MANKATO, MN – Battling one of the nation's top programs down to the wire, the University of Mary men's basketball team fell just short against Minnesota State University. The Mavericks outscored the visiting Marauders in the final minute of play to claim a 69-65 victory in a game that featured nine lead changes and five ties.
 
Leading by as many as seven points in the second half, the Marauders (7-7 overall, 2-6 NSIC) took their last lead of the game at 59-56 on a 3-pointer by Glenn Jordan with five minutes left in the game. With the Mavericks (7-7, 5-3) on a roll, UMary soon fell down by as many as three points.
 
Continuing to battle, a Matthew Kreklow free throw followed by a pair of Connor Hellebust free throws knotted the game for the Marauders at 63-63 with just under a minute remaining in the game. Cameron Kirksey then delivered the shot of the game for the Mavericks with 37 seconds on the clock, giving Minnesota State a 65-63 advantage.
 
Looking to pull even, the Marauders were unable to convert in the lane and Kirksey hauled down the rebound. Ryland Holt made the second of two free throws and the Marauders trailed 66-63. Jaylan White, fouled at midcourt before UMary could get in position to tie the game on a trey, went to the line and hit two free throws with under eight seconds remaining to close the gap to 66-65.
 
With UMary now forced to foul, Minnesota State's Kevin Kreiger left the door open by hitting one of two free throw attempts with a couple of seconds on the clock for a 67-65 advantage. With limited time and needing to go the full length of the court, the Marauders committed a turnover on a long inbound pass attempt before fouling Kreiger again. This time Kreiger sealed the Mavericks win, making two free throws with less than a second on the clock.
 
The Marauders scored the first eight points of the game and led 37-32 at intermission behind a solid shooting effort. After hitting 47 percent of their shots from the floor in the first half, UMary slumped to 25 percent in the second. For the game, the Marauders hit 39 percent of their field goal attempts, including 36 percent effort behind the arc (8-of-22). UMary was 13-of-18 at the line.
 
Minnesota State shot just 35 percent from the floor while making 9-of-33 trey attempts. The Mavericks struggled at the line, making 10-of-17 free throws. The home team's biggest advantage was holding a 50-35 edge in rebounding, hauling down 19 offensive boards in the game that allowed MSU to take 13 more shots than UMary.
 
Jaylan White led the Marauders with 21 points. Deadly from deep, the senior guard hit 5-of-7 trey attempts. The St. Charles, IA, native cracked 900 career points in the game, becoming just the 26^th UMary player to reach that level. He is tied with Maury Robinson for 25^th all-time with 903 points.
 
In his first start for the Marauders, Jordan hit for 15 points. The junior guard hit 2-of-3 shots behind the arc and finished 5-of-9 from the floor and 3-of-4 at the line. He also had six rebounds and a pair of assists. Kreklow chipped in 14 points, six rebounds and three blocks.
 
Cameron led all players with 27 points and 11 rebounds. Krieger added 16 points and eight rebounds while Holt had 10 and seven.
 
The Marauders next open a four-game home stand against the University of Miinnesota Duluth on Friday, Jan. 10. Game time is 7:30 pm at the McDowell Activity Center.
 
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