BISMARCK, ND – Matthew Kreklow and Trever Kaiser combined for 30 points on their home court but the University of Mary's bid to upset 2^nd ranked and Northern Sun North-leading Northern State University fell just short 70-59. The game featured eight lead changes and eight ties as the Marauders pushed the Wolves for a second straight night.
 
Kreklow finished with a team-high 16 points. The All-NSIC forward passed three players on the Marauders all-time scorers list to move into 13^th place with 1,137 career points. The senior finished 6-of-9 from the field and hit all four of his free throws. Kreklow just missed a double double, hauling down nine rebounds while making three assists.
 
Kaiser chipped in 14 points and four assists for UMary.
 
A tight contest all night, the Marauders (4-8 overall, 4-6 NSIC North) held a 29-22 advantage late in the first half as Kreklow put back his own miss. A late Wolves (12-0, 10-0) run would put the visitors ahead at the break 35-33.
 
UMary opened the second half with a bang as Kam Warrens drained a three to regain the lead for the Marauders at 36-35. Twice the Marauders pushed their lead to four points, the second time at 45-41 on a Matthew Johnson layup.
 
A Lucas Mayer free throw gave the Marauders their final lead of the night at 46-45 with 11:43 on the clock. Parker Fox responded with a layup to put the Wolves up by one, a lead Northern State refused to relinquish the remainder of the game.
 
The Marauders struggled from behind the arc. A night after hitting over half their 3-pointers, UMary made just 3-of-15 of their trey attempts. For the game UMary shot 43.6%. Northern State connected on 53.8% of its shots, including a 7-of-16 effort on 3s.
 
UMary held a 32-31 edge in rebounds and outscored NSU 36-32 in the paint.
 
Johnson posted seven points, six assists and six rebounds. Sipes contributed six points, six rebounds and three steals. In a reserve role, Mayer chipped in six points and five rebounds and Kade Amundson scored five.
 
Mason Stark led NSU with 24 points. Andrew Kallman and Tommy Chatman had 12 each.
 
The Marauders, currently fourth in the NSIC North Division standings, next visits second-place MSU Moorhead on Feb. 12-13 in UMary's final road trip of the season. The top four teams in the final standings qualify for the NSIC tournament.  
 
#marauders#