Yellowjackets Fall at Mary, 83-72

Box Score

BISMARCK, N.D. – In a game that saw torrid field goal shooting by both teams, the University of Mary Marauders earned their first win of the season as they defeated visiting Montana State Billings Monday evening, 83-72.  With the loss, the Yellowjackets fall to 2-3 on the year, while Mary improves to 1-4.  Michael Hall returned to the Yellowjacket lineup and dropped in a game-high 23 points in the losing effort.

“The bottom line is we didn’t get stops tonight and that has been our challenge on this road trip,” head coach George Pfeifer said.  “The key is resolve and right now we aren’t good enough to win on the road and we need to work on that and get tougher.” 

In a very even game, both teams scorched the nets Monday as the Vikings and Marauders combined to shoot 56 of 100 from the floor for 56 percent.  Each team buried eight 3-pointers as well. The ‘Jackets shot 61 percent from beyond the arc alone on 8 of 13, while Mary was 8 of 19.

For the game, Hall led the way with 23 points on 8 of 13 from the floor and he was 5 of 9 from beyond the arc.  Mario Burns was the only other Yellowjacket in double figures with 15 points and six assists.
As a team, the Yellowjackets shot 57.8 percent for the game on 26 of 45 from the field.  They were 8 of 13 from deep and 12 of 20 from the line.

Mary was led by led by four players in double figures as Jordan Wilhelm scored 19 points on 6 of 9 from the field, while pulling down seven rebounds.  Marauder season-leading scorer, Geoff West, again was held in check as he scored just seven points, 13 below his average.  MSUB held West to 11 points in the meeting in Billings last week.

The Marauders were 30 of 55 from the field for 54 percent, 8 of 19 from downtown and 15 of 18 from the charity stripe.  UM held won the battle of the boards, 28-23, including a 12-8 margin on the offensive end.

Both teams got off to a quick start as it was 17-14 Mary and the game wasn’t even seven minutes old.  Two free throws by Burns gave the Yellowjackets their first lead at 18-17 with 12:26 left.  MSUB built the lead to as many as five, but the Marauders had the answer each time as the half saw nine ties.  Mary held a 44-42 lead at intermission.

Brad Hodge scored the opening bucket of the second half for the Yellowjackets for the 10th tie of the game.  From that point, UM went on a 19-4 run to build a 15-point lead with 10:53 left.  The Yellowjackets would continue to fight hard and cut the deficit to three with 7:43 left at 63-60 using a 12-0 run to get back into the contest. 

A key 3-pointer by Danny Sandvig quelled the run, but Travis Bunker answered with a trey of his own to cut the deficit back to three with 6:42 left.  Mary raced back to a 10-point lead with a 3-pointer by Wilhelm and two layups by Zach Dosch and Jordan Engelhardt.

The Maruaders made free throws down the stretch and swelled the lead to as many as 13 before settling for the 11-point win.

“We were down 14 points with eight minutes left and then we were down two with five minutes to play as we started to guard on defense and turned it around,” Pfeifer said.  “When we would finally get a stop, we would give them an offensive rebound.”
Both teams continued the hot shooting in the second half, but one of the key differences was second half

free throw shooting as Mary was 7 of 9 from the line, but the Yellowjackets were 5 of 12.

The Yellowjackets return home to begin a six-game home stand Friday at 7 p.m. versus Colorado Christian.  The two teams are scheduled to meet again Saturday at 4 p.m., following the women’s game versus Metro State at 2 p.m. at Alterowitz Gymnasium.