THIS WEEK
Making their first road trip of 2023, the University of Mary ventures south to face Augustana University and Wayne State College. The Marauders stop first in Sioux Falls, SD, on Friday, January 13, to face the Vikings at the Sanford Pentagon (7:30 pm tipoff). The weekend wraps up in Wayne, NE, as the Marauders tangle with the Wildcats at 5:30 pm on Saturday, January 14, inside Rice Auditorium.  
 
LAST TIME OUT
The Marauders split their first home series of the 2023 calendar year. Behind a double double from Gertautas Urbonavicius and key baskets down the stretch from Treyton Mattern, UMary scored the last 11 points of the game to edge Southwest Minnesota State 62-57. Down 57-51 with just over five minutes to play, UMary started the charge with a Kam Warrens bucket and a trey from Urbonavicius. An acrobatic basket in the key from Mattern gave UMary its first lead at 58-57 since the opening minutes of the contest. He followed with a trey with 59 seconds. Jeremiah Jones made a pair of key defensive plays at the end of the night to stifle the Mustangs attack with a steal that led to the Mattern trey and a block and rebound on the next SMSU possession. Urbonavicius finished with 16 points and 10 rebounds. Mattern and Zyon Smith both had 11 points... Kam Warrens had 21 points and nine rebounds and Smith added 20 points with four treys the next night in a 90-86 loss to Sioux Falls. Lucas Mayer added 15 points and six rebounds. Jones had 10 points and five boards off the bench.
 
RECORDS
The Marauders enter the weekend 8-6 overall and 4-6 in the NSIC… Augustana is 7-9 overall and 3-7 in the NSIC… Wayne State is 11-5 overall and 6-4 in the NSIC.  
 
SOUTHERN HOSPITATLITY
After opening their Northern Sun schedule against NSIC North foes for the first eight league games, the Marauders are now in the midst of playing eight straight games against teams from the NSIC South. UMary hosted SMSU and USF last weekend and have six crossover games remaining, including two on the road this weekend. After concluding with the South teams, the Marauders will play another seven games against their NSIC North brethren to wrap up the regular season.
 
"WE GOT FIRST" SWAP BEGINS JANUARY 20
Starting with the games on January 20-21, the men's Northern Sun contests will be held prior to the women's game in all league doubleheaders. For the first 11 NSIC games of the season, the women tipped off first followed by the men's game. This is the second straight season the men and women have followed this protocol.
 
HISTORY LESSON – MARAUDERS v. VIKINGS
UMary is 6-15 against Augustana… In their last appearance at the MAC, the Marauders snapped an 8-game losing streak to the Vikings with a 101-87 win on Feb. 2, 2019. The Marauders shot 57% for the game and hit 14 treys. Trever Kaiser posted 21 points, Jaylan White had 20 points and 8 assists, Connor Hellebust added 18 points and Matthew Kreklow 16… The series started in 1999-2000 with an 89-64 Vikings win… The first Marauders win was a 68-64 victory on January 18, 2006… Last Marauders road win over the Vikings was a 63-49 victory on December 4, 2009… LAST MEETING Jacob Jackson posted 17 points and 10 rebounds in an 80-59 home loss to #23 Vikings on January 15, 2022. Kai Huntsberry added 15 points. Isaac Fink hit five treys and scored 23 points for Augie.
  
HISTORY LESSON - MARAUDERS v. WILDCATS
The Wildcats hold a 17-6 series lead over the Marauders… The Wildcats have won the last five meetings… The two teams first met during UMary's transition season from NAIA to NCAA play in 2005-06 with the Marauders claiming a 70-65 win… Wayne State followed with six straight wins over UMary before the Marauders broke the streak with a 73-62 win at WSC on Dec. 5, 2009… The Wildcats are 9-2 in Bismarck and 8-4 at home against the Marauders… The Marauders last home win was an 85-78 victory 12.9.16 behind 19 points from Bryan Jefferson… The Marauders last road win was a 99-80 victory on January 31, 2016, behind 26 points from Bryan Jefferson. Six Marauders reached double figures… LAST MEETING The visiting Wildcats defeated the Marauders 76-69 on January 14, 2022. Kai Huntsberry led the Marauders with 24 points and Matthew Johnson scored 12. Justin Eagins led WSC with 22 points.
 
