BISMARCK, ND – The University of Mary men's basketball team followed one of the biggest upsets in Marauders program history by playing one of their best games of the season. UMary dominated the first half on both ends of the court and rolled past visiting St. Cloud State University 90-77 to complete a weekend sweep.
The Marauders opened the weekend with a 75-71 win over 6
th ranked University of Minnesota Duluth on Friday. The 6
th ranked Bulldogs are the highest-ranked NCAA program the Marauders had beaten at home in the McDowell Activity Center.
UMary clinched an NSIC tournament berth with the win. The top six teams in both the NSIC North and South divisions qualify for conference postseason play. With two games remaining – a road game at MSU Moorhead on Thursday, Feb. 17, and a home game against Norther State on Feb. 19 - UMary also remains in the running for a home court with a 9-10 NSIC record. Both the Wolves (11-9) and Dragons (8-7) – plus Minot State (9-7) – are just ahead of UMary in the NSIC North division standings.
Led in scoring by
Kai Huntsberry with 20 points, five Marauders reached double figures as the high-powered UMary attack scored a season-high 90 points against the Huskies. It was the most points scored by the Marauders in a Northern Sun game in three years.
UMary (10-14 overall/9-10 NSIC) has now won four straight home games at the MAC and three straight games overall. The victory gives the Marauders a split in the season series with the Huskies (9-16/5-12).
Electric behind the arc in the first half,
Matthew Johnson sparked an early 15-4 run with a pair of treys. Huntsberry nailed a 3 to finish the UMary explosion and give the Marauders a 17-8 lead in a game in which the Marauders never trailed again. Keyed by a perfect start by
Davids Atelbauers from behind the arc as the senior guard nailed all four attempts, the Marauders finished the first half 7-of-12 on 3s and entered intermission leading 41-27.
UMary's lead continued to grow deep into the second half as the Marauders claimed a 70-51 midway through the period.
The Marauders finished the game by shooting 56.5% from the floor overall while making 12-of-23 behind the arc. After shooting just 39.3% in the first half the Huskies finished with a field goal percentage of .452. SCSU was 10-of-32 on treys.
In addition to a great night shooting the ball,
Lucas Mayer led a tremendous effort on the boards for the Marauders. UMary held a 35-29 edge in rebounding with Mayer claiming 14. It was the most rebounds for a Marauders player since All-Northern Sun forward Bryan Jefferson hauled down 15 against MSU Moorhead on January 7, 2017.
Mayer finished the night with a double double, pairing 12 points with his 14 rebounds. He also had three assists.
Huntsberry just missed a double double of his own. He distributed nine assists to go with 20 points. The junior guard made 8-of-11 shots from the floor and finished 4-of-7 on treys.
Atelbauers was spectacular on 3s, finishing 5-of-6 behind the arc. He scored a career-best 15 points, exceeding his previous high of 12 set the night before. Atelbauers also added two assists.
Kam Warrens posted 13 points and had three assists and three rebounds.
Johnson came off the bench to score 13 points. He was 3-for-5 on treys and distributed three assists.
Caleb Donaldson led SCSU with 21 points and seven boards. Matthew Willert added 13 points.
The Marauders now enter the final weekend of the regular season. UMary plays at MSU Moorhead on Thursday, Feb. 17, before hosting Northern State on Saturday, Feb. 19.
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