THIS WEEKEND
The 2019-20 regular season comes to a close this weekend for the University of Mary men's basketball team with a pair of road games against two of the top teams in the league, Northern State University and MSU Moorhead. The weekend series tips off against NSIC-leading Northern State University on Friday, Feb. 21. Game time is 7:30 pm from Wachs Arena in Aberdeen. The regular season wraps up with a visit to MSU Moorhead on Saturday, Feb. 22. Game time is 3:30 pm at Nemzek Fieldhouse in Moorhead, MN.
 
RECORDS
The Marauders are 11-15 overall and 6-14 in the Northern Sun (13th in NSIC, 7th in NSIC North)… Northern State is 20-6 overall and 16-4 in the NSIC (1st NSIC, 1st NSIC North)… MSU Moorhead is 16-10 overall and 12-8 in the NSIC (5th NSIC, 3^rd in NSIC North).
 
LAST WEEK
The Marauders suffered a couple tough losses in their final two home games of the season… unable to find a groove offensively, the Marauders opened the weekend with an 82-53 loss to he Bemidji State Beavers. UMary shot just 36.7 percent for the game, including a 3-of-15 mark on treys. The Marauders did finish 14-of-16 at the line. BSU hit 16-of-29 shots behind the arc and shot 45.6 percent overall for the game. Josh Sipes hit all three UMary 3s in the game and scored 13 points. Jaylan White added 11. Matthew Kreklow had eight points, nine rebounds and four blocks. Max Bjorklund (5 3s) and Derek Thompson both had 16 points for the Beavers… A late cold spell cost the Marauders a chance for victory on Senior Night. After shooting over 54 percent in the first half, UMary made just 32.3 percent of their attempts in the second half, including a 1-for-12 mark on treys. After taking a 55-54 lead, the Marauders made just 2-of-12 field goal attempts in the last seven minutes of regulation. Matthew Kreklow led UMary with 18 points, eight rebounds and two blocks, hitting 8-of-11 shots. Wyatt Carr had 12 points and Jaylan White 14.
 
PLAYOFF SCENARIOS
The Marauders are locked into the sixth or seventh seed in the NSIC North. UMary is one game back of 6^th place Minnesota Crookston. If UMary wins two and Minnesota Crookston drops both of its games, the Marauders will be the sixth seed. Should the two teams tie, UMC owns the tiebreaker after sweeping the two-game season series with UMary… Minot State is two games behind UMary. If the two teams tie, the Marauders own the tiebreaker after sweeping the Beavers… If the standings remain the same, UMary would open the NSIC tournament at Upper Iowa, currently second in the NSIC South. The Marauders defeated the visiting Peacocks 85-71 earlier this season on Feb. 7.  
 
NSIC TOURNAMENT
The 2020 Northern Sun / Sanford Health Basketball Tournament opens February 26 at home sites before shifting to the Pentagon in Sioux Falls, SD, on Feb. 29-March 3. All 16 teams compete in the opening round on Wednesday, Feb. 26. The top four seeds in the NSIC North Division hosts the bottom four teams in the NSIC South. The top four NSIC South seeds host the bottom four seeds in the NSIC North. The eight winners advance to Sioux Falls for the quarterfinals on Saturday, Feb. 29. The semifinals are Monday, March 2. The Championship game is Tuesday, March 3.
 
NUMBERS TO KNOW
101 Wyatt Carr became the 19^th UMary player to connect on 100 3-pointers in his career when he connected for a pair of treys against Minnesota Crookston. Damonta Henry (2013-17) is the all-time leader with 200. Right in front of Carr and Hellebust on the all-time leader board are Darrell Oswald (102), Craig Steffan (104), Joel Welstad (106) and Leon Washington (108). 
 
 
96 Connor Hellebust is closing on 100 made treys in his career. The UMary junior is sitting at 96.
 
325 Jaylan White cracked 300 career assists when he dropped 12 in the Marauders win over Southwest Minnesota State. He is the sixth UMary player to accomplish that feat and has 325 in his career. The others are Tracy Porter (489), Scott Kleinjan (478), Jim Hughes (404), Rod Hubka (375) and Rusty Gillette (323).
 
