Eagles Tame Sabercats in Tight NCCAA Clash

WATERTOWN, Wis. --- For the third time in program history, the Sabercats tangled with the Judson University Eagles, and took a tight 70-79  loss to their NCCAA DI opponents after a tightly-contested clash. Jonathan Book led MBU with 16 points on the night.

The Sabercats created the chances necessary to win, but were just off the mark down the stretch. The loss upsets the Sabercats' three-game winning streak and pushes them back to 7-14 on the year, which includes a 3-3 NCCAA record.

The Sabercats stayed competitive with the Eagles in the early goings, as Book's nine first-half points got the ball rolling for MBU. But the visitors had a ready answer, and began to get a full head of steam with some quick ball movement and accurate downtown shooting. With the momentum in favor of Judson, Maranatha was forced off of their rhythm, and they were partially stymied by the Eagles' man-to-man defense.

Judson nearly doubled MBU up in the points category through the closing minutes, but the Sabercats pulled to within five points in an electric first-half finish. Clayton Morrison's three-point shot was followed by two tidy finishes from Wes Wagner, and Richard Medina capped it all off with a one-man fast break in the dying seconds. 

The Sabercats had effectively turned the half around, and it was a two-possession game after the opening 20 minutes. (35-40)

The Eagles indicated that they came to win as they hit the ground running in the second half. After an initial Eagle run, the Sabercats chipped away at the deficit with strong play inside from Zach Terpstra and Wagner, who both made contributions to the cause. A short jumper from Bryce Cashner made it a three-point game with 11 minutes on the clock.

Soon after, Medina nailed a three from right in front of the students' section to give the Sabercats their first lead of the night at 56-55.

MBU then saw the lead dissipate to a 12-2 Eagles' run. The Sabercats created good looks during the stretch, but they were just off the mark on multiple occasions, which proved to be a real difference-maker in the end.

Book finally stopped the bleeding with a deep two in the last three minutes, but the game seemed to be out of reach, as the Eagles held a 10-point lead with just 99 seconds left.

It was then that the Sabercats made it interesting, as Book built on five unanswered points from Morrison by intercepting an inbounds pass and putting it home to make it a four-point game with a minute left.

The Eagles then proceeded to take their chances from the foul line when the Sabercats were forced to intentionally foul. With the exception of a three-pointer from Terpstra, the untimely misfires continued for MBU, and Judson eventually restored their lead to nine points with just 11 seconds left. A couple of desperation attempts for MBU came up short, and Judson had successfully outlasted Maranatha in a rigorous 40-minute event.

"We want to congratulate Coach Thrift and his team," said assistant coach Joel Borchardt after the game. "They showed that they are a really good team tonight. Our guys played well, too, and we kept our composure after going down in that first half and the guys did a great job on both sides of the ball. We played very well again in the second half, but just couldn't quite bring it back all the way - it was a loss to a very good team and we saw some good things overall. As a coaching staff, we are excited to see our progress as we approach the regional tournament in a couple of weeks."

The Sabercats host three games next week, as they take on Trinity International (Feb. 14), Moody Bible (Feb. 16), and Lincoln Christian for a Feb. 18 Parents' Night clash.

Catch all the games live at mbusabercats.com/live and at Facebook Live (/MBUSabercats).