BISMARCK, ND – Behind a balanced attack that featured five players scoring in double digits, the University of Mary men's basketball team completed a season sweep of Highway 83 rival Minot State University with an 80-78 home win for the Marauders.
Despite playing without two starters from their last game before Christmas break, a home win over Minnesota Crookston, UMary hit on all cylinders offensively. All nine Marauders who played in the game were credited with assists and eight appeared in the scoring column as UMary shot a season-best 57.1% (32-of-56) from the floor, including an 8-of-21 effort on treys.
The victory evens the Marauders Northern Sun record at 4-4 while UMary improves to 5-8 overall. The Beavers are 4-4 in the NSIC and 10-4 overall.
Minot State also was efficient offensively, knocking down 52% (29-of-56) of its shots. The Beavers made just 4-of-15 behind the arc but held an advantage at the free throw line. MSU made 16-of-20 free throws while UMary finished 8-of-13.
Gertautas Urbonavicius led the Marauders with 17 points. The junior forward buried 8-of-12 shots and added four rebounds and two assists.
Kam Warrens made 7-of-11 shots – including 2-of-3 behind the arc – and finished with 16 points. He also added four rebounds, three assists and three steals.
Jacob Jackson, making his second straight start, hit a pair of treys and scored 14 points. He led the Marauders with seven rebounds and had three steals and two assists.
Treyton Mattern came off the bench to score 11 points. He missed just one of five shots and hit his only trey. Mattern also added two rebounds and two assists. UMary's bench had a 23-16 edge in points as
Davids Atelbauers hit two treys and scored six points in a reserve role,
Veljko Radakovic hit both his shots and added four points and four rebounds, and
Deven Franks made both his free throw attempts to score two points.
Kai Huntsberry, the fifth leading scorer in the Northern Sun at nearly 19 points per game, was held to 10 points as he was limited due to foul troubles. The junior guard led all players with six assists and had two rebounds.
Max Cody paced the Beavers with 21 points and four assists. Melvin Newbern added 20 points and nine rebounds before fouling out. Jaxon Gunville came off the bench to hit three treys and score 11 points.
A close game throughout that featured nine ties and five lead changes, the Marauders overcame a 7-point deficit in the first half and entered intermission deadlocked at 40-40. A pair of layups by Warrens -one on a fastbreak off a defensive rebound and the second off a steal – and a basket by Urbonavicius in the first 72 second of the second half gave the Marauders a quick 6-point lead. The Beavers eventually overtook the Marauders and built a 4-point advantage at 61-57 with just over 10 minutes remaining in the game.
The Marauders turned the tide with a 17-3 run capped by an Urbonavicius three with 4:00 left in the game to give UMary a 74-65 lead. The UMary offensive outburst featured seven points from Urbonavicius and four from Mattern.
Minot State refused to fade away, eventually clawing within 79-78 with 1:18 to play on a Newburn steal and layup.
The Marauders then cranked up the defense. After a UMary turnover with 54 seconds remaining, Jackson stole the ball back before Minot State could launch a shot. Another UMary turnover, this time with 24 seconds on the clock, provided Minot State another opportunity to take the lead. Huntsberry hounded Cody and forced a miss on the baseline. Jackson hauled down the rebound for the Marauders and was immediately fouled. After missing hist first attempt, Jackson – who scored the final six points in the game for UMary – converted his second attempt with five seconds on the clock for an 80-78 lead.
The Marauders defenders harassed the Beavers ballhandlers all the way down the court, refusing to give up an easy look. Minot State finally found an open look but a rushed three from the right wing released as the buzzer sounded fell short.
Following a second straight home win, the Marauders return to the road this weekend. UMary first faces the University of Sioux Falls on Friday, Jan. 7, who the Marauders defeated Thanksgiving weekend in a neutral site non-conference game. UMary closes the weekend at Southwest Minnesota State University on Saturday, Jan. 8.
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