BILLINGS, MT – Jeremiah Jones hit the winning free throw with 1.7 seconds remaining in the game and deflected a subsequent inbounds pass to preserve the first win of the season for the University of Mary men's basketball team. The Marauders held off a late rally by #RV University of Alaska Anchorage to down the Seawolves 73-72 in the third and final day of the D2CCA Tipoff Classic at the Trailhead.
 
In a game that featured five ties and five lead changes, the Marauders held a lead for nearly 30 of 40  minutes. A Jones trey with just under six minutes left in the game pushed the Marauders advantage to 66-57, UMary's biggest lead of the game. The Seawolves charged back and eventually tied the game 72-72 on a Bishop Tosi basket in the paint with 11 seconds left on the clock.
 
With time running down, Kevin McGaskey drove the lane for UMary but his shot was denied. Jones snared the long rebound and went up for a shot in one motion, drawing a foul and earning two free throws. After draining his first attempt, his second went awry and went out of bounds off UMary with 1.2 seconds left in the game.
 
The Seawolves attempted a long inbounds pass past midcourt that was swatted away by Jones. The ball went directly to an Alaska Anchorage player but a rushed shot went wide of the basket as time expired.
 
Alaska Anchorage (2-3 overall) won 21 games last season, qualified for the NCAA tournament and received votes in the NBCA preseason top 25 poll. The two other teams UMary (1-2 overall) faced this weekend – tournament host MSU Billings and St. Edward's – also won at least 20 games last season and earned preseason top 25 votes. MSU Billings also made the 2024 NCAA tournament to give UMary an incredibly challenging opening-weekend schedule.
 
Six Marauders scored at least eight points in the game. McGaskey and Ty Rogers led the way with 13 points each. McGaskey was 3-for-4 on treys and added three assists, Rogers finished 6-of-9 from the floor and picked up four rebounds.
 
Cayden Redfield hit 2-of-3 behind the arc and scored nine points off the bench. He scored a team-high 16 points the previous game against St. Edward's.
 
Jones scored eight points and grabbed 10 rebounds. The sophomore guard also had two assists and three steals.
 
Alex Mattes and Rich Ashu also had eight points each.
 
Sean Evans led UAA with 15 points and six assists. Tyler Burraston had 13 points and ten rebounds and Tosi added 11 points.
 
UMary knocked down 11-of-25 treys and shot 44.1% overall from the field while UAA shot 42.6% from the floor. The Marauders were 10-of-17 at the line while the Seawolves finished 9-of-16. UMary turned the ball over just six times to ten for UAA for a 14-2 advantage in points off turnovers. The Seawolves held a 45-30 edge in rebounding leading to a 22-7 edge in second chance points.
 
A busy early season schedule continues for the Marauders when UMary participates in the Central Region Challenge in Edmond, OK, on Friday and Saturday, November 8-9. The weekend opens against the University of Central Oklahoma before facing Northeastern State University.
 
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