THIS WEEK
The University of Mary men's basketball season opener is finally here! The Marauders host Presentation College on Friday, November 18, to tip off the 2022-23 schedule. Game time between the Marauders and the Saints is 6 pm at the McDowell Activity Center on the University of Mary campus.
 
BUMPED BY A BLIZZARD
An historic blizzard delayed the Marauders season opener when three schools set to complete in the Central Region Challenge with UMary were unable to make it to Bismarck, ND, for games on Nov. 11-12. The Marauders now will take on the Saints to open the season.
 
RECORDS
This is the first game of the season for UMary. The Marauders finished last season 11-17 overall and 9-12 in the NSIC. UMary won a road playoff game in the Northern Sun tournament for the first time since joining the league in 2006. The 82-70 win at Winona State earned the Marauders a trip to the Sanford Pentagon and a spot in the NSIC quarterfinals in head coach Jack Nelson's first season at UMary… Presentation College is 3-4 on the season, not including a loss in an exhibition game at Minot State on Thursday, November 17.
 
NSIC PROJECTIONS
The Marauders are projected to finish 4^th in the NSIC North and 12^th overall in the league in a preseason vote by the coaches.
 
URBONAVICIUS NAMED NSIC PLAYER TO WATCH
Senior forward Gertautas Urbonavicius is the Marauders NSIC Player to Watch for 2022-23. Urbonavicius made an immediate impact with the Marauders last season. The Vilnius, Lithuania, native started all 27 games for UMary in 2021-22 and averaged 10.3 points per game. Showing a scoring touch, he shot 47% from the floor and knocked down 41% of his trey attempts while making 77% of his free throw attempts after transferring to UMary from the University of North Dakota.
 
RETURNING
The Marauders have six players back who saw considerable action last season, including four from the starting rotation.

• Sr. F Gertautas Urbonavicius started all 27 games and was second on the team in scoring at 10.8 ppg… averaged 4.8 rebounds/game… shot 47%from the floor and 41% on treys.
• Sr. F Kam Warrens started 26 of 27 games… averaged 8.7 points/game and team-high 6.1 rebounds/game
• Sr. F Lucas Mayer started last 12 games of the season after returning from injury… averaged 6.9 points and 5.8 rebounds per game… shot team-leading 68.8% from the floor
• Jr. G Treyton Mattern started 14 of the 18 games he played… averaged 3.7 points and 2.8 rebounds/game… 3^rd on team with 1.7 assists/game.
• Sr. F Veljko Radakovic was a key reserve for the Marauders on the front line, playing in 19 games. He averaged 2.5 ppg.
• Jr. G Deven Franks saw significant minutes in the back court last season, playing in 18 games and starting three games… Averaged 2.4 ppg.
• Soph. F Liam Dougherty was limited to six games as a freshman.
• Fr. G Gunner Swanson redshirted last season at UMary

 
NEW
Transfers Reme Torbert and Zyon Smith lead a group of eight new players for the Marauders, six of whom are freshmen… Smith averaged 14.2 ppg and shot over 43% from the field for Highland Community College last season to earn 2^nd team Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference honors… Torbert averaged 10.2 ppg over the last two seasons as a starter at guard for Westminster College.
 
Freshmen for 2022-23 includes guards Colton Hall, Jeremiah Jones and Marquel Saleek and forwards Xavier Lewis, Payton Mogire and Ty Rogers.
 
YEAR TWO
Head coach Jack Nelson returns for his season with the Marauders after leading UMary to their best conference record since 2017. Nelson directed the Marauders to their first Northern Sun tournament road victory with an 82-70 win at Winona State to send UMary to the quarterfinals and a trip to the Sanford Pentagon. During the regular season the Marauders defeated #6 University of Minnesota Duluth 75-71, the highest ranked NCAA team UMary has beaten at home. Nelson recruited and coached Kai Huntsberry, the 2021-22 NSIC Newcomer of the Year and a 1^st team all-conference selection who broke the NSIC tournament record for 3s in a game with eight.
 
DIAL IN TO 710 AM FOX SPORTS
Listen to "Voice of the Marauders" Jesse Rostvedt call all Marauders Northern Sun games and select conference contests on 710 AM Fox Sports.
 
LIVE STATS AND WEBCASTS
Links to radio broadcasts, webstreams and live stats are found at www.GoUMary.com/coverage
 
TICKETS
Tickets can be purchased at www.UMaryTickets.com. A tournament pass is available for both days. Also any ticket purchased for either Friday or Saturday provides admission for all four games that day.
 
Game tickets for Marauders athletics are available online at www.UMaryTickets.com and at the gate for all UMary athletics

• Adults | $10 + fees online and $15 (CASH ONLY) at the gate
• Seniors (65+) and youth 13-18 | $5 + fees online and $10 (CASH ONLY) at the gate
• Children 12 and under accompanied by an adult | Free
• Children 12 and under with no adult present| $5
• UMary students and faculty and staff with their MCard and youth 12 and younger are admitted free

 
Please note that ticket sales at the gate are CASH ONLY purchases. Fans receive a discounted rate on tickets when purchased online at www.umarytickets.com than at the gate. Fans are also able to purchase tickets using credit and debit cards when ordering online while sales at the ticket booth are cash only.
 
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