THIS WEEK
Following a successful and busy Thanksgiving week, the University of Mary jumps heavily into Northern Sun play with a split weekend series as the calendar flips to December. The Marauders first visit Northern State University on Thursday, December 1, for UMary's first NSIC road game of the season. Tip off is 7:30 pm from Wachs Arena in Aberdeen, SD… UMary then returns home to host MSU Moorhead on Saturday, December 3. Tip off is 4 pm at the McDowell Activity Center.   
 
LAST WEEK
The Marauders captured all three games during the week… UMary opened Thanksgiving week with an 72-69 win over visiting Minot State University in the Northern Sun opener for both teams. Gertautas Urbonavicius drained a trey with under a minute to play for the winning basket. UMary overcame a double digit deficit in a contest that featured five lead changes and two ties in the final four minutes. Kam Warrens led UMary with 19 points. Zyon Smith had 18 points and Jeremiah Jones scored 15 and added 16 rebounds… The scene changed to Melbourne, FL, for the Florida Tech Thanksgiving Tournament. UMary defeated Trevecca Nazarene 72-56 in the opener as Smith scored 15 points and Urbonavicius added 14. 12 Marauders scored in the win. The Marauders then defeated Puerto Rico-Bayamon 82-61 to win the tournament. Lucas Mayer led five Marauders in double digits with 17 points. Urbonavicius had 12 points, Smith added 11 and Treyton Mattern 10. Jones had his 2^nd double double with 11 points and 10 rebounds.
 
RECORDS
The Marauders are 4-0 overall / 1-0 NSIC entering the weekend… Northern State is 5-2/1-0 and has won four straight games… MSU Moorhead is 5-2/0-1 with two straight wins.
 
4-0
The Marauders have won their first four games of the season. This is UMary's second-best start of the NCAA era behind the 2010-11 Marauders team that won their first five games.
 
HISTORY LESSON - MARAUDERS v. WOLVES
The Marauders trail the Wolves 34-13 in the all-time series… UMary and NSU split their series in 2014-15, 2015-16 and 2016-17 before the Wolves swept the series the last four seasons… The Wolves have won the last 11 meetings… UMary last defeated Northern State 77-75 on Dec. 3, 2016, in Aberdeen, SD, as Bryan Jefferson scored 17 points and Ricky Suggs added 14 off the bench… The Marauders last home win was a 60-58 victory on Dec. 4, 2015. Marquealis Edwards led UMary with 16 points and four steals.
 
HISTORY LESSON - MARAUDERS v. DRAGONS
The Marauders trail the Dragons 23-17 in the all-time series… Since joining the NCAA and NSIC, UMary is 12-21 against MSUM… The Marauder have won five of the last nine games… 6 of the last 9 games were played in Moorhead… 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.
 
ALL IN
The Marauders are getting production throughout their lineup this season. All 14 Marauders who played in the season-opening 91-60 win over the visiting Saints produced points for UMary. 12 Marauders scored in the Trevecca Nazarene win and nine found the basket in the PR-Bayamon victory.
 
BALANCE
The Marauders feature seven players scoring between 12.8 ppg and 5.3 ppg, with five players nearly averaging double figures. Zyon Smith leads the way at 12.8 ppg followed by Gertautas Urbonavicius at 10.3 and Jeremiah Jones at 10. Treyton Mattern and Kam Warrens are both at 9.8 ppg.
 
BOARD GAMES
The Marauders have dominated the boards the last three games, outrebounding the opposition by double digits in each outing. UMary was +12 against Minot State, +14 against Trevecca Nazarene and +24 against PR-Bayamon. UMary is 7^th in the nation in rebounding margin (+12.8) and 5^th in rebounds/game.
 
DEFENSE
The Marauders have overwhelmed their opponents on defense this season. UMary is 5^th in the country in field goal percentage defense as teams are connecting on just 35.5% of their shots against the Marauders… UMary is 22^nd in the country in points allowed (61.5).
 
HELPING HAND
The Marauders are averaging 20.5 assists per game, the 6^th best total in the country.   
 
FOR THREE!
The Marauders are knocking down 40.7% of their 3-point attempts this season, the 26^th best mark in the country. Opponents are connecting on just 29.9% of their efforts behind the arc.
 
TAKING TURNS
A different player has led the Marauders in scoring in each of their first four games of the season: Treyton Mattern (20 v Presentation), Kam Warrens (19 v Minot State), Zylon Smith (15 v Trevecca Nazarene) and Lucas Mayer (17 v PR-Bayamon).
 
DOUBLING DOWN
Just four games into his collegiate career, freshman Jeremiah Jones has two double doubles. He had 15 points and 16 rebounds against Minot State. In the Florida Tech Thanksgiving Tournament championship game Jones dropped 11 points and ten rebounds. The guard from South Holland, IL, has also been a tremendous distributor with eight assists against Presentation and seven against PR-Bayamon. For the season he is averaging 10.0 points, 8.3 rebounds and 5.5 assists while shooting 48% from the floor and 84.6% at the line.
 
MVP
Zyon Smith earned most outstanding player honors for his work in leading UMary to the Florida Tech Thanksgiving Tournament win. He scored 15 in the win over Trevecca Nazarene and 11 against PR-Bayamon. For the season the transfer from Highland (KS) Community College is averaging a team-leading 12.8 ppg. The junior guard is shooting 48.8% from the floor and 40% (8-of-20) on treys.
 
CENTURY STANDOUTS
The Marauders start a pair of Bismarck Century High School graduates in forward Lucas Mayer and Treyton Mattern. Both are second generation Marauders as their fathers both played for UMary. Additionally Mattern's mother (Gerene Saylor Mattern) is a member of the Marauders Hall of Fame for her exploits on the track. And Mattern's father, Darren, coached both Mayer and Mattern at Century HS.
 
DEBUTS
Seven Marauders made their UMary debuts in the season opener against Presentation. Zyon Smith (Highland CC) and Reme Torbert (Westminster College) both transferred to UMary before the start of the season. After redshirting last season for UMary, Gunner Swanson came off the bench for the Marauders. Freshmen Marquel Saleek, Jeremiah Jones, Xavier Lewis and Ty Rogers made their collegiate debuts.
 
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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