THIS WEEK: Minot State is in the middle of a six-game home stand and begins Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference play Saturday by playing host to rival University of Mary starting at 6 p.m. at the Minot State Dome.

RECORDS: Minot State is riding a four-game win streak and is 4-1 overall. The University of Mary had a three-game win streak snapped by Montana State-Billings, but sports a solid 3-1 record. This is the NSIC opener for both teams.

COACHES CORNER: Minot State's Matt Murken is in his fourth season as head coach of the Beavers. He's compiled a 36-52 record during his first two seasons with Minot State and is 82-68 throughout his six year head coaching career. In his first season with the MSU, Murken increased the Beavers' win total by six from the previous year including the program's first ever win against a NCAA Division II ranked opponent (68-62, No. 19 St. Cloud State, Jan. 5, 2012). Before his time at Minot State, Murken was the head coach at the University of Jamestown where he compiled and impressive 46-16 overall record and was named Dakota Athletic Conference Coach of the Year in 2012. Joe Kittell was named the head coach last season at the University of Mary after coaching the past season at Lake Region State in Devils Lake, N.D. He is 3-1 in his brief career with the Marauders.

FOLLOW THE BEAVERS: The game is broadcast locally on KCJB 910-AM with Scott Kittell calling the play-by-play. Live audio can be accessed online at kcjb.com. MSU provides live video – with Leif Bakken serving as the play-by-play announcer – and live stats as well as links to the live audio at msubeavers.com. Minot State Athletics also is active on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and You Tube with all feeds accessible at msubeavers.com/stayconnected.

RANKINGS: Minot State and the University of Mary both did not receive votes in the first NABC Division II Top 25 coaches' poll released by the NCAA in the preseason. U-Mary did receive votes in the second D2SIDA Division II Central Region Poll.

RECENT HISTORY: Minot State topped both Mayville State and the University of Jamestown in battles against former Dakota Athletic Conference rivals. The Beavers defeated Mayville 77-59 and edged Jamestown 75-69 Monday and Tuesday and are 3-0 against former DAC schools so far this season having defeated Dickinson State 76-74 Nov. 18. Against UJ Tyler Rudolph (So., F, Bismarck, N.D.) finished with 21 points and nine rebounds, a board shy of his fourth double-double of the season, while Winston Williams (Sr., F, Plainfield, Ill.) recorded his first double up with a 13-point, 10-rebound performance. Williams had the hot hand scoring 22 the night before against the Comets. U-Mary lost in overtime against Montana State-Billings Monday in its last tune up as the Marauders game against Oglala scheduled for Tuesday was postponed. Rickey Suggs and Bryan Jefferson paced five U-Mary players in double figures with 18 points each in the loss to MSU-B.

ALL-TIME SERIES: Minot State leads the all-time series 35-30 dating back to the 1976-77 season. MSU has owned its rival to the south since joining the Northern Sun, winning five straight and 10 of the past 11 meetings between the two schools, with the lone Marauder win at the Bismarck Civic Center in 2012. MSU hasn't lost to U-Mary since 2004 at the MSU Dome.

LAST TIME OUT: In one of the highest scoring games since the late 90s track meets, MSU outscored U-Mary 93-88 in front of 1,213 fans at the MSU Dome, Dec. 19, 2014. The Beavers had five players in double figures with Thomas Korf knocking down six 3-pointers and scoring 21 points to pace MSU. Everett Robinson (18), Michael Pelo (16), Tyler Rudolph (12) and Dominique McDonald (11) all reached double figures in the win. UM had four players with 10 or more with Marquealis Edwards scoring 20 in the loss.

NOTING THE MARAUDERS: The University of Mary's 3-0 start was the best in school history since the 2010-11 season when U-Mary won five straight to start the season. The year, the Marauders won 23 games and qualified for the NCAA national tournament… U-Mary and MSU-Billings played a spirited game of basketball as UM rallied from a 21-point deficit to force overtime and the two combined for 32 points in overtime with the Yellowjackets outscoring the Marauders 19-13… In that game, both Rickey Suggs and Bryan Jefferson recorded double-doubles as Jefferson had 18 points and 13 rebounds, while Suggs finished with 18 and 11… U-Mary is also undefeated against former DAC teams, topping Dickinson State 88-66 in exhibition and blowing out South Dakota Mines 96-79 Nov. 18… Marquealis Edwards leads the team in scoring with a 16.3 ppg. average and has hit 13 of 16 free throws… The Marauders have knocked down 75 percent of their free throws as Brandon Tyler paces the team, making 9 of 10.

