Men's Basketball Game Notes Volume 10 | Page 4

@MarianUHoops BASKETBALL NOTES NACC Standings *As of Jan. 10 Marian Lakeland Aurora MSOE Edgewood Concordia Wis. Rockford Benedictine Concordia Chi. Wis. Lutheran Dominican NACC OVR 7-1 8-4 6-2 10-3 6-3 9-5 5-3 10-3 5-3 7-6 4-4 6-6 4-5 8-6 3-5 5-8 2-6 5-7 2-6 4-8 1-7 1-11 Around the NACC GAME 13: ROCKFORD TWO SABRES ECLIPSE 1,000-POINT PLATEAU Senior forward Cody Veleke and senior guard Jeff Harris reached a milestone only 14 Sabres had before them. Veleke, who dons the #15 became the 15th member of the 1,000-point club when he led the Sabres with 24 points and 11 rebounds in an 84-82 overtime victory at Wisconsin Lutheran on Dec. 5. It was his seventh career double-double. Harris eclipsed the milestone just before halftime of a 76-61 victory over Concordia Chicago at home Saturday, Dec. 14. Fellow senior Sam Koslowski is just 113 points away from becoming the third Sabre this year to reach the mark. He need s to average just 8.7 points per game in the final 13 regular season games. If he does, Marian will have done what only three known teams have accomplished since the 1996-97 season by having three or more players reach the coveted milestone in the same year. THE KEY TO VICTORY Marian is 7-0 this season when out-rebounding its opponents and holds a +3.3 margin on the year. In those wins, the Sabres are +73 on the glass combined compared to -28 on the short-end. Last season, the Sabres went 10-3 when out-rebounding their opponents and finished the year with a -0.7 rebound margin. LAST OF THE NACC UNBEATENS The Sabres made it futher than any other team in the NACC before losing its first conference game, going 6-0 before a narrow 106-101 defeat at Aurora back on Dec. 20. Now 7-1 to start NACC play, this year’s squad owns the best league start in program history since the league’s inception in 2006-07. In only his second year at the helm, Head Coach Mark Boyle led the 1989-90 team to a 10-0 start in the Lake Michigan Conference on the way to a 13-1 regular season championship. Saturday, January 11 * Rockford at Marian 2 * Aurora at Wis. Lutheran 2 * Benedictine at Concordia Wis. 2 * Dominican at Lakeland 2 * Concordia Chi. at Edgewood 2 Tuesday, January 14 * MSOE at Wis. Lutheran * Benedictine at Rockford * Marian at Concordia Wis. * Concordia Chi. at Dominican * Edgewood at Lakeland Thursday, January 16 * Concordia Wis. at MSOE * Lakeland at Marian * Aurora at Concordia Chi. * Dominican at Benedictine Saturday, January 18 * Rockford at Concordia Wis. * MSOE at Concordia Chi. * Lakeland at Aurora Maranatha at Dominican * Marian at Benedictine GRAND OPENING Marian snapped a five-game losing streak in conference openers and a three-game skid in conference home openers when it defeated Dominican University, 71-63, Saturday, Nov. 30. The previous 1-0 start in league play occurred back on Nov. 28, 2007 when the Sabres went to River Forest and beat Concordia Chicago, 70-66. The previous win in a conference home opener was back on Dec. 5, 2009 when the 7 Sabres beat Dominican, 81-68, behind 31 points from Logan Rankin (‘10). 7 7 FOR THE 41ST TIME 7 Marian University men’s basketball opened its 41st season in program history when 7 it defeated Martin Luther College by a score of 79-70 back on Nov. 16. Men’s basketball played its first season at Marian back in 1972-73. 7 7 WHAT IT REALLY “BOYLES” DOWN TO 7 Head Coach Mark Boyle, who is in his 26th season at the helm of the Marian University 7 men’s basketball program, has compiled 332 career victories and captured four conference 2 2 2 2 5 championships on the Sabre sidelines. The Madison native took over the program for his first season in 1988-89 and led the team to a Lake Michigan Conference tournament championship. He arrived in Fond du Lac by way of UW-Green Bay, where he served as assistant under legendary coach Dick Bennett for three seasons. Boyle graduated from UW-Eau Claire. Boyle is currently the longest-tenured college coach in the state of Wisconsin. @MarianUHoops BASKETBALL NOTES COMING BACK FOR MORE The Sabres feature 12 returners from their 2012-13 squad that finished 15-11 overall, 10-6 in the NACC, which was good enough for the fifth-best league mark. Five seniors highlight the slew of returners, including captains Sam Koslowski and 2012-13 First Team selection Cody Veleke. The entire projected starting lineup remains intact with a mix of youth and veteran leadership. Sophomores Alex Stecker and Drew Binversie made immediate impacts as freshmen last season, while junior Mike Keller is coming off his second straight season as a defensive backbone in the starting lineup for the Sabres. Three seniors in James Bartelt, Jeff Harris and Elan Solvik will lead a talented bench that could emerge as one of the deepest in the NACC. A PROGRAM FIRST For the first time in school history, Marian had the opportunity to compete against an NCAA Division I institution in UW-Milwaukee in an exhibition contest back on Oct. 31. The game took place at the Panthers’ home arena, the U.S. Cellular Arena in downtown Milwaukee. The Sabres led for the first 10 minutes of the game before the Panthers imposed their will with un-matched size and athleticism en route to an 80-52 victory. Other Notable Division I vs. non-Division I match-ups that took place: • UW-Platteville men took on UW-Madison, Oct. 30. • NAIA’s Viterbo men traveled to UW-Green Bay, Nov. 3. • Rockford men played Northern Illinois, Nov. 2. • Concordia Chicago men competed at UConn, Nov. 4. • Wis. Lutheran’s women faced UW-Milwaukee, Nov. 3. • Division II Winona State took on UW-Madison, Nov. 3 • UW-Stevens Point women visited UW-Madison, Nov. 7. GAME 13: ROCKFORD PRESEASON POLL The Marian University men’s basketball team was picked to finish third in the 2013-14 Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference Preseason Poll, voted on by the league’s coaches and sports information directors. The Sabres, who turned in the fifth-best regular season record a season ago with a 15-11 overall mark and a 10-6 league record, earned 184 poll points, including three of the 22 first-place votes handed out by the voters. Aurora was the selected as the preseason favorite, garnering 223 poll points, including 12 first-place votes. Lakeland was picked second with 211 poll points and seven first-place votes. 2013-14 NACC Preseason Coaches’ and SIDs’ Poll 1. Aurora (12), 223 7. Dominican, 120 2. Lakeland (7), 211 8. Edgewood, 84 3. Marian (3), 184 9. Rockford, 81 4. MSOE, 161 10. Wisconsin Lutheran, 51 5. Benedictine, 147 11. Concordia Chicago, 45 6. Concordia Wisconsin, 145 SCHEDULE The 2013-14 schedule will be as challenging as ever with four of Marian’s five non-conference games taking place on the road. Following a season opening home match-up with Martin Luther, which Marian needed double-overtime to get past a season ago, the final four non-league bouts will be played away from the friendly confines of Sadoff Gymnasium. The Northern Athlet ics Collegiate Conference has altered its format, getting away from two divisions to a single division format that features 22 conference games, which is six more than last season. All 12 teams will play each other twice followed by a sixteam league tournament slated to begin the final week in February. * Denotes NACC contest Marian University Athletic Communications • Sadoff Gymnasium • 45 S. National Ave. • Fond du Lac, WI • 54935 Marian University Athletic Communications • Sadoff Gymnasium • 45 S. National Ave. • Fond du Lac, WI • 54935