THIS WEEK: Minot State finishes off the small home stand and the 2016 calendar year schedule with rival University of Mary Saturday at the Minot State Dome starting at 6 p.m.

RECORDS: The Beavers are 5-6 overall and 1-4 in NSIC play. U-Mary comes into the weekend with a 5-6 record overall and is 3-2 in NSIC games.

COACHES CORNER: Minot State's Matt Murken is in his fifth season as head coach of the Beavers. He's compiled a 52-71 record during his first five seasons with Minot State and is 98-87 throughout his six-year head coaching career. The University of Mary head coach is Joe Kittell. Kittell is in his second season with the Marauders and is 24-18 overall.

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 did not earn votes in the latest NABC Division II Top 25 poll or the D2SIDA Central Region Media Poll.

RECENT HISTORY: Minot State earned one of the biggest wins in school history as the Beavers knocked off defending NCAA Division II champion and No. 21 ranked Augustana University Friday 88-84 at the Dome. It was the highest ranked win for MSU at home during its DII era. Tyler Rudolph had an outstanding game against the Vikings, finishing with 22 points and eight rebounds. But, the good vibe didn't last long as MSU gave up a 19-point lead to Wayne State College, falling 85-80 Saturday. Nathan Mertens finished with a season-high 21 points for the Beavers. U-Mary also split two games against WSC and Augie. Bryan Jefferson scored 19 points as UM held off WSC 85-79 Friday, but the Marauders were stopped 89-75 Saturday against the Vikings. Trevor Zacher and Isaac Lindquist each scored 16 points in the loss.

ALL-TIME AT A GLANCE: The Beavers and Marauders have battled to nearly a draw in their respective rivalry dating back to both team's NAIA days. MSU holds a slight 35-33 lead in the series.

LAST TIME OUT: Minot State dropped its third-straight game, the longest losing skid for the Beavers against U-Mary as a DII team, with an 81-72 loss at Bismarck in November. MSU had a rare sub-.500 shooting night as MSU was cold early to finish shooting just 41.4 percent from the field. Luis Ricci Maia paced three Beavers in double figures with 20 points and added four rebounds and three assists. Tyler Rudolph had a huge rebounding night, setting the school's DII record with 17 boards and added 15 points, four assists and two blocked shots. Russ Davis hit four 3-pointers for 14 points. Damonta Henry scored 19 points, while Bryan Jefferson finished with 17 points and nine rebounds for UM.

NOTING THE MARAUDERS: The University of Mary had a three-game winning streak snapped against Augustana University Saturday including a two-game win streak in NSIC play… Bryan Jefferson is one of the top all-around players in the Northern Sun, averaging 15.1 points, 6.6 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game for U-Mary… UM has been outscored by 21 points at the free throw line as they have hit just 67.3 percent of its free throws… The Marauders have done a great job taking care of the ball, coming into the weekend with just 118 turnovers compared to 168 for their opponents… U-Mary has been badly outrebounded so far this season, coming into the game with a minus-7.6 rebounding average. Damonta Henry has a team-leading 26 3-pointers and is second on the team in scoring at 13.6.

RUDY WATCH: MSU junior Tyler Rudolph is nearing two milestones as he is just 24 points away from scoring 1,000 in his career. He has upped his per-game average to 14.1 with 976 points in just 69 games. Rudolph is the team's leading scorer this season at 21.0 per game, good for second overall in the NSIC. He is also on pace to reach 500 rebounds in the near future. Rudolph has pulled down 488 in his career. He is on pace to surpass MSU career rebound leader John Schaffer's mark of 774.

SCORING PUNCH: Nathan Mertens is known for his defensive, passing and leadership skills before his scoring ability, but the senior has emerged as an offensive presence since MSU began playing conference games. He has five of his five double-figure scoring outbursts in conference play, including reaching double figures in each of the past four games to up his overall average to 10.9. Mertens hit for a season-high 21 points on 7 of 10 shooting Saturday against Wayne State.

STREAK STOPPED: Minot State had its seven-game home winning streak dating back to last season halted Saturday in the loss Saturday against Wayne State. The Beavers have been especially good in the 2016 calendar year at the MSU Dome. MSU finished the 2015-16 season with seven wins in its final eight NSIC games and started this year with a win over No. 21 ranked Augustana University. In all, the Beavers are 25-10 over the past two and a half seasons at the Dome.

BALANCED ATTACK: To go along with the scoring of Tyler Rudolph and Nathan Mertens, the Beavers have received solid balance from Luis Ricci Maia, Nathaniel Moore, Stevan Jovanovic and Russ Davis to give MSU five players averaging double figures and six with an 8.7 or better scoring average. Maia is second on the team in scoring at 14.4 and is one of five regulars who are hitting over 50 percent from the field.

BY THE NUMBERS

4-5: Rank of the two teams in turnover average in the NSIC. U-Mary has just 118 miscues in 11 games for a 10.7 average, while MSU has 119 in 11 games. MSU Moorhead has just 78 turnovers in 10 games to lead the nation. UM and MSU are 13th and 14 in NCAA DII respectively.

15: Combined missed free throws for Tyler Rudolph and Nathan Mertens in 75 attempts. Both are shooting 80 percent from the line.

42: Assists for junior Luis Ricci Maia to lead the team. Maia is also the team leader in assist-to-turnover ratio as he has just 19 turnovers in 11 games.