WINONA, Minn. -- The Winona State men's basketball team makes the long journey to North Dakota this weekend, traveling to U-Mary for an 8 p.m. tipoff Friday in Bismarck before heading to Minot State to face the Beavers at 6 p.m.

WINONA STATE at U-MARY FIRST LOOK:
Overall Series: Warriors Lead 15-1 ... 17th Matchup
First meeting: Dec. 2, 2006 ... WSU won 77-57
Last meeting: Jan. 16, 2015 ... WSU won 94-68
Last MARY win over WSU: Jan. 3, 2010 ... MARY won 87-85(ot)
WSU Last Game: W, 77-69 at SMSU
MARY Last Game: L, 94-70 at Northern State

WINONA STATE at MINOT STATE FIRST LOOK?
Overall Series: Warriors lead 5-0 ... 6th Matchup
First meeting: Nov. 19, 2011 ... WSU won 98-76
Last meeting: Jan. 17, 2015 ... WSU won 78-69
WSU Last Game: W, 77-69 at SMSU
SMSU Last Game: L, 97-89 at MSU Moorhead

LAST TIME OUT: The Warriors split a pair of road matchups last week, falling to Sioux Falls 83-78 before rebounding for a 77-69 victory. It was a tale of two starts, as WSU fell behind 16-5 against the Cougars, but opened up a 20-4 lead the next night against the Mustangs.

NORTH DAKOTA SUCCESS: The Warriors have enjoyed a great deal of success against both North Dakota opponents in the short series histories. WSU is a combined 20-1 against the two squads, with the lone loss coming in the 2009-10 season, an 87-85 overtime loss to the Marauders in Bismarck.

ABOUT THE MARAUDERS: U-Mary is coached by Joe Kittell, who's assembled a 13-3 record in his first season at the helm of the program. Mary is led by Bryan Jefferson's 14.9 points per game and 6.9 rebounds per game, while Marquealis Edwards scores 14.3 points per game and Brandon Tyler adds 11.2 per contest. The Marauders, who are receiving votes in this week's NABC Top 25 Poll, lead the NSIC in field goal percentage at 50.1 percent and are third in FG percentage defense at 42.6 percent. Mary also ranks second in steals (7.1 per game) and fourth in scoring offense (83.9 ppg).

ABOUT THE BEAVERS: MSU is coached by Matt Murken, who has a 39-60 record in his fourth season at the helm of the program. The Beavers are led by Tyler Rudolph, whose 18.1 points per game is seventh in the NSIC and 8.6 rebounds is second best in the league. MSU ranks 11th in the NSIC in scoring offense (75.2 ppg) and sixth in scoring defense (73.4 ppg).

FRESHMEN HELP: Charlie Koontz and Connor Flack each had the best performances of their young careers against Sioux Falls. Koontz scored a career-high 16 points while Flack added a career-best 13 points. Koontz sparked strong play off the bench, with the reserves scoring 41 of WSU's 78 points. 

JEFFS 'STARTING' TO HEAT UP: Since Corey Jeffs was inserted into the starting lineup to begin 2016 in place of injured Josh Mongan, the Australian has played well in his new role, sitting third on the team in scoring the past four games at 11 ppg and is the team's second-leading rebounder with 20 in that span. Jeffs has hit 11 3-pointers in the past four games, including five in last Saturday's 17-point performance at SMSU.

BIG MAN, LONG DISTANCE: Center Kyle Bauman continues to excel from long range this season, hitting 20 of his 33 shots from 3-point distance (60.6 percent), which ranks second in the NSIC behind Augie's Alex Richter's 62.3 percent. After hitting attempting (and draining) just one 3-pointer in the season's first five games, he's hit at least one in the past nine games, and multiple 3s in six of them, including a career-high four last Saturday at SMSU. 

3-POINT EFFICIENCY: WSU had a great weekend shooting the 3-pointer against USF, hittin 27 3-pointers in two games and shooting just under 50 percent (49.1). The Warriors currently rank 3rd in the NSIC in 3-point percentage at 40.8 percent for the year.
A TRIPLE A GAME: It's been more than 15 years since the Warriors went scoreless from behind the 3-point arc. WSU has made a 3-point field goal in 489 consecutive games, with the last 0-for coming on Nov. 29, 2000 in a 79-57 win over Saint Mary's.

REBOUNDING RIGHT: WSU ranks second in the NSIC this season in rebounding defense, giving up just 31.4 per game. That's behind only SMSU's mark of 30.4.

DOUBLE-DOUBLES: The Warriors have recorded three double-doubles this season. The first came from Kyle Bauman in the season opener against Wisconsin Lutheran, scoring 21 points with 12 rebounds. Mark Blacklock added another with a 10-point, 10-rebound performance at CSU San Bernardino. Bauman notched his second of the season with a 10-point, 11 rebound effort Saturday against Northern State.