WATERTOWN, Wis. --- MBU put on a display in the second half to earn a hard-fought win over the Silver Lake Lakers on Thursday night. Crowd-pleasing finishes from Richard Medina and a 15-point showing from Micah Shepard highlighted the contest. With the win, the Sabercats move to 7-13 on the year.

The first half showed some moderate momentum swings, but the Lakers held the lead for the majority of the opening 20 minutes. Clayton Morrison knocked down a pair of shots from downtown, but that was the only damage MBU could do from beyond the arc. 

Silver Lake held on to the lead one the first half was established, but MBU began to chip away late on to eventually trail by just two entering the break.

Richard Medina grabbed the attention of everyone with back-to-back fast break dunks, as the rookie from California brought the crowd to their feet inside the final two minutes. Medina's aerial display was part of an 8-0 run to round out the end of the first half, as the momentum was squarely in the Sabercats' favor going into the locker room.

It was a non-superlative first half, as MBU limited their turnovers but only made 12 of their 36 shots. MBU also out-rebounded Silver Lake 20-14.

Eight different player put points up for the Blue and Gold in the first half. Medina and Morrison were the leading contributors with a half-dozen each.

Micah Shepard quickly logged five points to start the second half and he gave MBU their first lead since the opening minutes of the game - a quick layup from the Arkansas native paired with his first three-pointer of the night put MBU ahead 33-32.

Silver Lake restored their lead, but MBU stayed close when they began to heat up from three-point range and the free throw line. Shepard and Morrison both knocked shots down from outside, and MBU began to keep Silver Lake on their heels with sharp passing and an unpredictable offense.

MBU then began to fire on all cylinders, as their defense frustrated Silver Lake, limiting the visitors to 35 percent shooting and just two made shots from behind the line throughout the second half. 

With the crowd behind them and momentum in their favor, MBU began to put on a show, pulling ahead again and increasing their lead to double digits as the game wore on. Shepard and Zach Terpstra led the charge offensively, as both players recorded 10 or more points in the second half.

The defense finished the job for the Sabercats, as MBU held their comfortable lead through the crucial stages of the second half. After a polished night, the Sabercats avenged their December loss to SLC with a 10-point victory.

Bryce Cashner once again contributed from the bench, as he logged five points in the second half and seven on the game. Medina (10 pts), Morrison (11 pts), Terpstra (12 pts), and Shepard (15 pts) all reached double figures for MBU.

This was the sixth meeting between the two teams. With tonight's win, the Sabercats tie the series at three since the two teams met in 2013.

"I want to congratulate Silver Lake on a good game - they played hard and they played well," said Coach Keith Salscheider after the game. "We had some guys that needed to step up and play well, and they did. We were able to make some stops and get out on the fast break and play at our best eventually. We are learning and getting better here in mid-February, and we are hoping that we are really turning a corner with our team to make a strong run at the national tournament."

The Sabercats continue their stretch of home games with a 6:00 p.m. contest against Judson University on Saturday on the MBU campus.

You can watch the game live at mbusabercats.com/live or via Facebook Live (/MBUSabercats).