THIS WEEK
After playing four straight games on the road and six out of eight to start the season, the University of Mary men's basketball team tips off a four-game home stand when the University of Minnesota Crookston visits the McDowell Activity Center this Friday and Saturday, January 29-30. The Marauders-Golden Eagles weekend series opens at 6 pm Friday and wraps up at 4 pm on Saturday.  
 
UNIVERSITY OF MARY HOME GAME ATTENDANCE POLICY
University of Mary men's basketball 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 UMary 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.
 
HOW TO FOLLOW YOUR MARAUDERS LIVE ONLINE

• Links to live streaming video, game stats and radio streams are available at www.GoUMary.com/coverage
• Live video also streamed at www.NSICNetwork.com/goumary
• Fox Sports 710 AM radio broadcasts available online at https://foxsports710.iheart.com/

 
MARAUDERS HOME BASKETBALL GAMES AIRING LIVE ON FOX SPORTS 710
All home University of Mary men's and women's basketball games air live on Fox Sports 710 AM. Voice of the Marauders Jesse Rostvedt calls 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 opened 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
 
RECORDS
The University of Mary is 3-5 overall this season and 3-3 in the NSIC North Division standings. The Marauders are tied for 3^rd place with St. Cloud State (3-3) and Minot State (2-2) … UMC is 1-7 and 0-6 and are eighth in the NSIC North.   
 
MIDWAY POINT
This weekend marks the second half start for the Marauders season. Limited to 16 regular season games after starting two months later than normal due to the pandemic, UMary already has eight games in the book.   
 
OPPO RESEARCH – UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA CROOKSTON
After opening the season with a split against Concordia-St. Paul, the University of Minnesota Crookston has dropped six straight games. Forced to replace NSIC all-time leading scorer Harrison Cleary after his graduation - along with a pair of other starters -  the Golden Eagles return five key contributors from last year while mixing in 12 newcomers. Josh Dilling leads a trio of Golden Eagles who average double digits in points. Dilling checks in at 11.1 points and 4.0 rebounds per game. Ethan Channel produces 10 ppg and a team-best 4.9 rpg. Brian Sitzmann averages 10 ppg. Overall UMC scores 66.8 ppg and allows 81.5 ppg.
 
HISTORY LESSON - MARAUDERS v. GOLDEN EAGLES
Since joining the Northern Sun for the 2006-07 season, the Marauders are 20-8 against the Golden Eagles… UMary is 12-2 at home and 8-6 away versus UMC… The Marauders are 12-5 in the last 16 outings against the Golden Eagles… UMary had its seven-game home winning streak against UMC interrupted last spring… LAST MEETING Matthew Kreklow hit 8-of-11 shots and scored 18 points while grabbing eight rebounds in a 68-62 home loss to UMC on Senior Night for UMary. Jaylan White added 14 points and Wyatt Carr 12. Harrison Cleary had a game-high 28 for UMC.
 
LAST WEEKEND
For the second straight week, the Marauders earned a road split in Northern Minnesota… UMary opened the weekend with a 76-70 win at Bemidji State. Matthew Kreklow and Trever Kaiser both posted 15 points and nine different Marauders scored in the game. UMary held a 22-10 edge in bench scoring. Kreklow added eight rebounds and Kaiser six… Kaiser scored a career-high 31 points the next night in a 70-68 loss to the Beavers. Down as many as 11 points in the second half, the Marauders late run fell just short. Kaiser hit four treys in the game. Kreklow had his first double double of the season with 13 points and 11 rebounds. Carr added seven points and six rebounds… UMC dropped a pair of home games to Minot State, 72-61 and 77-72.
 
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 19.5 ppg to rank 4^th in the NSIC. Kreklow checks in at 15.4 ppg (15^th). Combined the duo averages 34.9 ppg. Their combined scoring total is fourth in the NSIC , behind just Northern State's Parker Fox and Mason Stark (37.7 ppg), Minnesota Duluth's Drew Blair and Austin Andrews (36.6 ppg), and St. Cloud State's Anthony Roberts and Caleb Donaldson (36.4 ppg).
 
NUMBERS TO KNOW
1,099 | 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).
 
573 | Matthew Kreklow sits 8th all-time in career rebounds with 573, edging past Dave Hanson at 553 (1975-77). Next on the list is Eric Erdmann (603)
 
149 | Matthew Kreklow is the Marauders all-time career blocked shot leader with 149
 
118 | UMary has made as many free throws (118) as its opponents have taken (118)
 
114 | Wyatt Carr is 15th at UMary in career 3-pointers with 114. This season the senior has passed Craig Steffan (104), Joel Welstad (106) and Leon Washington (108) on the Marauders all-time leaderboard. Next up is Anthony Moody (118) and Eric Erdmann (127). 
 
31 | Trever Kaiser scored a career-high 31 points against BSU. It was the Marauders first 30-point game in three years and the most scored by a UMary player since All-NSIC forward Bryan Jefferson scored 33 against Bemidji State on Feb. 12, 2016.
 
9 | The Marauders return nine of their top 11 scorers from last year
 
9| The Marauders had nine players appear in the scoring column in back-to-back wins (80-70 over UMD and 76-70 over BSU)
 
7 | Trever Kaiser has led the Marauders in scoring for seven straight games
 
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.
 
106 | Marauders head coach Joe Kittell earned his 100th career win as a collegiate head coach last season and owns 106 victories. Kittell earned 42 wins at Lake Region State College from 2013-15. He has won 64 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 (64) 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).
 
FREEBIES
Once again the Marauders are finding their way to the free throw line. UMary has shot 156 free throws after eight games, 4^th most in the NSIC… UMary's opponents have shot just 118 free throws… The Marauders are shooting 75.6% at the line (118-of-156) to 67% by the opposition (79-of-118)… UMary has shot more free throws in 5-of-8 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 149. 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 15.4 points, 8.1 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 2.2 blocks per game while making 50% of his shots (including a 5-of-10 effort on treys) and 84% at the line (42-of-50) after eight 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 his first double double of the season against BSU after recording seven last season on his way to All-NSIC honors. For his career Kreklow has 11 double doubles. Here's the list:
1/23/21 at Bemidji State | 13 points and 11 rebounds
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 ROLL(ING)
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 19.5 ppg and ranks fourth in the NSIC and 42^nd in NCAA D2… Kaiser scored a career-high 31 points at Bemidji State… his previous career-best came in the second week of this season when he scored 23 points in back-to-back games against St. Cloud State… Four times Kaiser has posted 20 or more points in a game this season.  
 
DOWNTOWN
Wyatt Carr continues to be deadly behind the arc. The senior forward is hitting on 48% of his treys this season (10-of-21) and is shooting 46% overall. Carr is averaging 6.8 ppg this season… 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 566 points in his career… Josh Sipes provided another strong hand behind the arc for the Marauders. The sophomore is 12-of-22 on treys this year (54.5%) after going 3-for-4 on treys in a win at Bemidji State. 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.
 
DEFENSE
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 72.4 ppg, currently 8th in the league… Additionally the Marauders have held their opponents below their season scoring average in six out of eight games 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
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 continue their four-game home stand when UMary hosts NSIC North Division-leading Northern State University on Feb. 5-6. UMary plays six of the team's final eight games at home.   
 
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