BISMARCK, N.D. -- The Minot State University men's basketball team travels to the University of Mary for a weekend series against the Marauders with NSIC postseason on the line.

The Beavers need to win one of the two games at UMary to clinch a berth into the NSIC Tournament that begins on Feb. 25 at The Pentagon in Sioux Falls, S.D. 

Watch the weekly press conference with Head Men's Basketball Coach Matt Murken by clicking the play icon in the image above. 

University of Mary COVID-19 Attendance Protocols 

UMary Men's Basketball vs. Minot State University
6 pm, Friday, Feb. 19 | 4 pm, Saturday, Feb. 20 | McDowell Activity Center
 
Attendance at the University of Mary home basketball games is restricted. Games are not open to the general public and tickets will not be sold.  
 
Basketball attendance operates under the Lottery & Family Attendance Only policy. UMary student-athletes and coaches are allowed to distribute a limited number of will-call passes to family members and fans. An additional number of will-call passes are distributed to University of Mary students and faculty & staff as determined by a random lottery selection process. A limited number of will-call passes are also available to the visiting team with distribution determined by the opposing head coach.
 
Entrance is through the Lumen Vitae University Center only. Doors open one hour prior to the competition.

EYES ON THE PRIZE 
The NSIC / Sanford Health Men's & Women's Basketball Tournament Quarterfinals, Semifinals, and Championships are set to take place Thursday-Sunday, February 25-28 at the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.  The top four teams from each division will make up the eight-team field for the 2021 tournament.

AGAINST THE UMARY MARAUDERS
Minot State is 33-27 all-time against UMary including holding the longest winning streak in the all-time series between the two rivals seven games. The Beavers have lost the last two matchups against the Marauders, each by three points apiece. MSU fell 56-53 on Nov. 30, 2019, at the MSU Dome and then dropped the matchup on the road 75-72 in Bismarck last season. The Beavers average 78.5 points per game against the Marauders but have a 13-17 record against the rivals on the road. Since joining the NSIC, MSU holds a 31-25 record in conference play against UMary. 

1,000-POINT CLUB
Senior guard Max Cody has scored 1,083 career-points after scoring 164 total points so far this season. He posted 16 total points last weekend at No. 2 Northern State with nine assists combined between two games. Cody led the team in 2019-20 with 186 assists, he currently sits second all-time with 460 career-assists, looking to surpass Ryan Johnson (1993-03) who holds the school record with 549 career-assists. So far this season, Cody has dished out 59 total assists which leads the team and his 4.9 assists per game are second in the NSIC.

Cody scored a season-high 24 points in the second game at SMSU (1/9), which was three points shy of his career-high 27 recorded on Jan. 11, 2020, against Minnesota Duluth. He matched that career-high with 24 points against Bemidji State (1/29) on 9-12 shooting from the field. He has scored in double-digits in 10 of 12 games played this season. The senior from Melbourne, Australia is 20th in the NSIC in scoring with 13.7 points per game. 

CONSISTENCY IS KEY
Senior guard/forward Melvin Newbern leads the Beavers in scoring with 14.5 points per game. He is 18th in the NSIC with that scoring mark. Newbern produced a career-high 31 points in the series opener on Friday, Feb. 12 at Northern State. He shot 12-19 from the field in that game with a career-high 17 rebounds. That performance marked his sixth straight game in double-digit scoring and his fifth double-double of the season.

He also leads the team in overall rebounding with 9.1 per game. His 9.2 rebounds per game against NSIC opponents is good for fourth in the conference. 

About Minot State
Minot State University is a member of the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) and NCAA Division II offering 14 men's and women's varsity intercollegiate athletics programs. The NSIC is a premier NCAA DII, 16-member conference featuring teams in North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, Nebraska, and Iowa. The Beavers are the only public NCAA Division II institution in the state of North Dakota.