ABERDEEN, SD – Ty Rogers and the University of Mary men's basketball team held off a late run by Northern State University to claim a 76-72 road win over Northern State University in the Northern Sun opener for both teams. Rogers scored a career-high 19 points and the Marauders outscored the Wolves 50-28 in the paint to snap a 15-game losing streak to Northern State.  
 
Deadly accurate from behind the arc, Rogers led all players in scoring on the night. He hit on 3-of-4 trey attempts and was 7-of-13 shooting overall. The junior forward added four rebounds, two assists and two steals to his 19 points and didn't commit a turnover in 30 minutes of play.
 
The Marauders (2-6 overall, 1-0 NSIC) found their shooting touch against the Wolves (1-5, 0-1). After struggling from the floor their last three outings, UMary knocked down 54.2% of its shots for the game. The Marauders were electric in the first half, making 20-of-31 shots in the first half on the way to building a 19-point lead. UMary finished the game 32-of-59 overall and 7-for-15 on treys. The Wolves connected on 45.9% of their field goal attempts, including an 11-of-24 effort behind the arc that sparked Northern State's rally effort.
 
A 12-2 run in the first half featuring back-to-back treys by Kevin McGaskey and Rogers gave the Marauders a 32-17 lead with just over five minutes to play in the first half. Jeremiah Jones knocked down a trey in the final minute before intermission to give UMary a 19 point advantage before entering halftime leading 45-28.
 
Jones was 3-for-3 on treys in the first half and led UMary with 13 points. UMary's leading scorer on the season finished the night with 15 points, seven rebounds and five assists.
 
UMary maintained a double-digit advantage until 8:11 remained in the game when Kwat Abdelkarim nailed a trey to pull Northern State within 67-60. Another trey by Abdelkarim later closed the gap to 72-70 with just under three minutes showing on the clock. Rich Ashu responded for the Marauders as the senior forward tapped in his own missed shot. NSU closed within 74-72 at the 1:41 mark but UMary's defense shut down the Wolves offense on their next two possessions before Jones sealed the win with two free throws with nine second remaining.
 
Ashu came off the bench to score 12 points for UMary. He hit 6-of-9 shots and added five boards. Xavier Lewis made all four of his shots and scored eight points. Alex Mattes had nine points and six rebounds and McGaskey added seven points and eight assists.
 
Devin Brooke came off the bench to hit four treys and lead the Wolves in scoring with 16 points. Kaleb Mitchell added 14 in a reserve roll as the NSU bench held a 35-18 scoring edge.
 
In addition to the Marauders big edge in scoring in the paint, UMary outrebounded Northern State 39-27, leading to a 20-8 advantage in 2^nd chance points.
 
UMary returns to non-conference action with a pair of Thanksgiving weekend games in Rapid City, SD, on Friday and Saturday, November 29-30. Both games are hosted by South Dakota Mines on campus at the King Center.
 
The Marauders first square off against Black Hills State University in a neutral site game at 5 pm CT/4 pm MT on Friday. The weekend wraps up when UMary faces host South Dakota Mines on Saturday at 5 pm CT/4 pm MT.
 
#marauders#