THIS WEEK
The University of Mary men's basketball team concludes a four-game road trip this weekend with a pair of contests at Bemidji State University. The Beavers host the Marauders at BSU Gymnasium in Bemidji, MN, on Friday and Saturday, Jan. 22-23. Tip off is set for 6 pm on Friday and 3:30 pm on Saturday.
 
UNIVERSITY OF MARY HOME GAME ATTENDANCE POLICY
University of Mary home games are currently closed to the general public and no tickets will be sold. A limited number of family passes will be distributed to both the home and away teams and to faculty & staff and students.
 
TICKETS FOR AWAY GAMES
Each campus is making pandemic-related policies regarding fan attendance. Please check with opposing schools/venues for ticket availability for fans.
 
WATCH ALL MARAUDERS GAMES LIVE ONLINE AT GOUMARY.COM
All UMary basketball games – home and away - are streamed live online. Visit www.GoUMary.com/coverage and www.NSICNetwork.com to watch.
 
MARAUDERS HOME BASKETBALL GAMES AIRING LIVE ON FOX SPORTS 710
All home University of Mary men's and women's basketball games will air live on Fox Sports 710 AM. Voice of the Marauders Jesse Rostvedt will call all the action this season from the McDowell Activity Center.
 
NSIC, UMARY BASKETBALL COVID-19 PANDEMIC CHANGES
In order to compete safely this season during the COVID-19 pandemic, the University of Mary, the NCAA and the Northern Sun have created several new policies. Here are just a few changes implemented for the 2020-21 men's and women's basketball season….
•             The 2020-21 season for Northern Sun members begins on Jan. 2
•             NSIC teams will play 16 games, all against conference competition (teams normally play 26 regular season games that includes a 22-game NSIC schedule)
•             All teams will play two games against a single conference opponent each weekend (usually play two different teams each weekend)
•             All NSIC schools host home games for eight straight weeks as either the men's or women's team will play at home with the other team on the road (no men's and women's doubleheaders)
•             The NSIC will only declare North and South Division champions and not an overall champion for 2021
•             Eight teams will advance to the NSIC tournament (all teams previously made the tournament with first-round games at home sites)
•             Marauders home games are currently closed to the general public
•             Only home Marauders basketball games will air on Fox Sports 710 (follow road Marauders basketball games live video streams at www.GoUMary.com/coverage)
•             Game programs are only available online and will not be printed
•             Winter scholar-athletes will maintain their year of eligibility independent of whether they compete or not
 
HOW TO FOLLOW YOUR MARAUDERS LIVE
Links to live streaming video, game stats and radio streams are available at www.GoUMary.com/coverage
 
Live video streamed at www.NSICNetwork.com/goumary
 
Fox Sports 710 AM radio broadcasts available online at https://foxsports710.iheart.com/
 
RECORDS
The University of Mary is 2-4 overall this season and 2-2 in the NSIC North Division standings. The Marauders are tied for 4^th place… BSU is 1-5 and 0-4.   
 
OPPO RESEARCH – BEMIDJI STATE UNIVERSITY
After a win in the season-opener, the Beavers have lost five straight games, including a pair at home to Northern State and two last weekend at MSU Moorhead. BSU is struggling to score, exceeding 67 points just once this season and averaging 62.0. Defensively the bEavers allow 79 ppg. Derek Thompson carries the scoring load, averaging a team-high 17.7 ppg. The senior forward also leads in rebounding at 7.5 rpg and in total treys (8). Thompson is 17^th all-time at BSU in scoring (1,110 points) and 10^th inn rebounds (501). Cody Landwehr is posting 10.5 ppg. Head coach Mike Boschee is in his ninth season leading the Beavers.
 
 HISTORY LESSON - MARAUDERS v. BEAVERS
Mary leads the series with BSU 17-12… The series began in 1971 with a 92-87 home win for the Marauders… The two teams played twice in the 1987 season with each school winning at home… Since becoming a member of the NSIC, Mary captured the first five meetings before BSU broke through with a home win in the 2009-10 season… After six straight losses to the Beavers, the Marauders swept the season series in 2014-15 and 2015-16… The two teams have split their season series the last four years… UMary has won five out of its last six games in Bemidji… LAST MEETING Bemidji State hit 16 treys and defeated the Marauders 82-53 in Bismarck, ND, on Feb. 14, 2020. Josh Sipes had 13 points for UMary and Jaylan White 11. Max Bjorklund and Derek Thompson both had 16 for BSU... A Matthew Kreklow slam dunk game-winning basket with 1.5 seconds left in the contest carried the Marauders to a 78-77 road win over the Beavers on January 25, 2020. The Marauders overcame a 77-73 deficit with 82 seconds left in the game. Connor Hellebust had a career-high 22 points and Trever Kaiser had 11.
 
