THIS WEEK
For the first time in four weeks the University of Mary men's basketball team plays in front of the home fans at the McDowell Activity Center when the Marauders host Southwest Minnesota State University and the University of Sioux Falls on Friday and Saturday, January 6-7. The Marauders face off against the Mustangs in the first game of 2023 at 7:30 pm on Friday, January 6. The weekend concludes with a 5:30 pm tipoff between the Marauders and the Cougars on Saturday, January 7.
 
LAST TIME OUT
The Marauders earned a road split in the final games of 2022. Kam Warrens posted career-highs with 21 points and 12 rebounds in a 77-67 loss at Bemidji State. Four other Marauders also reached double figures in the game – Treyton Mattern (11), Lucas Mayer (11), Gertautas Urbonavicius (10) and Zyon Smith (10)… UMary closed out 2022 with an 80-76 win at the University of Minnesota Crookston. Mattern hit six free throws in the final 65 seconds to hold UMC at bay on his way to a career-high 21 points. Twice UMC pulled within a point and both times Mattern knocked down a pair of free throws. Lucas Mayer finished with 19 points and eight rebounds, Gertautas Urbonavicius drained all four treys he took and scored 16 points with eight rebounds, and Zyon Smith added 15 points and three assists.
 
RECORDS
The Marauders enter the weekend 7-5 overall and 3-5 in the NSIC… SMSU is 9-5 overall and 5-3 in the NSIC… Sioux Falls is 10-4 overall and 5-3 in the NSIC.   
 
WELL HELLO
For the first time this season the Marauders will play a team from the NSIC South division as intradivisional play opens. UMary's first eight conference games this season were against NSIC North divisional rivals. All teams in the NSIC play teams in their own divisions twice and teams from the opposite division once. The Marauders have played six of the NSIC North teams once each while facing travel partner Minot State twice.
 
 
HISTORY LESSON - MARAUDERS v. MUSTANGS
The Marauders trail the Mustangs in the series 16-4… UMary is 2-5 all-time at home in the MAC and 2-10 at SMSU's R/A Facility… The Marauders won the last meeting held in Bismarck 75-60 Jan. 1, 2020, as Jaylen White, Glen Jordan, Wyatt Carr, Josh Sipes and Kade Amundson all tied for the team scoring lead with 12 points each. White also had 12 assists, two steals and five rebounds … The Marauders last win in Marshall, MN, was 91-82 on December 11, 2015, as Bryan Jefferson had 18 points and Marquealis Edwards had 16 points, nine rebounds and five assists ... LAST MEETING The Marauders dropped a narrow 77-73 loss in a game that featured 10 lead changes and five ties. Neither team had more than a 2-possession advantage the last 24 minutes. Kai Huntsberry had 26 points and Kam Warrens had 12 rebounds and 10 points. Gertautas Urbonavicius added 16 points. Dunwa Omot had 24 points for SMSU.
 
HISTORY LESSON - MARAUDERS v. COUGARS
The Cougars lead the series with the Marauders 9-3… USF won the first four games in the series before UMary claimed the next two… The Marauders first win was a 69-65 road win on Dec. 12, 2015… Mary is 1-2 at home, 1-6 at USF and 1-0 in neutral site games… The two former NAIA competitors first met as NCAA and NSIC foes on 2.9.13 with USF gaining a 75-70 home win. The Marauders joined the Northern Sun for the 2006-07 season and the Cougars began NSIC play in 2012-13… LAST MEETING The Marauders snapped a 5-game skid against the Cougars with an 83-74 win at the Microtel Thanksgiving Classic in Moorhead, MN, on November 26, 2021. The Marauders outscored the Cougars 55-38 in the second half to claim a non-conference win. Kai Huntsberry led UMary with 26 points and seven assists. Kade Amundson added 16 points and Treyton Mattern had 11 points and eight rebounds. Jacob Jackson came off the bench to score 14 points. NOTE: The NSIC contest scheduled for January 8, 2022, was cancelled for USF COVID-19 protocols.
 
I KNOW YOU
In his first season at UMary in 2021-22, Marauders head coach Jack Nelson picked up his first two UMary coaching wins against a pair of schools at which he had been an assistant coach. Nelson earned his first win at Minot State on November 23, 2021, where he was an assistant coach from 2012-16. His second UMary win came against Sioux Falls on November 26, 2021, where Nelson coached the previous three seasons (2018-21) prior to joining UMary in what was his second stint at USF… Nelson is 4-1 against the two Northern Sun schools (3-1 vs. MSU, 1-0 vs. USF) at which he was previously an assistant.
 
BALANCE
The Marauders feature six players scoring between 12.6 ppg and 6.6 ppg, with five players averaging at least 8.5 ppg. Zyon Smith leads the way at 12.6 ppg in his first season at UMary and Kam Warrens is close behind at 12.5 ppg. Treyton Mattern is up to 12.1 ppg after seven straight games scoring in double figures. Gertautas Urbonavicius checks in at 9.4 ppg with Lucas Mayer at 8.5 ppg and Jeremiah Jones at 6.6 ppg. 
 
HELPING HAND
The Marauders are averaging 15.3 assists per game to rank 69^th in the country and 2^nd in the NSIC.  
 
PICKPOCKET
The Marauders are forcing 14 turnovers a game, the 2^nd highest total in the NSIC. A big cause for the turnovers is freshman Jeremiah Jones, who is 2^nd in he NSIC in steals (1.7/game). Treyton Mattern is 15^th in steals at 1.3/game.
 
FOR THREE!
The Marauders are knocking down 37.3% of their 3-point attempts this season to rank 3^rd in the Northern Sun and 60^th in NCAA Division II. Opponents are connecting on just 33.3% of their attempts from behind the arc. Gertautas Urbonavicius (10-of-21) leads the way at 47.6% while Kam Warrens (18-of-44) is at 41%... 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 (4x), Treyton Mattern (3x), Lucas Mayer (2x), Zyon Smith (2x), and Gertautas Urbonavicius.
 
DOUBLING DOWN
Just 11 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 6.6 points, 5.7 rebounds and 3.5 assists. He is shooting 85% (170of-20) at the free throw line… Jones leads the Marauders in rebounding, assists and steals… He ranks 18^th in the NSIC in rebounding, 10^th in assists and 2^nd in steals (1.7/game).
 
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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