DULUTH, MN – Cooling off after a fast start, the University of Mary men's basketball team opened their final weekend road doubleheader with an 83-68 loss to defending Northern Sun champion University of Minnesota Duluth.
UMary rounds out the weekend trip with a visit to St. Cloud State University on Saturday, February 11. Tip off is 3:30 pm at Halenbeck Hall in St. Cloud, MN. The Marauders at 4-7 in divisional play are a game ahead of the Huskies (3-8) in the NSIC North division standings for the final playoff berth in the league tournament with three regular season games to play. UMary defeated SCSU earlier this season 91-77. A win by the Marauders should ensure a postseason berth for UMary.
Both teams started solid on offense with freshman
Jeremiah Jones giving UMary an early 10-8 lead. With the Bulldogs slowly pulling away, a
Kam Warrens jumper pulled UMary within 19-18 with 11:47 to play in the first half. UMD eventually gained a double digit advantage before a
Treyton Mattern triple for UMary in the closing seconds closed the gap to 49-38 at intermission. UMD was hot from the floor, shooting over 59% and hitting 7-of-14 treys with UMary checking in at 49% in the first half.
Neither team's offense was as efficient in the second half. The Marauders closed within eight points at 52-44 but could never slice into the lead any further.
Zyon Smith led the Marauders with 14 points, connecting on two treys in the game.
Veljko Radakovic scored a career-high 11 points and added three rebounds. Warrens finished with 10 points and team-high six rebounds.
Jones and fellow freshman
Xavier Lewis gave the Marauders (11-12 overall / 7-12 NSIC) quality time off the bench. Both finished with eight points. Jones was 4-for-6 from the floor and had four rebounds and two assists. Lewis hit all three of his shots and both free throws while added a block and two steals.
Drew Blair led UMD (17-8, 13-6) with 24 points. Jack Middleton added 19. The two combined for 14 rebounds and nine treys.
The Marauders turned the ball over a season-low three times. The Bulldogs committed just seven in the game.
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