BISMARCK, ND – Behind a bevy of baskets from
Trever Kaiser and
Matthew Kreklow, the University of Mary men's basketball team rallied from a double digit deficit to defeat visiting St. Cloud State University 85-79. Kaiser and Kreklow both scored 23 points to lead the Marauders to their first win of the season.
Reversing fortunes from the opening game on Friday night when the Huskies rallied for the win, the Marauders used a 20-8 second half run to gain a temporary lead at 58-56. Six different Marauders scored during the outburst with
Wyatt Carr and
Josh Sipes both draining treys.
Trailing 66-65 with just under eight minutes left in the game, the Marauders outscored the Huskies 12-4 to take control of the game. UMary regained the lead when SCSU was charged with both a shooting foul and a flagrant foul at nearly the same time.
Lucas Mayer drained a pair of free throws to push the Marauders into the lead. Kaiser hit his first of two but missed the second. Kreklow, fouled during the rebound attempt, then knocked down two free throws to give UMary a four-point lead with all of one second running off the clock.
An Anthony Roberts 3-pointer for the Huskies was immediately answered by back-to-back treys from Kaiser.
Glenn Jordan wrapped up the Marauders run with a layup for a 78-69 lead with about three minutes left to play.
The Marauders held off a late run by the Huskies as Kreklow scored five points down the stretch, including a layup with 15 seconds left. A block by Mayer and a pair of freebies by Kaiser wrapped up the UMary victory.
Kaiser scored a career-high 23 points for the second straight game. The junior guard hit three times from behind the arc, made 6-of-12 shots overall and added eight free throws. He also contributed four rebounds and four assists.
Kreklow knocked down 9-of-13 shots from the floor and hit five free throws. He also added seven rebounds and three assists as he cracked 20 points for the third time in four games this season.
Deven Franks, Mayer and Carr all scored eight points for UMary. For the freshman Franks, the points were his first for the Marauders. Mayer added six rebounds and three blocks. Sipes hit both his trey attempts, ran down five rebounds and dished a team-high six assists.
Anthony Roberts led SCSU with 29 points, hitting five 3s in the game. Ryan Bagley added 12 points, four steals and eight assists.
A highly efficient night for the Marauders offense, UMary shot 56.3% from the field and hit 7-of-16 treys. The Marauders struggled a bit at the line but still converted 24 of 35 attempts. SCSU shot just 43.9 percent overall and made 10-of-27 treys while converting 11-of-14 free throws.
Both teams are 1-3 overall this season and 1-1 in the NSIC North.
The Marauders return to action next weekend with a pair of Northern Sun North Division games at the University of Minnesota Duluth on Friday and Saturday, Jan. 15-16, to start a four-game road swing. UMary returns to the McDowell Activity Center on January 29.
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