LAST WEEKEND
After struggling offensively in the opener, the Marauders bounced back to win game two and gain a split at the University of Minnesota Duluth. UMary made just 29% of its shots in a 72-50 loss to UMD in the opener. Trever Kaiser led the team with 12 points and Matthew Kreklow had 10 rebounds… The shots fell for the Marauders on Saturday as UMary claimed game two 80-70. Kaiser has 20 points and nine rebounds, Kreklow posted 14 points and three blocks, Kam Warrens scored a career-best 11 points and Wyatt Carr added 10. The Marauders shot 53% from the field – including 9-of-20 behind the arc – and went 15-of-18 at the line. Defensively the Marauders held the Bulldogs to a 39.0 shooting percentage… BSU suffered 70-50 and 83-61 losses at MSU Moorhead.
 
INSIDE OUT
Matthew Kreklow and Trever Kaiser have packed an impressive scoring punch for the Marauders this season, combining to lead UMary in scoring each game. Matthew Kreklow handles the scoring inside with Kaiser delivering from outside. Kaiser averages 18.3 ppg to rank 6^th in the NSIC. Kreklow checks in at 15.8 ppg (14^th). Combined the duo averages 34.1 ppg. Their combined scoring total is fourth in the NSIC , behind just St. Cloud State's Anthony Roberts and Caleb Donaldson (37.6 ppg), Northern State's Parker Fox and Mason Stark (36.5 ppg), and Minnesota Duluth's Drew Blair and Austin Andrews (34.7 ppg).  
 
 
NUMBERS TO KNOW
 
1,071 | Matthew Kreklow ranks 16th all-time in scoring at UMary. He became the 20th Marauders player to crack 1,000 career points in the season opener and passed Rich Lorenz (993), Craig Steffan (1,004), Tracy Porter (1,006), Chuck Welch (1,031) and former teammate Jaylan White (1,064) on the all-time list. He next looks to pass NCAA All-American Anthony Moody (1,126).
 
554 | Matthew Kreklow sits 8th all-time in career rebounds with 554, edging past Dave Hanson at 553 (1975-77). Next on the list is Eric Erdmann (603)
 
144 | Matthew Kreklow is the Marauders all-time career blocked shot leader with 144
 
111 | Wyatt Carr is 15th at UMary in career 3-pointers. This season the senior has passed Craig Steffan (104), Joel Welstad (106) and Leon Washington (108) this season. Next up is Anthony Moody (118) and Eric Erdmann (127). 
 
70.7 | UMary allowed just 70.7 points/game last season to rank 4th in the NSIC and 64th nationally. The Marauders held opponents to 70.9 ppg in 2018-19, 3rd best in the NSIC. UMary allowed 67.5 ppg in the opening weekend against USF. For the season UMary is giving up 73.2 ppg, currently 8th in the league… Additionally the Marauders have held their opponents below their season scoring average in every game this season.   
 
9 | the Marauders return nine of their top 11 scorers from last year
 
9| All nine Marauders who played in the 80-70 win at Minnesota Duluth appeared in the scoring column
 
3.63 | The UMary men's basketball team posted a team GPA of 3.63 for the 2020 fall semester. Last season the Marauders combined for a 3.59 GPA over the course of the Spring 2020 semester and earned the NABC Team Academic Excellence Award for a second straight year.
 
105 | Marauders head coach Joe Kittell earned his 100th career win as a collegiate head coach last season and owns 105 victories. Kittell earned 42 wins at Lake Region State College from 2013-15. He has won 63 games at UMary since taking over the Marauders program in 2015-16. Kittell is fourth all-time in coaching wins at UMary.  Legendary Hall of Famer Al Bortke tops the list with 335, followed by Jim Feeney (144), Rod Jonas (69), Kittell (63) and Juno Pintar (55).
 
