned to White. With the shot clock running down and under heavy defensive pressure on the wing in front of the UMary bench, White drilled a deep three and was fouled on the play as the MAC exploded. The native of St. Charles, IA, proceeded to make his free throw and tie the game at 57-57 with 1:43 remaining.
After UMD responded with a pair of free throws, Kreklow hit a jumper in the lane to once again keep the game even. UMary finally broke out in top when UMD missed a 3-poiunt attempt and
Tom Kubank snared one of his 12 rebounds and fired the ball ahead to
Connor Hellebust for a tough layup for a UMary 61-59 lead with under a minute remaining. The lead wouldn't last as Sean Burns hit a pair of free throws for UMD to force overtime.
The Marauders struck first in the overtime session as Austin hit a layup off a feed from Hellebust. Burns responded with a layup for UMD but White nailed a jumper to again give UMary the lead.
With neither team refusing to fade away, Logan Rohrscheib drilled a trey for UMD before White responded with a 3-ball of his own.
Now both offenses were rolling again and a Burns layup provided the 12
th tie of the contests at 68-68 and 1:29 remaining.
Continuing his clutch play, Kreklow again scored in the paint. UMary followed with a steal but couldn't convert offensively, fouling Brandon Myer in the process. The UMD forward hit both free throws with nine seconds on the clock to pull even at 70-70.
With one final possession, the Marauders made their opportunity count as White found Austin open in the corner in front of the UMary bench. The senior guard calmly drained the three-pointer with .2 seconds left on the clock, creating bedlam again at the MAC and providing the Marauders their second Northern Sun win in three games.
Austin finished with 10 points for UMary. He had three rebounds and added an assist. Hellebust chipped in nine points, hit two treys, grabbed five rebounds and posted two assists. In addition to his 12 rebounds, Kubank also had a team-best four assists.
Burns led UMD with 21 points and added 12 rebounds. Myers had 15 points and 17 rebounds. Rohrscheib had four triples and 18 points.
UMary held a 14-6 edge in points off turnovers to help offset the fact UMD had a 42-34 edge in rebounds. The Marauders shot 40 percent for the game, including a 9-for-19 performance behind the line. UMD was held to 36.2 percent shooting and made just 5-of-19 shots behind the arc.
The Marauders – who won five games during their six game home stand – improve to 5-4 overall and 2-1 in the NSIC. UMD slips to 5-2 and 2-1.
UMary closes out 2018 with games at MSU Moorhead and Northern State next weekend (Dec. 14-15) and at Minot State on Dec. 30.
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