SIOUX FALLS, SD – In the University of Mary's return to competition during a season delayed for two months by a pandemic, senior forward Matthew Kreklow displayed midseason form in his march to further entrench his name in the program's annals. Already the program's all-time leader in blocked shots, the senior from Maple Plain, MN, dropped 24 points against nationally-ranked Sioux Falls to become just the 20^th player in school history to reach 1,000 career points.
 
Despite a combined 41 points from Kreklow and Trever Kaiser, the visiting Marauders suffered a narrow 64-60 loss to the Cougars, who were ranked as high as 22^nd in the nation this season.
 
Down by as many as 18 points in the first half, the Marauders cut their deficit to 41-28 at intermission.
 
Defense led a second-half charge for UMary. The Marauders held the Cougars scoreless for nearly the first seven minutes of the second half while pulling within 41-37 on a Regan Tollefson basket before Sioux Falls was able to find the net.
 
The Cougars soon rebuilt their lead to double figures before the Marauders made one more surge. Behind a 5-0 run featuring a pair of Glenn Jordan free throws and a basket from Kaiser, UMary clawed within 61-59 on a Kreklow free throw with 19 seconds left in the game. Unable to make a steal and forced to foul, the Marauders sent Jack Thompson to the line where he buried a pair of free throws to seal the victory for the Cougars.
 
"I was really happy with our effort," said Marauders head coach Joe Kittell. "We just played too rushed in the first half and had a lot of live ball turnovers. We'll clean up those turnovers and get a few more inside-out easy threes tomorrow and we will be just fine."
 
Kreklow had a monster game. In addition to scoring 24 points, he just missed a double double with nine rebounds and four blocks, all game-highs. The All-NSIC performer went 12-of-14 at the free throw line and knocked down both his 3-point attempts.
 
Kaiser added 17 points for UMary. He had six rebounds and posted a pair of steals.
 
Chase Grinde led the Cougars with 16 points. Teathloach Pal added 13.
 
UMary shot 37% for the game, including a 3-for-13 effort behind the arc, and committed 18 turnovers. USF connected on 43% of its shots and went 4-of-18 on treys while committing 13 turnovers. The Marauders held a big edge at the line, making 23-of-28 free throws. The Cougars were 8-for-14.
 
The two teams wrap up their 2-game weekend series on Sunday, Jan. 3, at 2 pm, from the Stewart Center in Sioux Falls, SD.
 
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