6 | Six different Marauders have reached double figures in points this season (Trever Kaiser, Matthew Kreklow, Josh Sipes, Wyatt Carr, Treyton Mattern, Kam Warrens).
 
5 | Trever Kaiser has led the Marauders in scoring for five straight games
 
FREEBIES
Once again the Marauders are finding their way to the free throw line. UMary has shot 132 free throws after six games, a total only exceeded by Upper Iowa (141) in the NSIC… UMary's opponents have shot just 100 free throws… The Marauders are shooting 74.2% at the line (98-of-132) to 67% by the opposition (67-of-100)… UMary has shot more free throws in 4-of-6 games this season than the opposition… Last year the Marauders went to the line 116 times more than their opponents and made 115 more free throws.
 
REJECTION LETTERS
2019-20 All-Northern Sun second team selection Matthew Kreklow is the Marauders all-time career leader in blocked shots with 144. He surpassed UMary Hall of Famer and All-American forward Marc Hawley (108 rejections in 1995-97) last season. With 55 blocks last season, Kreklow also owns the school's NCAA era single-season record for blocked shots, surpassing fellow All-NSIC selection Damon Smith's total of 54 (2011-12)… Kreklow is off to another tremendous start on both ends of the court, averaging 15.8 points, 7.7 rebounds and 2.2 blocks per game while making 54% of his shots (including a 4-of-7 effort on treys) and 83.3% at the line (35-of-42) after six games… Last season Kreklow led the Marauders in scoring (14.4 ppg), rebounding (8.1 rpg), blocks (2.0 bpg), and field goal percentage (56.1). He was second in steals (24) and third in free throw percentage (80.6) while pacing the team in makes (100) and takes (124)… The senior from Maple Plain, MN, was 3rd in the NSIC in blocks, 4th in field goal percentage, 7th in rebounding, 10th in free throw percentage and 17th in scoring… 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. He closed 2019 by winning the honor in December 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 DOWN
Matthew Kreklow posted seven double doubles last season on his way to All-NSIC honors. For his career Kreklow has ten double doubles. Here's the list:
2/22/20 at MSU Moorhead | 26 points and 10 rebounds
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
 
KAISER ON A ROLL
Trever Kaiser started showing his scoring abilities in the last half of last season. This year he has taken another leap forward. The junior guard is averaging a team-leading 18.3 ppg while ranking sixth in the NSIC. Kaiser scored a career-best 23 points in back-to-back games against St. Cloud State. He also had 17 and 15 points in back-to-back games at USF to start the season, one of the nation's top defensive teams. At home against SCSU, Kaiser drained 9-of-15 trey attempts on the weekend… Three times he ha scored 20 or more points in a game this season, including both UMary wins.  
 
DOWNTOWN
Wyatt Carr continues to be deadly behind the arc. The senior forward is hitting on 54% of his treys this season (7-of-13) and is shooting 50% overall. Carr is averaging 6.5 ppg after hitting 2-of-3 treys and scoring 10 points in a win at UMD… Last season Car connected on 51% of his trey attempts, hitting 43-of-85 of his 3-point attempts. An efficient scorer, Carr converted 52% of this field goal attempts during the season and averaged 8.1 ppg. He also owns 551 points in his career… Josh Sipes provided another strong hand behind the arc for the Marauders. The sophomore is 8-of-16 on treys this year. Last season Sipes made 38.9% of his trey attempts (42-of-108) and was second to Carr in made 3s.  
 
DEBUTS
Five Marauders have made their Blue & Orange debuts this season… Freshman Deven Franks made his first Marauders appearance against SCSU last weekend. He totaled eight points – his first UMary points – in Saturday's win over the Huskies. Redshirt freshmen guards Treyton Mattern and Matthew Johnson and junior transfers Kam Warrens and Davids Atelbauers all made their first appearances for UMary in the opening series against Sioux Falls.
 
ALL HANDS ON DECK
With the NCAA allowing all players to compete this season without losing a year of eligibility, all eligible scholar-athletes are available to play this season with no need to redshirt.
 
