BISMARCK, ND – A gritty effort by the University of Mary men's basketball team kept the Marauders upset hopes alive much of the night against 7^th ranked MSU Moorhead in UMary's Northern Sun home opener. Within a point at intermission, the Marauders stayed within striking distance much of the game before succumbing to the Dragons 74-58.
 
This was the fourth time in 11 games this season UMary faced a team getting recognition in the national rankings, the fifth opponent coming off a 20-win season and the third team that played in the NCAA tournament last spring.
 
Kevin McGaskey provided much of the offensive spark for the Marauders as the grad transfer from Prairie View A&M scored a season-best 21 points for UMary. The UMary guard scored 15 of his points in the opening half. He finished 8-of-16 from the floor, including a 2-for-3 effort behind the arc, and knocked down 3-of-4 free throws. McGaskey also added two assists and two steals.
 
Alex Mattes added nine points and a team-best four assists to go with four rebounds. Rich Ashu came off the bench and scored eight points while claiming five rebounds. Xavier Lewis also had eight points plus four rebounds. Both Lewis and Ashu knocked down 4-of-6 shots. Jeremiah Jones chipped in seven points and a team-best seven rebounds.
 
UMary (3-8 overall, 1-1 Northern Sun) held a 37-36 rebounding edge and outscored MSUM (7-1, 2-0) 32-26 in the paint. The Dragons nailed nine treys to three for the Marauders and also went 15-of-18 at the line while UMary made 9-of-14. MSUM shot 44.6% for the game from the floor while UMary hit 39%.
 
In a tight first half, the Marauders took their first lead of the night at 13-11 on a trey by McGaskey. Down as many as seven points, scored the final six points of the first half on a basket by Ty Rogers in the paint and two straight buckets by Ashu, the first a layup off a turnover and then an offensive putback to send UMary into intermission down 33-32.
 
Lewis scored the first basket of the second half to give the Marauders a 34-33 lead. The Dragons followed with a 21-8 run to gain control of the game. UMary closed the gap to ten several times but were unable to get the deficit to single digits.
 
Jacob Jennissen and Jacob Beeninga led MSUM with 18 points each.
 
The Marauders next face Highway 83 rival Minot State University on Wednesday, December 11. Game time is 7:30 pm at the McDowell Activity Center. Tickets are available online at www.UMaryTickets.com.
 
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