1,030 Marauders senior guard Jaylan White cracked 1,000 career points last Saturday against Winona State University and now has 1,030 career points. The native of St. Charles, IA, is the 19th player in University of Mary men's basketball history to accomplish this feat. He now ranks 17th all-time. The last UMary players to crack 1,000 career points was Bryan Jefferson and Damonta Henry in the 2016-17 season… White passed Tracy Porter (1,006) on the all-time leader board last weekend with Chuck Welch (1,031) next on the list. 
 
102 Marauders head coach Joe Kittell earned his 100th career win as a collegiate head coach in UMary's 75-60 win over Southwest Minnesota State on Jan. 18, 2020, and now has 102. Kittell earned 42 wins at Lake Region State College from 2013-15. He has won 60 games at UMary since taking over the Marauders program in 2015-16.
 
125 After breaking the UMary team record for blocked shots, Matthew Kreklow's total continues to grow. After two more rejections last weekend, the junior forward now has 119 in his career. He broke the career record in UMary's win over St. Cloud State on Jan. 11, 2020. The former record was established by UMary Hall of Famer and All-American Marc Hawley, who finished his career with 108 blocked shots (1995-97). Kreklow blocked 23 shots as a freshman, 53 last year as a sophomore and has 43 blocks this season, an average of 1.5 blocks per game.
 
49 With 49 blocks this season, Matthew Kreklow is four away from equaling UMary's NCAA record of 54 rejections in a single season, established by Damon Smith in 2011-12.
 
930 The 26th UMary player to reach 900 career points, Matthew Kreklow ranks 23^rd all-time with 930 career points… Kreklow is the second UMary player to crack 900 points this season, joining Jaylan White.
 
488 On top of setting the school blocked shot record and passing 800 career points in the win over St. Cloud State, Matthew Kreklow also reached 400 career rebounds in the Huskies game. He is the 20th UMary player to reach that figure in his career and ranks 8^th all-time. Kreklow is poised to become just the 8th UMary player to reach 500 career rebounds.    
 
652 Connor Hellebust is making his way up the Marauders career scoring list and sits at 652 points.  
 
KAISER ROLL-ING
Trever Kaiser has been on a scoring run. He has hit for double digits in five of his last seven games. During his last eight games Kaiser is averaging 11.9 points per game. He is 11-of-26 on 3s, 25-of-28 at the free throw line and 25-of-54 from the field. For the year he is averaging 7.0 ppg.
 
MARAUDERS-DRAGONS TELEVISED ON KBMY-TV EXTRA
The Marauders men's and women's basketball games at MSU Moorhead on Saturday, Feb. 22, will be televised on KBMY-TV. The doubleheader begins at 3:30 pm with the men's game to follow at 5:30 pm. Check with your local cable provider for the channel. For Midco subscribers in the Bismarck, ND, area, the game can be found on channel 594.
 
LISTEN UP
Marauders fans can follow all the action live over the air on Fox Sports 710 AM with Voice of the Marauders Jesse Rostvedt providing the call… links to live video, audio and stats are available at www.GoUMary.com/coverage. 
 
OPPO RESEARCH – NORTHERN STATE UNIVERSITY WOLVES
 
 
Led by first year head coach Saul Phillips, the Wolves had slow start to the season, losing their first two games and holding a record of 4-3 at the end of November. Since the start of December the Wolves are 14-3. For the season Northern State is 20-6 overall and 16-4 in NSIC play (tied for 1^st overall in NSIC and leads NSIC North) In the first NCAA regional poll, the Wolves rank 5^th and are getting votes in the national NABC poll... Phillips previously was head coach at NCAA Division I schools North Dakota State and Ohio… The Wolves starting lineup features one senior and three underclassmen. So. F Parker Fox leads the team in scoring (20.1 ppg) and rebounds (9.2 rpg). Fellow sophomore Mason Stark is right behind at 15.3 ppg. Sr. G Gabe King checks in at 11.2 ppg.
 