SENIOR CITIZEN BRIGADE
The Marauders have a veteran team this season as half the roster are upper classmen with three seniors and five juniors. Additionally, UMary has one player in his fifth season with the Marauders, three in their fourth year and three in their third.
 
BORDER PATROL
The Marauders feature six North Dakotans on the 2020-21 team, including four from Bismarck. Kade Amundson, Lucas Mayer, Treyton Mattern and Josh Sipes are Bismarck Century graduates. Wyatt Carr is a native of Hazen and Justin Engg is from Minot.
 
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
2020-21:   1-1
 
The Marauders once won 27 straight home games for Coach Bortke at the MAC (February 19, 1976 thru November 11, 1978).
 
HOME
All Marauders home games will start at 6 pm on Fridays and 4 pm on Saturdays. UMary opens its home schedule with a visit from St. Cloud State University on January 8-9 and is scheduled to play a total of eight home games at the McDowell Activity Center.
 
ROSTER RUNDOWN
The Marauders return nine of their top 11 scorers from last season, providing the UMary squad both depth and experience entering the season. Here's a quick look at the Marauders position groups.
 
FRONT COURT
All-Northern Sun performer Matthew Kreklow is one of the top players in the conference with his ability to dominate a game on both ends of the court. The 6-foot-9 post UMary's single-season and career blocked shot leader and is climbing the all-time chart in rebounding (8th) and is 24 points from becoming the 20th Marauders to score 1,000. The senior averaged 14.4 points, 8.1 rebounds and 2.0 bocks/game while shooting 56.1 percent from the floor and 80.6 percent at the free throw line in 2019-20… Senior Wyatt Carr moved into the starting rotation fulltime last season and is one of the top outside shooters in the NSIC. The Hazen, ND, native hit on 50.6% (43-of-85) of his trey attempts last year and is a career 43.3% shooter from behind the arc. Carr averaged 8.1 ppg and 3.8 rpg his junior season while shooting 51.6% overall. He has made 76.8% of his career free throw attempts… Junior Kade Amundson made a pair of starts and averaged 4.0 ppg and 2.0 rpg while playing in 24 games… Justin Engg provided energy off the bench as a key reserve across all 29 games, averaging 2.2 ppg and 2.6 rpg while making 10 steals, 5th on the team… Limited to seven games in each of the last two seasons after playing in all 29 games as a freshman in 2017-18, junior Lucas Mayer returns to health and provides a defensive presence on the front court… Regan Tollefson played in 16 games last season as a freshman, showing his potential while averaging 3.1 ppg in limited action. He knocked down 14 of 15 free throws… Kam Warrens joins the Marauders this season after playing the last two years at Yuba Community College. The junior averaged 7.5 ppg and shot 67.7% to help Yuba win a conference title and advance to the California Community College tournament Sweet 16… Redshirt freshman Logan Nagorski and freshman Cooper Olson – both Minnesota natives – will also be in the mix for time on the court.
 
BACK COURT
The Marauders have a big hole to fill in the backcourt following the graduations of both All-NSIC guard Jaylen White and Connor Hellebust. The duo were multi-year starters for the Marauders. Hellebust graduated early due to a chronic back injury. UMary returns plenty of experience, however… Glenn Jordan started the Marauders final 16 games of last season. The senior averaged 5.3 ppg and was third on the squad in steals with 19… sophomore Josh Sipes proved to be a dangerous outside threat for the Marauders. Sipes, who started 16 games and played all 29 as a redshirt freshman, was second on the team with 42 treys, hitting 38.9% of his 3-point attempts. He averaged 6.6 ppg and 3.1 rpg… Trever Kaiser provided an offensive jolt off the bench for the Marauders, averaging 7.2 ppg and 3.2 rpg. In the last ten games of the regular season he chipped in over 11 ppg… Davids Atelbauers joins the Marauders this season after playing the last two years at NCAA Division I University of North Dakota and earning a handful of starts for the Fighting Hawks. Atelbauers was a member of the 2019 Latvia National U20/21 team at the FIBA European championships… Matthew Johnson and Treyton Mattern, both are coming off redshirt seasons, and incoming freshman Deven Franks will all battle for court time. 
 
NEXT WEEK
The Marauders return home to face the University of Minnesota Crookston on Jan. 29-30. It is the start of a four-game home stand. UMary plays six of the team's final eight games at home.   
 
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