WAUKESHA, Wis. (SabreAthletics.com) – Four Marian University men's basketball players earned All-Northern Athletics Conference postseason awards, including NAC Freshman of the Year Mike Keller, the league office announced today, Feb. 28.
Keller is the first-ever Sabre to earn Freshman of the Year honors. The Oostburg native averaged 9.7 points and 4.3 rebounds, while starting all 26 games for the Sabres. He emerged right away as one of the best defenders on the team and was recognized by the league for his success. Junior Jeff Harris and sophomore Cody Veleke each earned NAC honorable mention accolades, while Charles Ruffing was selected to the All-Sportsmanship team. Harris and Veleke went back-and-forth as team scoring leaders throughout the season. Veleke finished the season with the team-lead in points (15.6) and rebounds (6.4), while Harris finished second in both categories at 15 points and 5.0 rebounds per contest. Ruffing started the final 12 games of the season, winning the point guard spot in a crowded backcourt. He was second on the team with 58 assists on the year. Complete list found here. By: Sports Information Director, Luke Pattarozzi
MEQUON,Wis. (SabreAthletics.com) – The Marian University men's basketball team made its first appearance in the Northern Athletics Conference Tournament since 2008-09, but had to face top-seeded Concordia University Wisconsin, which proved too tough at home as it claimed a, 73-66, first-round victory Tuesday night, Feb. 21. Trailing 52-38 in the second half, the Sabres embarked on a 10-0 run to cut the deficit to four points, but CUW was able to provide just enough of an answer to preserve its lead and move onto the second round. Junior guard Jeff Harris led four Sabres in double-figures with 16 points. Luke Doedens led all scorers with 18 for the Falcons. CUW improved to 21-5 on the season, while Marian fell to 10-16 to close out its 2011-12 campaign. Following the Sabres' 10-0 run to cut the deficit to four points, 52-48, the Falcons responded with a 13-2 run to balloon the lead back to 15 points with 6:23 remaining in the game. Still trailing by double-digits with time winding down under the 3:00 mark, the Sabres made one final comeback try. Mark Keller hit the second of his two three's on the night to pull Marian to within five points at 67-62, but CUW came back with four straight points on a pair of Mitchell Schneider free throws and a Doedens jumper to make it a nine-point lead with just 57 seconds remaining. It was an uphill climb from halftime as Concordia posted a 65.2 (15-for-23) percent shooting opening stanza en route to a 39-26 lead at the break. The Sabres managed just 35.7 percent shooting or lower in each half, going 25-for-71 from the field for the game and just 7-for-25 from three-point range. The Sabres out-rebounded CUW, 38-34, and got 20 offensive boards, which translated into 22 second chance points. However, despite a season-low nine turnovers for Marian, the Falcons managed to turn them into 19 points at the other end. Sam Koslowski scored 13 points off the bench for the Sabres, while Mike Keller added 12 and Cody Veleke chipped in 11. Schneider added 15 for CUW and Brian Jackson pulled down a game-high 10 rebounds. Marian returns everyone next season, which promises to be an exciting 2012-13 campaign. By: Sports Information Director, Luke Pattarozzi
FOND DU LAC, Wis. (SabreAthletics.com) – In a battle for the seventh seed in the Northern Athletics Conference tournament, it was the visiting Aurora Spartans that came out on top with a 78-69 victory over the Marian University men's basketball team, this afternoon, Feb. 18, inside Sadoff Gymnasium. The Sabres used a 17-2 run to erase a nine-point halftime deficit, but the Spartans stormed back by using a decisive 14-0 run later on to build a double-digit lead that held to the finish. Marian's Jeff Harris led all scorers with 15 points, but the Spartans put five players in double-figures, led by Joe Kwiatkowski and Scott Laskowski, who scored 14 points apiece. Aurora improves to 13-12 overall and will play second-seeded Benedictine when first round action begins Tuesday, Feb. 21. Meanwhile, Marian falls to 10-15 overall and settles for the eighth seed, pitting them against top-seeded Concordia Wisconsin on Tuesday. The 17-2 Marian run gave the hosts a five-point, 42-37, lead with 12:15 remaining. However, a timeout by Aurora Head Coach James Lancaster seemed to do the trick for his squad. The Spartans responded with seven straight points to regain the lead before embarking on a 14-0 run later on to take a commanding, 65-50, lead with just 5:41 remaining. It was enough to carry them through as a balanced scoring attack kept the Sabres at bay. Esteban Vega added 13 points and seven assists for the Spartans, while Ryan Crow chipped in 11 points and Taj Baker tallied 10. Aurora shot 51.7 (30-for-58) percent from the field, including a blistering 17-for-26 (65.4 percent) in the second half alone. The Sabres fired 24-for-52 (46.2 percent) from the field, including 6-for-17 from downtown. Sam Koslowski and Jake Coenen each reach double-figures off the bench with 11 and 10 points, respectively. Marian will travel to Mequon this Tuesday for a 7 p.m. tip-off against Concordia Wis. in a first round meeting in the NAC Tournament. By: Sports Information Director, Luke Pattarozzi