HISTORY LESSON - MARAUDERS v. WOLVES
The Marauders trail the Wolves 29-13 in the all-time series… Recently UMary and NSU have split their series in 2014-15, 2015-16 and 2016-17 before the Wolves swept the series the last two seasons… The Wolves have won the last six meetings… UMary last defeated Northern State 77-75 on Dec. 3, 2016, in Aberdeen, SD, as Bryan Jefferson scored 17 points and Ricky Suggs added 14 off the bench… The Marauders last home win was a 60-58 victory on Dec. 4, 2015. Marquealis Edwards led UMary with 16 points and four steals… LAST MEETING The visiting Wolves knocked off the Marauders 74-61 at the MAC on Dec. 14, 2019. Matthew Kreklow posted his second straight double double 1ith 18 points and a career-best 13 rebounds. Glenn Jordan and Wyatt Carr both added nine points on a night the Marauders shot just 33 percent for the game. Gabe King led the Wolves with 21 points and Parker Fox added 19 on a night NSU shot 52 percent.
  
OPPO RESEARCH – MSU MOORHEAD DRAGONS
Following a 19-win season a year ago, the Dragons own a mark of 16-10 overall and are 12-8 in the NSIC (3^rd in the North, 5^th overall). In his 10^th season at MSUM, head coach Chad Walthall earned his 200^th win with the Dragons. After four straight road games, MSUM is back home in the Alex Nemzek Fieldhouse, where the Dragons have won their last three games. So. guards Gavin Baumgartner and Bryce Irsfeld lead the Dragons in scoring. Baumgartner is averaging 17.7 points per game on 51.9 percent shooting and a team-best 42.6 percent (52-of-122) from three. Irsfeld is averaging 12.4 points per game on 47.9 percent shooting. Fr. F Dane Zimmer leads the way in field goal percentage, shooting 66.4 percent from the field this season. From the free throw line,Irsfeld is 89.2 percent (74-of-83). On the glass, Zimmer leads with 6.1 rebounds per game. Sr. G guard Johnny Beeninga leads with 3.0 assists per games. He averages 8.5 ppg and broke 1,000 career points earlier this season.
 
HISTORY LESSON - MARAUDERS v. DRAGONS
The Marauders trail the Dragons 20-15 in the all-time series… Since joining the NCAA and NSIC, UMary is 10-18 against MSUM… A last-second basket by the Dragons in the team's only other meeting this season snapped the Marauders 3-game winning streak over MSUM…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 UMary wins that concluded with a 72-51 win over 19th ranked MSUM on Jan. 7, 2012, at the MAC… 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 Marauders snapped a six-game home losing streak to the Dragons last spring, defeating MSU Moorhead 83-63 on Feb. 23, 2019... The Marauders doubled their win streak to two over the Dragons with a 78-73 win at MSU Moorhead on Dec. 14, 2018. Matthew Kreklow and Dennis Austin III both had 15 points and six Marauders reached double digits… LAST MEETING After taking a lead with 20 seconds remaining on a Jaylan White 3-pointer, Gavin Baumgartner his the winning basket for the visiting Dragons in a 79-78 MSUM win over UMary. The game featured 12 led changes and six ties. Matthew Kreklow led the Marauders with 25 points and ten rebounds. He also had four assists and four blocks. Wyatt Carr added 19 points and White had 15. Baumgartner led MSUM with 22 points.
 
DEFENSE
The Marauders continue to be one of the toughest teams in the nation to score on. The Marauders hold the opposition to 70.2 points per game, third in the Northern Sun. Opponents are making just 44 percent of their field goal attempts against UMary, 8th best in the NSIC… The Marauders defense allowed 70.9 ppg last season (2018-19), also 3^rd in the NSIC.
 
DEFENSE PART II
UMary is 61st in NCAA Division II in scoring defense out of 303 teams, allowing 70.1 ppg.
 
HANDS OFF APPROACH
The Marauders commit an average of 14.1 personal fouls/game, the fewest in the NSIC and 14th fewest in NCAA Division II.
 
FREEBIES
Taking advantage of opportunities at the foul line, the Marauders are converting an impressing 74.6 percent of their free throw attempts (345-of-462). UMary ranks 6th in the NSIC and 75th in NCAA Division II... The Marauders have shot 108 more free throws than the opposition and made 100 more (345 made by UMary to 245 for opponents)… UMary foes are making just 69.2 percent of its attempts, the worst figure in the NSIC. 
 
