BISMARCK, ND – In a game between two instate rivals with hopes of earning a berth in the Northern Sun tournament, the University of Mary men's basketball team's postseason hopes faded away in the closing minutes of a 76-69 loss to visiting Minot State University. Matthew Kreklow led the Marauders with 19 points and 11 rebounds and Trever Kaiser scored 16 and dished nine assists.
 
The Marauders came out firing, building a 17-6 lead behind 3s from Kam Warrens, Kaiser and Wyatt Carr and a Deven Franks layup during an 11-0 run. UMary entered intermission with a 39-33 lead.
 
In a game featuring five lead changes and nine ties, the Marauders claimed their last lead of the game at 67-66 on a pair of Kaiser free throws with 3:11 to play. The Beavers ran off the next seven points, including three free throws by Melvin Newbern. The final blow was a turnaround jumper with 35 seconds left in the game by Newbern to push the Minot State advantage to 73-67. Kaiser added a layup with 25 seconds on the clock but the Beavers held off the Marauders by making three more free throws.
 
Kreklow finished the game with his fourth double double of the year. Honored with the Kevin Olson Scholarship before the game, the senior from Maple Plain, MN, knocked down 6-of-8 shots from the field and hit all six of his free throws. Kreklow also added four assists and two blocks. He moved into 10^th place on the Marauders career scoring list with 1,202 points. Kreklow also jumped into fourth place on the UMary career rebounding list with 628. He passed a pair of former teammates, Damonta Henry in points (1,196) and All-NSIC forward Bryan Jefferson (620) in rebounds.
 
The nine assists for Kaiser are a career-high. He also had four rebounds.
 
Matthew Johnson scored 11 points for UMary, making 3-of-4 3-point attempts. Josh Sipes and Wyatt Carr both hit a pair of treys and scored six points each. Carr also hauled down eight rebounds and made three assists. Sipes posted four assists. Warrens scored seven as he sparked the Marauders off the bench.
 
Kody Dwyer led the Beavers with 24 points and eight rebounds, hitting 11-of-13 shots. Max Cody added 21 points and Minot State had four players in double figures.
 
Both teams shot well. The Marauders hit 53.2% from the floor, including a 10-of-20 effort behind the arc. The Beavers were similar at 52.6% but just 4-of-9 on 3s. The difference was Minot State generated 10 more shots with a 7-3 edge in offensive rebounds and a +6 advantage in turnovers.
 
The Marauders (4-11 overall, 4-9 NSIC) honor five seniors – Wyatt Carr, Justin Engg, Connor Hellebust, Glenn Jordan and Matthew Kreklow - before the 2020-21 season finales against the Beavers (7-6, 5-4) on Saturday, Feb. 20. Game time is 4 pm at the McDowell Activity Center.
 
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