DOUBLE THE FUN: Minot State's Tyler Rudolph (So., F, Bismarck, N.D.) just missed on a number of double-doubles down the stretch last season, finishing with seven or more rebounds in six of his final nine games and hitting for double figures in all but one of those contests. He finished with just one double-double however, a 22-point, 10-rebound night against Bemidji State. In just five games in 2015-16, Rudolph already has three double-doubles, including two 21-point performances and a 14 rebound game. He leads the Beavers in both categories with a 16.8 ppg., and a 10.0 rpg.   

DOM WATCH 2015: Minot State senior Dominique McDonald (G, Raleigh, N.C.) moved to within 16 points of 900 for his career at Minot State. He is on pace to become the 15th player in school history to reach the 1,000 point plateau and the second in consecutive years as former MSU standout Thomas Korf reached 1,000 career points last season. McDonald has put together a solid career, as he is 116 points from 1,000, 24 assists from 350 and eight rebounds for 250 in his four seasons.

Dom at the Four Seasons (2012-2016) 

Year	Games	Points	Rebounds	Assists
2012-13	27	259	68	89
2013-14	25	284	76	81
2014-15	29	283	82	136
2015-16	5	58	16	20
Total	86	884	242	326

STRONG START: Winston Williams (Sr., F, Plainfield, Ill.) is off to a strong start in 2015-16, notching a double-doubles so far and is third on the team in scoring with a 10.6 average. He scored a career-high 22 points on 14 of 16 free throws in the win over Mayville State. Williams has increased his point total from just 18 points over his first three games, to 35 in his past two, but has remained a solid rebounder throughout, grabbing at least seven boards in three of five games.

LONG RANGE ISSUES: Minot State has felt the effects of graduating all-time 3-point makes leader Thomas Korf and not having the services of one of the top 3-point artists Michael Pelo (Sr., G, Charleston, Utah) until the second semester as the Beavers are last in the league in 3-point percentage. MSU is just 28 for 96 from beyond the arc and has shot over 30 percent just twice. Three-pointers in general haven't been easy to come by so far in MSU games as the Beavers have held its opponents to a respectable 32.7 percent shooting from beyond the arc as well.

DOING THE DIRTY WORK: Minot State senior transfer Brandon Pines (F, Jessup, Md.) is averaging just 3.6 points per game in his first five games as a Beaver, but he is averaging 3.8 fouls per game go along with 15 rebounds and three blocked shots. The 6-foot-7 forward is one of just three players on the roster to top 6-foot-6 and will be asked to play defense on the opposition's top big man all season.

FREE (ONES) FALLING: Outside of a cold stretch against Dickinson State, Minot State has made the most of its 156 trips to the free throw line. The Beavers are 115 for 156 from the charity stripe for a 73.7 percent clip. If you remove the DSU game, the Beavers are 92 for 117 for a 78.6 percent clip. The Beavers have outscored its opponents 115-64 from the line and have outscored all but one team so far this season.

BY THE NUMBERS
3.0: Ratio of assists to turnovers for junior Nathan Mertens (G, Devils Lake, N.D.). Mertens does not have enough assists to qualifiy for the NSIC top 15, but would be fifth at his point in the season. Mertens has 12 assists and just four turnovers

5.2: Offensive rebounds for Tyler Rudolph (So., F, Bismarck, N.D.). Rudolph, who leads the team with a 10.0 average, leads the NSIC in offensive boards, nearly two more a game than second place Mitch Weg of Southwest Minnesota State.

9.7: Turnovers per game by Minot State. After starting the year with 35 turnovers in two games, MSU has settled down to the tune of just 29 in its past three games. MSU has just 64 miscues on the season for a 12.9 average, but has twice been under 10 TOs in the last three games (eight each against Dickinson State and Jamestown).

- GO BEAVERS -