SWAT CITY
The Marauders are blocking 3.3 shots/game, 8th in the NSIC. Much of the work is being done by junior Matthew Kreklow, who is 3rd in the NSIC at 2.0 rejections/game.
 
WHITE HOT
In his 3rd season as a starter, Jaylan White is having another outstanding season for the Marauders and continues to climb the career charts…. The senior point guard is 6th in the NSIC in steals (1.3)/game), 9th in assists (3.7), and 6th in assists to turnovers ratio (2.1). He is averaging 11.8 points and 2.7 rebounds per game… When needed, White has taken over a quartet of Marauders wins this season. The senior point guard scored 18 points in the opening game of the year, nine coming in the second half and the other nine in overtime… Against Dickinson State he just missed his career-high, scoring 28 points and making 10-of-15 shots in the win… In a win at Minot State, White scored all 13 of his points in the final seven minutes to help the Marauders overcome an 11-point deficit, scoring the winning basket with 8.8 seconds left in the game… in a 75-72 home win over Minot State, White scored seven points in overtime… Entering his third season as a starter, White was named the Marauders NSIC Preseason Player to Watch for 2019-20. The native of St. Charles, IA, earned All-Northern Sun honorable mention honors in 2018-19 after averaging a team-leading 13.8 ppg and 3.3 RPG. He was among the league leaders in free throw percentage (.826), had 2.5 rebounds/game and 1.3 steals/game… After serving as a key reserve as a freshman, White has started 81 out of the Marauders last 82 games, including all 29 last year and 26 this season. He is averaging 9.2 points per game in 110 career games and has totaled 1,030 points while distributing 328 assists (5th all-time).
 
1,000/300
Jaylan White is one of just four Marauders who have scored 1,000 points and made 300 assists in their careers. The others are Tracy Porter (1,006 points/489 assists), Scott Kleinjan (2,268/478) and Rusty Gillette (1,167/323). All four were at the MAC and honored prior to the Marauders-Beavers game on Friday.
 
CLUTCH
For the second time in his career, Jaylan White hit a game-winning bucket in the final seconds of a game in the Marauders victory at Minot State University. The senior posted the game-winning basket in the 56-53 win with 8.8 seconds on the clock… Last season the All-NSIC guard hit a shot with under three seconds remaining of a 100-98 triple overtime win at Minnesota Duluth. 
 
12
Jaylan White set the Marauders NCAA era record for assists in a single game with 12 against Southwest Minnesota State. The old record was 11 by Marquealis Edwards against Presentation College on Dec. 15, 2015.White's previous high was eight.
 
REJECTION LETTERS
Matthew Kreklow is the Marauders all-time career leader in blocked shots with 125. He surpassed  UMary Hall of Famer and All-American forward Marc Hawley (108 rejections in 1995-97) when he blocked four shots in the Marauders win over St. Cloud State on Saturday...Kreklow's 53 blocks in 2018-19 as a sophomore was one shy of the school's NCAA era single season record by Damon Smith in 2011-12… Kreklow leads the Marauders in scoring (14.3 ppg), rebounding (8.3 rpg) and blocks (2.0) and field goal percentage (.550)… he is shooting 79 percent at the free throw line and averages 0.9 steals and 1.2 assists… he has six double doubles this season and nine in his career (see note below)… Kreklow is 19th in the NSIC in scoring, 7th in rebounding, 4th in field goal percentage and 11th in free throw percentage… In NCAA Division II rankings, Kreklow is 19^th in blocks/game, 56th in field goal percentage and 69^th in rebounding… Kreklow is just the 3rd UMary player to win NSIC Player of the Week multiple times (Eric Erdmann and All-American Anthony Moody were both honored three times). Kreklow first won the honor in January 2019 after leading the Marauders to a weekend sweep of Minnesota Crookston and Bemidji State… This season he captured the award for his efforts in the final week of the 2019 schedule after scoring 16 points on 8-of-11 shooting with 12 rebounds and three blocks in a win over the University of Maine, followed by 25 points, ten rebounds and five blocks in an overtime win over Minot State.
 
