BISMARCK, ND – Looking to pick up another win against one of the stalwarts of the Northern Sun, the University of Mary men's basketball team had Minnesota State University teetering but the Marauders couldn't find the one final push needed to knock the Mavericks over the edge. A Kelton Coleman layup gave the Marauders a lead with 62 seconds left before four straight free throws by the Mavericks in the final 40 seconds dashed UMary's hopes in a 68-65 loss to visiting Minnesota State.
 
The Marauders already own wins over MSU Moorhead and Minot State University this season, two teams who qualified for the 2025 NCAA tournament. Minnesota State is the 2024 NCAA Division II national champions.
 
Coleman scored a game-high 21 points in a contest that featured seven lead changes and six ties. The largest lead of the night was eight points by UMary (5-10 overall, 3-6 NSIC) in the first half. MSU (8-9 overall, 2-7 NSIC) never led by more than six, taking a 64-58 lead with 3:11 to play.
 
With the Mavericks seemingly set to pull away, the Marauders flipped the script behind a 7-0 run.
 
A layup by Andre Austin closed the gap to 64-60. A defensive rebound led to a made free throw for Cayden Redfield. Another defensive stop for UMary ended with a defensive rebound by Parker Brodina, who was fouled and sank two free throws to close the gap to 64-63. Redfield followed with a block with Austin grabbing the rebound. As he did all night, Coleman then got to the basket for another layup and a 65-64 UMary lead.
 
The Mavericks snapped the Marauders run with a pair of free throws by Traijan Sain to regain the lead with 40 seconds to play. A UMary miss led to two more free throws by Minnesota State to seal the Mavericks win.
 
Coleman knocked down 9-of-11 shots. He made both his trey attempts. The junior guard also had a team-best six rebounds and two steals.
 
Noah Thomas drained four of the Marauders eight treys in the game and scored 12 points. Brodina added eight as he made all five of his free throws.
 
Sain led the Mavericks with 18 points. Three others added 13 points.
 
Both teams hit eight treys. The Mavericks had the edge at the free throw line, making 14-of-21 to a 9-of-13 effort for the Marauders.
 
UMary closes out a home weekend on Saturday, January 10, with a visit from St. Cloud State University. Tip off is 3:30 pm at the McDowell Activity Center.
 
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