BISMARCK, ND – On a night where baskets were hard to find, the University of Mary men's basketball team made a late run before running out of time in a 68-61 loss to visiting St. Cloud State University. Four Marauders reached double figures in scoring as UMary pulled even late before the Huskies created separation in the closing minutes.
Zyon Smith led the Marauders in scoring and just missed a double double. The senior guard scored a team-high 15 points and hauled down nine rebounds. He also had two assists.
Zavier Lewis keyed a big night for the Marauders on the glass. The sophomore forward hauled down a game-high 11 rebounds as UMary held a 47-35 advantage on the boards. He also had seven points and three assists.
Brock Heffner combined 12 points, five rebounds and two steals.
Gerald Gittens provided 11 points, three assists and three rebounds.
Marquel Saleek came off the bench to score 10 points on 4-of-5 shooting. He also hit both his free throws.
Both teams found limited points behind the arc (UMary made three treys, SCSU five) and at the line (UMary hit eight free throws, SCSU seven). The Huskies (5-4 overall / 2-3 Northern Sun) shot 41.8% from the field and the Marauders (5-5 / 1-4) checked in at 39.7%.
UMary led much of the first half, building a 9-point lead at one point. A late run sent SCSU into intermission leading 41-33.
Down 57-47 with nearly eight minutes to play, Smith caught fire to lead the Marauders on a 12-2 run to tie the game 59-59. Smith hit a layup, a jumper and a trey during the run that was capped by a
Ty Rogers free throw.
Following a Huskies hoop, Smith pulled the Marauders even at 61-61 with 2:53 on the clock. SCSU broke the deadlock with 2:15 to play on a Matt Willert basket and held the Marauders at bay the rest of the way.
Willert led SCSU with 16 points off the bench. Lucas Morgan added 11 points and 10 rebounds.
The Marauders next visit Bemidji State University on Thursday, December 14, in the final Northern Sun game of 2023. Game time is 5:30 pm. UMary then returns home to host Valley City State University in a non-conference game Monday, December 18.
#marauders#
