ST. PAUL, MN – University of Mary men's basketball hopes for a weekend road sweep were dashed in a narrow 67-62 loss to Concordia University, St. Paul. Despite a second straight 20 point game for Treyton Mattern and a strong second half performance by UMary, a fast start by the Golden Bears was too much to overcome for the Marauders.
 
The Marauders, who opened the weekend with a 69-67 road win over Minnesota State for a second straight victory, slip to 10-10 overall and 6-10 in the Northern Sun. The Golden Bears are 6-16 and 4-12.
 
A night after posting  20 points against the Mavericks, Mattern followed with an identical performance against the Golden Bears. The junior guard hit three treys in the game and added three rebounds and four assists while playing every minute of the game. Finishing a point shy of his career-best, this was the fourth time Mattern scored at least 20 in a game this season.
 
Zyon Smith added 13 for UMary, hitting 6-of-11 shots from the floor. Kam Warrens chipped in 10 points with six rebounds, two blocks and four steals.
 
Making his first career start for the Marauders, Jeremiah Jones had an impactful night. The freshman snared a game-high 11 rebounds and added eight points. Lucas Mayer had eight rebounds, five points, two assists and two blocks.
 
Mayer scored the first basket of the night but the Golden Bers responded with 12 straight points and would maintain a lead the rest of the game. Up by as many as 18 points, Concordia-St. Paul entered intermission with a 39-24 lead.
 
UMary found its game at halftime and outscored Concordia-St. Paul 38-28 in the second half. The Marauders clawed their way within 52-49 on a Mattern three but the Golden Bears surged back to a double digit lead. Another UMary push closed the Marauders within 62-59 with 1:33 to play. A defensive stop by the Marauders gave UMary an opportunity to close the gap further but Concordia-St. Paul managed to hold off the visitors and claim a home court win.
 
In another strong defensive game for UMary, the Marauders held the Golden Bears to a shooting percentage of 35.3% for the game, including a 28.1% mark behind the arc (9-of-32). UMary shot 43.9% for the game and was 6-for-21 behind the arc. The Marauders finished 6-for-13 at the line while the Golden Bears finished 10-for-12.
 
The Marauders now return home for their final weekend doubleheader of the season. UMary hosts the University of Minnesota Crookston at 5:30 pm on Friday, February 3, and Bemidji State University at 3:30 pm Saturday, February 4.  
 
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