CROOKSTON, MN – In their final road game of the regular season,
Jaylan White scored 22 points and
Matthew Kreklow added 17 for the University of Mary men's basketball team in a 72-60 loss at the University of Minnesota Crookston. The loss dropped the Marauders a game back of the Golden Eagles in the Northern Sun North division standings as the two squads spilt their season series by each winning at home.
White, UMary's leading scorer on the season, had a strong night from the floor and the line. The junior guard was 8-of-14 on field goal attempts and hit all five of his free throws on his way to 22 points. He also added three steals, five rebounds and two assists. Kreklow missed just one free throw in eight attempts and hit 5-of-9 shots overall. In addition to 17 points the sophomore center blocked three shots and added four rebounds.
Connor Hellebust gave the Marauders three scorers in double figures. The Bismarck, ND, native had 11 points and five rebounds.
Held to nine points in the Golden Eagles road loss to the Marauders, Harrison Cleary scored a game-high 23 points tonight at home. It wasn't easy as the Marauders held one of the nation's top scorers to a 6-of-17 effort from the floor and forced Cleary into committing six turnovers. Javier Nicolau added 14 points and Josh Collins 10 on senior night at UMC.
Close much of the first half, the Golden Eagles used a 13-2 run in the final six minutes to enter halftime leading 41-29. UMC shot an impressive 57 percent from the field to just 38 percent for UMary in the opening stanza to generate an advantage the home team maintained the remainder of the game.
The two teams played to a draw in the second half as each scored 31 points. UMary closed the gap to eight points a couple times early but could never climb ay closer as UMC finished its home schedule with a record of 13-2.
The Golden Eagles took advantage of Marauders turnovers, outscoring UMary 16-6 off miscues as UMC was +9 on the night. UMary connected on 40.4 percent of its shots and went 16-of-21 at the line. UMC hit 44.1 percent of its field goal attempts and made 14-of-17 free throws.
Tied with the Golden Eagles for fifth in the NSIC North entering the weekend, the Marauders (11-15 overall, 8-12 NSIC) slipped to seventh with two games left in the regular season. UMC (16-13, 9-11) is tied for fifth with Minot State.
The Marauders close out the regular season by hosting Northern State University and MSU Moorhead on Friday and Saturday, Feb. 22-23.
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