MARSHALL, MN – Facing one of the top teams in the Northern Sun, University of Mary forward Trevor Zacher exploded for a career-high 27 points. The senior's outburst wasn't enough for the visiting Marauders in an 83-61 loss at Southwest Minnesota State. The Mustangs are fourth overall in the NSIC standings and second in the south division.
 
Zacher was unstoppable with the ball. The Beulah, ND, native hit four out of six shots behind the arc and finished 8-of-11 from the field overall. He also made all seven free throws and corralled three rebounds. His outburst comes one night after scoring just four points at Sioux Falls. Zacher's previous career-high was 23 points. The four 3-pointers ties for his second-best mark from behind the arc.
 
The remainder of Zacher's teammates were held in check offensively. Jaylan White was next in the scoring column. The sophomore hit two treys and scored nine points. He also had six rebounds, three assists and three steals while committing just one turnover. Matthew Kreklow added eight points and four rebounds.
 
Carter Kirk led SMSU (17-7, 13-5) with 22 points and eight rebounds. He connected on 9-of-11 shots. Ryan Bruggeman had 14 points, seven assists and three steals while making 6-of-8 field goals. Turner Moen was also 6-of-8 from the field and scored 14.
 
UMary (5-17, 3-15 NSIC) shot just 35 percent from the floor, despite going 10-of-25 (40 percent) behind the arc. The Marauders went 15-of-19 at the line.
 
SMSU connected on 55.9 percent of its shots. The Mustangs committed just nine turnovers to 17 for the Marauders and held a 23-16 edge in points off turnovers. SMSU made a living inside, outscoring UMary 38-10 in the paint.
 
The Marauders stayed within striking distance in the opening half. A pair of free throws by White with less than two minutes remaining before intermission pushed UMary in front 32-30. SMSU regained the lead and entered halftime leading 35-32 after Bruggeman hit a trey and a fast break jumper in the last 40 seconds.
 
SMSU began to pull away from UMary behind a 14-1 run just before the midway point to claim a 60-44 advantage and the Mustangs maintained a double digit advantage the remainder of the evening.
 
UMary continues its four-game road trip with a visit to St. Cloud State and Minnesota Duluth on February 9-10.
 
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