DOUBLE DOUBLE DOUBLE DOUBLE DOUBLE DOUBLE
Matthew Kreklow owns six double doubles this season, including a run of four straight games. For his career Kreklow has eight double doubles. Here's the list:
1/24/20 at Minnesota Crookston | 23 points and 12 rebounds
12/21/19 vs. Minot State | 25 points and 10 rebounds
12/17/19 vs. Maine-Fort Kent | 16 points and 12 rebounds
12/14/19 vs. Northern State | 18 points and 13 rebounds
12/13/19 vs. MSU Moorhead | 25 points and 10 rebounds
11/30/19 at Minot State | 12 points and 10 rebounds
1/25/19 vs. Minnesota Crookston | 14 points and 10 rebounds
11/20/18 vs. South Dakota Mines | 14 points and 10 rebounds
11.28.17 vs. Yellowstone Christian | 11 points and 10 rebounds
 
DOWNTOWN
Connor Hellebust is one of the Marauders top threat from behind the arc. The junior guard averages 8.8 points per game and 3.0 rebounds. He is knocking down 30 percent of his 3-point attempts (30-of-101) and is making 71 percent of his free throw attempts (42-of-59)… Hellebust has hit for double digits in points in 11 games, with scoring highs of 22 against Bemidji State and 18 against both Northeastern State and Presentation… he posted a team-best 15 points in the Marauders win at Minot State… has hit three or more treys in a game four times... his 30 treys are third the team.
 
DOWNTOWN PART 2
The Marauders are making 8.2 treys per game (10th in the NSIC) and are converting 34 percent of their attempts (15th in NSIC)… Wyatt Carr is hitting a team-high 51 percent of his trey attempts, hitting 40-of-78 attempts behind the arc... tied with Carr for made 3s is Josh Sipes. The redshirt freshman is 40-of-98 from behind the arc (41 percent)… The Marauders sank 15 treys against Southwest Minnesota State, the second most UMary has hit in an NCAA-era game (record is 17 against Saint Martin's in the 2008-09 season).
 
DEBUT
Four players have made their Marauders debut this season: junior Glenn Jordan, redshirt freshmen Kade Amundson and Josh Sipes and freshman Regan Tollefson. Sipes was in the Marauders starting lineup early in the season before becoming a scoring threat off the bench. He averages 6.7 ppg and is ted for the team lead in treys (40)… Amundson has started two games and averages 4.3 ppg… Jordan has started 13 straight games and is scoring 5.0 ppg… Tollefson has played in 16 games and averages 3.0 ppg.
 
WELCOME ABOARD
The Marauders welcomed several newcomers this season. Jr G Glenn Jordan joins the Marauders after an all-conference career at Allan Hancock College… G Josh Sipes and F Kade Amundson are redshirt freshmen who were with the Marauders program last season… F Logan Nagorski, G Treyton Mattern, G Matthew Johnson and F Regan Tollefson are true freshmen with the UMary program this season.
 
THE BORTKE COURT MAC ATTACK
The Marauders once again found success on Bortke Court in the McDowell Activity Center. The playing floor was christened Bortke Court in honor of long-time Mary men's basketball coach and athletic director Al Bortke in July 2009. Here is the Marauders NCAA Division II home record:
2006-07:   5-  7
2007-08:   4-  7
2008-09:   7-  5
2009-10: 11-  2
2010-11: 12-  1
2011-12:   3-10
2012-13:   3-  9
2013-14:   6-  7
2014-15:   4-  8
2015-16:   8-  7
2016-17:   8-  6
2017-18:   2-11
2018-19:   9-  5
2019-20:   8-7
The Marauders once won 27 straight home games for Coach Bortke at the MAC (February 19, 1976 thru November 11, 1978).
 
NIFTY 50 | #4
After winning his 50th game at UMary in the season opener, Joe Kittell moved to 4th in all-time Marauders men's basketball coaching wins in a home win over Minot State. Legendary Hall of Famer Al Bortke tops the list with 335, followed by Jim Feeney (144), Rod Jonas (69), Kittell (60) and Juno Pintar (55).
 
KITTELL AT 102
Marauders head coach Joe Kittell, in his fifth season at UMary, won his 100th career game as a collegiate coach against Southwest Minnesota State. Kittell earned 42 wins in two seasons at Lake Region State College and owns 60 at UMary.
 
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