BALANCE
The Marauders feature six players scoring between 13 ppg and 6.9 ppg, with five players averaging at least 8.9 ppg. Zyon Smith leads the way at 13.0 ppg in his first season at UMary and Kam Warrens is close behind at 12.7 ppg. Treyton Mattern, who had his streak of eight straight double digit point games snapped against USF, is at 11.6 ppg. Gertautas Urbonavicius checks in at 9.8 ppg with Lucas Mayer at 8.9 ppg and Jeremiah Jones at 6.9 ppg. 
 
HELPING HAND
The Marauders are averaging 15.6 assists per game to rank 62^nd in the country and 2^nd in the NSIC.  
 
PICKPOCKET
The Marauders are forcing 13.5 turnovers a game, the 4^th highest total in the NSIC. A big cause for the turnovers is freshman Jeremiah Jones, who is 4^th in the NSIC in steals (1.6/game). Treyton Mattern is 14^th in steals at 1.3/game.
 
FOR THREE!
The Marauders are knocking down 38% of their 3-point attempts this season to rank 2^nd in the Northern Sun and 49^th in NCAA Division II. Opponents are connecting on just 34% of their attempts from behind the arc. Gertautas Urbonavicius (15-of-29) leads the way at 51.7%. Kam Warrens (21-of-52) is at 40% with Zyon Smith at 36.1% (30-of-83)... Zyon Smith makes 2.1 3s/game to lead UMary. He is 14^th in the NSIC.
 
TAKING TURNS
Five different Marauders have led UMary in scoring this season: Kam Warrens (5x), Treyton Mattern (3x), Zyon Smith (3x), Lucas Mayer (2x) and Gertautas Urbonavicius (2x).
 
SHARE THE LOAD
The Marauders rank third in the NSIC in rebounds/game a 39 and it's a team effort. Kam Warrens leads UMary in rebounds/game (5.7) and is 19^th in the league, followed by Gertautas Urbonavicius (5.6) at #20 and Jeremiah Jones (5.6) at #21.
 
DOUBLING DOWN
Barely halfway through his freshman season, 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 6.9 points, 5.6 rebounds and 3.2 assists. He is shooting 86.4% (19-of-22) at the free throw line… Jones leads the Marauders in assists and steals and is second in rebounds… He ranks 21^st in the NSIC in rebounding, 12^th in assists and 4^th in steals (1.6/game).
 
DOUBLE DOUBLE
The Marauders have registered four double doubles this season:
Jeremiah Jones (15 points, 16 rebounds vs. Minot State 11/22/22)
Jeremiah Jones (11 points, 10 rebounds vs. Puerto Rico-Bayamon 11/26/22)
Kam Warrens (21 points, 12 rebounds at Bemidji State 12/30/21)
Gertautas Urbonavicius (16 points, 10 rebounds vs. SMSU 1/6/23)
 
20+
The Marauders have had several players crack 20 points in a game this season:
Treyton Mattern (20 points vs. Presentation 11/18/22)
Lucas Mayer (21 points vs. Dickinson State 12/6/22)
Gertautas Urbonavicius (23 points vs. St. Cloud State 12/9/22)
Kam Warrens (20 points vs. St. Cloud State 12/9/22)
Kam Warrens (20 at Minot State 12/17/22)
Zyon Smith (22 points at Minot State 12/17/22)
Kam Warrens (21 points at Bemidji State 12/30/22)
Treyton Mattern (21 points at Minnesota Crookston 12/31/22)
Kam Warrens (21 points vs. Sioux Falls 1/7/23)
Zyon Smith (20 points vs. Sioux Falls 1/7/23)
 
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 played for UMary. Mayer's father Dave played on the Marauders 1981-82 Men's Basketball Hall of Fame team that set a school record for wins. 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) 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 all made their collegiate debuts this season.
 
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
Zyon Smith lead a group of seven 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.
 
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
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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