FOND DU LAC, Wis. (SabreAthletics.com) – On the strength of its defense the Marian University men's basketball team led wire-to-wire to defeat visiting Maranatha Baptist Bible College, 56-37, in Northern Athletics Conference action inside Sadoff Gymnasium, this evening, Feb. 14. The Sabres will host South Division-foe Aurora this Saturday, Feb. 18, in the annual NAC Challenge weekend. Marian held the Crusaders to 19.2 percent shooting in the first half and 26.3 (15-for-57) percent for the game en route to a dominating victory at home. In a balanced scoring effort, Cody Veleke led the royal blue and white with a game-high 12 points on 4-of-7 shooting. Mike Keller added nine points and nine rebounds, while Sam Koslowski chipped in eight. The Sabres finish regular season conference play by improving to 10-14 overall, 7-9 in the NAC. Meanwhile, Maranatha falls to 4-19 (0-16 NAC). Already leading 34-22 at the 13:42 mark in the second half, the Sabres embarked on a 22-4 run to increase their lead to a commanding 52-26 advantage. From there, Marian coasted to its seventh league win in the last 10 tries. The Sabre bench turned in a very productive night, outscoring Maranatha 26-9. As a team, Marian shot 47.9 (23-for-48) from the floor. The defense drew 13 turnovers, including nine steals. Keller chipped in two of the team's six blocks in the contest. The Sabres led 27-14 at halftime with Veleke and Borchardt leading the way with seven points for their respective teams. Marian held the Crusaders to 19.2 percent from the field and outscored them 14-8 in the paint. Having already secured the fourth seed in the North Division, the Sabres will play host to the fourth-seeded Aurora Spartans of the South Division in the annual NAC Challenge Game this Saturday, Feb. 18. Game time is set for either 1 or 4 p.m. Check sabreathletics.com for updates. By: Sports Information Director, Luke Pattarozzi
SHEBOYGAN, Wis. (SabreAthletics.com) – The Marian University men's basketball team came up short on the road, falling to host Lakeland College, 91-65, in Northern Athletics Conference play this afternoon, Feb. 11. The Muskies controlled in all facets, building on a 15-point halftime lead en route to the convincing win. Lakeland's Jake Schwarz led all scorers with 27 points on 8-of-17 from the field, including 4-of-8 from downtown and 7-of-7 from the charity stripe. Marian's Cody Veleke and Sam Koslowski registered 18 points apiece to lead the Sabres. Lakeland improved to 17-6 overall and 11-4 in the NAC, while Marian fell to 9-14 (6-9 NAC). A 56.3 percent first half from the field paced the Muskies to a commanding, 46-31, lead after 20 minutes. They followed it up with a stellar second half as well, while getting to the line 18 times and converting 16 trips. Schwarz added 11 rebounds to go with his 27 points and Justin Ward posted 12 points and 12 rebounds to give the Muskies two players with double-doubles. Lakeland's inside presence was undeniable as they dominated the paint with a 46-18 edge in points and a 39-24 advantage on the glass. Jeff Harris was the third Sabre in double-figures, adding 10 points on 5-of-13 from the field. Marian will wrap up the regular season, with the exception of the NAC Challenge game, by playing host to Maranatha this Tuesday, Feb. 14. Tip-off is slated for 7 p.m. By: Sports Information Director, Luke Pattarozzi
FOND DU LAC, Wis. (SabreAthletics.com) – The Marian University men's basketball team overcame a 15-point deficit to defeat Wisconsin Lutheran College in thrilling fashion, 60-59, and secure a spot in the Northern Athletics Conference tournament for the first time since 2008-09, this evening, Feb. 8. The Sabres took their first lead of the contest at the 3:06 mark on a three-pointer by Jeff Harris and used a double-double by Mike Keller to finish off the comeback en route to the win. In a tie game on Marian's final possession, and with less than 10 seconds remaining, Keller kept the ball alive with his fourth offensive rebound and was fouled on a put-back attempt by WLC's Alex Merbach. Keller went to the line and made the decisive free throw. A line violation negated the second attempt. Leading by one, the defense stepped up big once again, forcing Russell Strutz into a 20-foot prayer that fell short with two seconds on the clock. Keller secured the rebound and the Sabres escaped with a hard-fought home win. MU improves to 9-13 overall, 6-8 in the NAC, while WLC falls to 5-17 (4-10 NAC). Keller finished with 16 points and 12 rebounds, going 5-for-8 from the field and 6-for-6 at the free throw line. Marian's Cody Veleke led three Sabres in double-figures with 18 points on an efficient 8-for-11 from the field. Sam Koslowski added 14 in the win as well. Leading all scorers was Merbach, who recorded a career-high 39 points on 15-for-23 from the field and 7-of-8 from the free throw line. He was the lone Warrior in double-digits. Marian trailed by as many as 15 points at the 12:12 mark and somehow battled long enough to erase the deficit and come out on top. They withstood 22 turnovers from which Wisconsin Lutheran scored 25 points. Both teams converted 22 field goal attempts, including five three-pointers. The difference was Marian's perfect 11-for-11 display at the foul line. The Warriors were 10-for-12. Wisconsin Lutheran dominated the first half, making all five of its three-pointers to take a 36-27 lead into the break behind 22 points from Merbach. The Sabres struggled with 14 turnovers in the opening stanza, with 18 WLC points coming off of those miscues. The Sabres will hit the road for its final NAC contest away from home against Lakeland, who lost in double-overtime to Concordia Wisconsin tonight. Marian will play the second game of a doubleheader with the women, who tip-off at 2 p.m. Marian will play its final regular season home game against Maranatha next Tuesday, Feb. 14, at 7 p.m. By: Sports Information Director, Luke Pattarozzi
