THIS WEEK
After a pair of non-conference wins over Thanksgiving weekend, the University of Mary men's basketball team returns to Northern Sun action this week with a single game at MSU Moorhead. The Marauders face the 7^th ranked Dragons at 3:30 pm on Saturday, December 2, at Alex Nemzek Fieldhouse.
 
THE RECORD
The Marauders are 4-2 overall and 0-1 in the Northern Sun… The Dragons are 7-0 overall and 1-0 in the NSIC.
 
LAST WEEKEND
The Marauders picked up a pair of wins at the Dacotah Bank Classic in Aberdeen, SD… UMary opened with a 110-73 victory over Trinity Bible College to open play at the Classic. Six Marauders reached double figures, led by Brock Heffner with 18 points and seven rebounds. Xavier Lewis added 15. Off the bench Ty Rogers had a double double with 13 points and 11 rebounds. Marquel Saleek scored 16 points and Liam Doherty and Nick Harrell both had 10… The Classic wrapped up with an 87-66 win over Peru State. Zyon Smith had a season-high 20 points. Gerald Gittens added 12 points and Gunner Swanson 10. Off the bench, Alex Mattes had 14 points and Rogers added 11.  
 
MARAUDERS RADIO MOVE TO KFYR 550 AM FOR DECEMBER 2
The University of Mary men's and women's basketball games December 2 will be carried live on KFYR 550 AM with Voice of the Marauders Jesse Rostvedt calling the action. All other Marauders basketball games are carried live on Fox Sports 710.
 
FOLLOW LIVE

• Voice of the Marauders Jesse Rostvedt broadcasts all Marauders home games and Northern Sun contests on Fox Sports 710 and online at https://foxsports710.iheart.com/
• Free video streaming of Marauders home and all Northern Sun games is available at https://nsicnetwork.com/goumary and at www.GoUMary.com/coverage
• Live stats for Saturday's games are available online at www.GoUMary.com/coverage

 
DOUBLING UP
The Marauders already have a trio of players with double doubles this season:

• Xavier Lewis – 15 points, 12 rebounds at Northeastern State (Nov. 11, 2023)
• Brock Heffner – 25 points, 11 rebounds vs. Mayville State (Nov. 15, 2023)
• Ty Rogers – 13 points and 11 rebounds vs. Trinity Bible College (Nov. 24, 2023)

 
POWER TRIO
The Marauders have three players averaging double figures through three games:

• Gerald Gittens, a transfer from North Central Missouri College, is tied for the Marauders lead in scoring with 13.3 points per game. He is shooting 46.6% from the floor, 38.5% on treys and averages 4.7 rebounds/game.
• Zyon Smith is also averaging 13.3 points per game with 6.2 rebounds/game. The senior guard leads the team with 16 3-pointers.
• Brock Heffner, a transfer from University of Wisconsin-Green Bay, averages 11.3 points per game and 6.3 rebounds.

 
 
HISTORY LESSON - MARAUDERS v. DRAGONS
The Marauders trail the Dragons 25-17 in the all-time series… Since joining the NCAA and NSIC, UMary is 12-22 against MSUM… The Marauder have won five of the last 11 games… 7 of the last 11 games were played in Moorhead… The Marauders won the first conference match-up 75-72 at MSUM on January 16, 2007… The Dragons followed with five straight wins, including an overtime victory, one win by one point and another by two points… The Marauders snapped the Dragons streak 74-58 at home on Jan. 30, 2010, the first of five straight UMary wins that concluded with a 72-51 win over 19th ranked MSUM on Jan. 7, 2012, at the MAC… The Marauders snapped an 8-game losing streak to the Dragons with a 77-73 upset win at 3rd ranked MSUM on January 8, 2016.
 
BOARD GAMES
The Marauders are +9.7 rebounds per game over the opposition and sophomore forward Xavier Lewis is a big key. The Lynwood, IL, native averages 7.3 rebounds/game to lead the Marauders. He is 10^th in the NSIC. Additionally Brock Heffner (6.3 rpg) ranks 15^th and Zyon Smith (6.2 rpg) is 17^th in the NSIC.
 
CLUTCH
Gerald Gittens has shown a magic touch in a pair of late game situations. The Brooklyn, NY, native in his first season at UMary hit a shot to beat the buzzer in the Marauders 63-61 win at Northeastern State University in the second game of the season… in the Marauders home opener he hit a 3-pointer with 20 seconds left in regulation to tie the game at 70-70 and force overtime. Gittens hit five straight free throws to seal the 81-72 UMary win.
 
SMITH NAMED UMARY'S NSIC PLAYER TO WATCH IN 2023-24
A senior guard from Montgomery, AL, Zyon Smith is UMary's NSIC Player to Watch for 2023-24. Smith joined the Marauders last season as a transfer from Highland (KS) Community College. In his first season at UMary he averaged 11.7 points per game. Smith hit a team-best 44 treys and averaged 2.8 rebounds per game. In the Marauders lone exhibition game of the preseason Smith hit four treys and scored a game-high 20 points at NCAA Division I South Dakota State University.
 
MARAUDERS MEMOS

• Senior G Zyon Smith is the lone starter returning for UMary after graduating four starters
• The Marauders return six players who saw action in at least 16 games, including junior F Liam Doherty and sophomores Jeremiah Jones, Gunner Swanson, Ty Rogers and Xavier Lewis.
• Jones averaged 6.7 pg and 5.6 rpg as a key reserve and had two double doubles with a couple more near misses
• Several newcomers will play key roles for the Marauders this season, including a trio of reserves: Junior guard Gerald Gittens (North Central Missouri College), junior forward Rich Ashu (Ellsworth Community College) and sophomore forward Brock Heffner (University of Wisconsin-Green Bay)
• Marauders were picked to finish 13th in the NSIC in the preseason coaches poll

 
YEAR THREE
Head coach Jack Nelson enters year three with the Marauders. In his first season in 2020-21 he led UMary to its best conference record in four years. Nelson directed the Marauders to their first Northern Sun tournament road victory with an 82-70 win at Winona State to send UMary to the quarterfinals and a trip to the Sanford Pentagon. During the regular season the Marauders defeated #6 University of Minnesota Duluth 75-71, the highest ranked NCAA team UMary has beaten at home. Nelson recruited and coached Kai Huntsberry, the 2021-22 NSIC Newcomer of the Year and a 1st team all-conference selection who broke the NSIC tournament record for 3s in a game with eight.
 
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