THIS WEEK
Back on the road for the final time this season after a four-game home stand, the University of Mary men's basketball team visits MSU Moorhead for a pair of games on Friday and Saturday, Feb. 12-13, at Alex Nemzek Fieldhouse in Moorhead. Friday's game tips off at 6 pm. Saturday's contest starts at 2 pm.   
 
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.
 
RECORDS
The University of Mary is 4-8 overall this season and 4-6 in the NSIC North Division standings. The Marauders hold sole possession of 4^th in the NSIC standings… MSU Moorhead is 6-2 and 6-0, tied for 1^st in the NSIC North in winning percentage (Northern State is 10-0).    
 
OPPO RESEARCH – MSU MOORHEAD
Due to COVID-19 safety protocols, MSU Moorhead has not played the last two weekends (vs. St. Cloud State, at Minot State). After opening the season with a pair of home losses to Augustana, the Dragons won six straight (at Minnesota Crookston, vs. Bemidji State, at Minnesota Duluth). During the win streak the Dragons are outscoring the opposition 86.3-68.7. In his 11^th season at MSUM. Six Dragons average 9.9 points or more per game. Led by Lorenzo McGhee at 15.1 ppg. Bryce Irsfeld checks in at 12.5 ppg and Dane Zimmer at 12.4 ppg. Head coach Chad Walthall owns a record of 216-105.   
 
HISTORY LESSON - MARAUDERS v. DRAGONS
The Marauders trail the Dragons 20-16 in the all-time series… Since joining the NCAA and NSIC, UMary is 11-18 against MSUM… The Marauder have won four of the last five games… UMary has won three straight at MSU and 4-of-5… 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... LAST MEETING Matthew Kreklow posted a double double with 26 points and 10 rebounds in a 75-69 Marauders road win over the Dragons on Feb. 22, 2020. Kreklow was 7of-9 from the field and 12-of-13 at the free throw line. Overall the Marauders hit 23-of-26 free throws. UMary also held a 43-31 edge on the boards. Trever Kaiser came off the bench to score 16 points, grab eight rebounds and deliver four assists. Jaylan White added 11 points. Johnny Beeninga led MSUM with 13 points, six assists and five rebounds.  
 
LAST WEEKEND
Hosting 2^nd ranked Northern State University, UMary pushed the Wolves hard but were denied an upset… The Marauders led most of the opener and held a double digit lead but couldn't hold off the Wolves in an 83-76 loss. UMary held a 73-71 lead with under four minutes to play before the Wolves used a 9-0 run to pull away. UMary hit 11 treys in the game. Trever Kaiser led the Marauders with 16 points. Wyatt Carr added 15, Matthew Johnson 13 and Matthew Kreklow 10. Parker Fox had 30 points and 10 rebounds for NSU… Game two featured eight lead changes and eight ties in a 70-59 Wolves win. Kreklow scored 16 points and grabbed nine rebounds for UMary. Trever Kaiser added 14. Mason Stark led NSU with 24 points.
 
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 17.8 ppg to rank 5^th in the NSIC. Kreklow checks in at 14.3 ppg (19^th). Combined the duo averages 32.1 ppg. Their combined scoring total is fourth in the NSIC, behind only St. Cloud State's Anthony Roberts and Caleb Donaldson (38.5 ppg), Northern State's Parker Fox and Mason Stark (37.9 ppg), and Upper Iowa's Joe Smoldt and Jareese Williams (33.7).
 
NUMBERS TO KNOW
1,147 | Matthew Kreklow ranks 13th all-time in scoring at UMary. He became the 20th Marauders player to crack 1,000 career points in the season opener and has passed Rich Lorenz (993), Craig Steffan (1,004), Tracy Porter (1,006), Chuck Welch (1,031), former teammate Jaylan White (1,064), NCAA All-American Anthony Moody (1,126), Jordan Wilhelm (1,129) and UMary Hall of Famer Bruce Ashworth (1,136) on the career scoring list. Next up are Kurt Schwamp (1,149), Hall of Famer Rusty Gillette (1,167) and former teammate Damonta Henry (1,196).  
 
598 | Matthew Kreklow sits 8th all-time in career rebounds with 598 after edging past Dave Hanson at 553 (1975-77). Next on the list is Eric Erdmann (603), Rory Entzi (609) and Bryan Jefferson (620).
 
155 | Matthew Kreklow is the Marauders all-time career blocked shot leader with 155
 
161 | UMary has made as more free throws (161) than its opponents have attempted (160)
 
122 | Wyatt Carr is 14th at UMary in career 3-pointers with 122. This season the senior has passed Craig Steffan (104), Joel Welstad (106), Leon Washington (108) and Anthony Moody (118) on the Marauders all-time leaderboard. Next up is 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
 
8 | Trever Kaiser has led the Marauders in scoring seven times this season and Matthew Kreklow six (the two tied for game-high honors twice)
 
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.
 
107 | 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 65 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 (65) and Juno Pintar (55).
 
8 | Eight different Marauders have reached double figures in points this season (Trever Kaiser, Matthew Kreklow, Josh Sipes, Wyatt Carr, Treyton Mattern, Kam Warrens, Lucas Mayer, Matthew Johnson).
 
2.0 | Matthew Kreklow is 7^th nationally and 2^nd in the NSIC in blocks per game
 
FAST START
Matthew Johnson cracked the starting lineup for the first time in the Marauders 73-60 win over Minnesota Crookston. The redshirt freshman scored a then career-best 12 points and delivered three assists. The game prior he set a career-high with six assists. In his three starts Jonson is averaging 10.8 points/game, 3.3 rebounds/game, 5.0 assists/game and has hit 60-of-11 trey attempts and 4-of-5 free throws.
 
FREEBIES
Once again the Marauders are finding their way to the free throw line. UMary has shot 217 free throws after 12 games, 4^th most in the NSIC… UMary's opponents have shot just 160 free throws… The Marauders are shooting 74.2% at the line (161-of-217) to 64% by the opposition (102-of-160)… UMary has shot more free throws in 8-of-12 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 155. 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 14.3 points, 7.5 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 2.0 blocks per game while making 49% of his shots (including a 5-of-11 effort on treys) and 79.5% at the line (58-of-73) after 12 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 second double double of the season against UMC after recording seven last season on his way to All-NSIC honors. For his career Kreklow has 12 double doubles. Here's the list:
1/30/21 vs. Minnesota Crookston | 11 points and 10 rebounds
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 17.8 ppg and ranks fifth in the NSIC and 82^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 44% of his treys this season (18-of-41). Carr is averaging 7.8 ppg this season after scoring a season-high 15 points in the Marauders win over the Golden Eagles… Last season Carr 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 589 points in his career… Josh Sipes provided another strong hand behind the arc for the Marauders. The sophomore is 15-of-31 on treys this year (48%), including a 3-for-4 effort 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. 
 
BENCH PLAY
The Marauders bench has played a key role in several games for UMary this season. Against #2 Northern State, UMary held a 17-3 edge in points off the bench in game one and a 14-7 advantage in game two. Lucas Mayer has scored at least six points in each of the last six games (7.3 ppg), including 11 points against UMC… Kade Amundson had six points on two treys in game one against the Wolves and five points in game two.
 
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
Last season 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 ppg, currently 8th in the league… Additionally the Marauders have held their opponents below their season scoring average in nine out of 12 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:   2-4
 
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. 
 
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
 
NEXT WEEK
UMary wraps up the 2020-21 regular season on Feb. 19-20 when instate rival Minot State University visits the McDowell Activity Center.
 
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