FOND DU LAC, Wis. (SabreAthletics.com) – Behind a pair of stellar performances by Cody Veleke and Sam Koslowski, the Marian University men's basketball team won for the fifth time in seven tries as it took down visiting Dominican University, 66-53, in Northern Athletics Conference play this afternoon, Feb. 4. Veleke led all scorers with 24 points, while Koslowski added 19 and seven rebounds. The sophomore guard was inserted into the starting lineup in place of the ill Jeff Harris and came through with 17 first half points to pace the Sabres to the 33-25 lead at halftime. Veleke then took over in the second half, scoring 17 points in helping Marian stay very much alive in the playoff picture. Marian led by as many as 14 points and never trailed after the 16:37 mark in the first half. The Sabres held Dominican to just 33.9 percent shooting and only eight free throw attempts in the contest. Marian improves to 8-13 overall, 5-8 in the NAC, while Dominican falls to 3-18 (1-12 NAC). After falling behind early, 5-4, the Sabre embarked on a 10-0 run, capped off by an extra effort play by Gomez in which he was rewarded with a three-pointer in the corner. It forced the Stars to take their second timeout of the game. The Sabres went on to build a 14-point lead in the first half before the Stars made a late run to cut the halftime deficit to eight points. Marian came out of the break in complete control, pushing the lead back to double-digits on several occasions and having answer for every mini-run made by Dominican. The Sabres out-rebounded the Stars 41-28 in the contest, while going 21-for-26 at the free throw line. Marian will host Wisconsin Lutheran this Wednesday, Feb. 8, at 7 p.m. The Sabres look to create separation for the fourth and final seed in the North Division as they try and sweep the season series from the Warriors, who dropped a one point decision to MSOE today. Marian holds a one game lead on WLC in the standings going into Wednesday's game. By: Sports Information Director, Luke Pattarozzi
MEQUON, Wis. (SabreAthletics.com) – The Marian University men's basketball team aimed at a second straight Northern Athletics Conference upset bid, but fell short in overtime to host Concordia University Wisconsin, 89-85, as free throws doomed the Sabres down the stretch this evening, Jan. 31. Up 77-74 in the waning moments of regulation, junior guard Jeff Harris had a chance to put the game on ice and give Marian its second straight upset of a first place squad with a one-and-one try, but missed. After the Falcons came up empty on their next trip, Harris grabbed the rebound and was fouled with six seconds left and a double-bonus try ensuing. He missed both and Luke Doedens went down and buried the game-tying three with 0.4 seconds left to send the game to overtime. In the extra session, Harris answered a CUW bucket with a three of his own to put the Sabres back in front 80-79. After a pair of Falcon free throws, three of Mike Keller's career-high 20 points came on an old-fashioned three-point play to give the Sabres an 83-81 lead. That would be their final lead as CUW converted six free throws down the stretch to seal the four-point win. Keller's 20 points in 39 minutes led four Sabres in double-figures, while Harris added 16, Sam Koslowski 15 and Cody Veleke 14. Doedens led all scorers with 27 points on 9-of-21 shooting, including 5-of-12 from downtown. Three other Falcons reached double-digits with Mitchell Schneider adding 18, Brian Jackson 13 and Ben Brooke 12. The Falcons improve to 15-5 overall, 10-2 in the NAC with the win, while the Sabres fall to 7-13 (4-8 NAC). The Sabres led by as many as 13 points in the second half, taking a 57-44 lead on Jake Coenen's only basket of the game, a pull-up three at the 11:47 mark, to force a CUW timeout. Out of the timeout, the Falcons went on a 13-0 run to tie the score, which forced the Sabres to call a timeout of their own. They responded with an 8-0 run to regain the lead. A second half of runs followed a first half that saw both teams head to the locker room knotted up at 32-apiece. The Sabres shot 53.3 percent (32-for-60) for the game, including 57 percent in the second half. Meanwhile, the defense held CUW to just 41.4 percent shooting for the game, including 9-for-25 from the outside. But in the end, the team that entered the night leading the league in free throw shooting couldn't live up to the billing as missed tries left the Falcons the window they needed to make the decisive comeback. Marian out-rebounded its counterpart, 39-38, and outscored the Falcons 48-43 in the paint. However, CUW turned 25 turnovers into 30 points, proving to be another key to victory for the hosts. The Sabres will be back in action this Saturday, Feb. 4, to take on Dominican in a cross-divisional battle inside Sadoff Gymnasium. The men's game will follow the women's contest slated for 2 p.m. |
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