THE OVERVIEW

• Result: Maranatha 73-88 Dominican
• Venue: Igini Sports Forum, Dominican University
• Attendance: 175
• Record: Sabercats are now 4-2
• Next Game for MBU: Friday, Dec. 8 at 5:30 p.m. vs Trinity Bible (@ North Central University)

THE LEAD

RIVER FOREST, Ill. -- For MBU, a winning second half, a career-high night from Jonathan Book, and a double-double from Justin Blake were not enough to top the Dominican University Stars tonight.

Despite shooting a solid 49 percent from the floor, the Sabercats registered 26 turnovers on the night. That seemed to be a defining difference in the two teams' play, as the Stars took home the 15-point win.

THE STORY

Maranatha started well, as they built a 13-6 lead through the opening 5 minutes. However, an answering 10-2 run from Dominican forecasted a determined showing from the hosts.

After the initial bout, the Stars steadily built a lead throughout the rest of the first half. A Dominican layup with a minute left on the clock pushed the lead out to 28--their largest lead of the half.

Turnovers cost Maranatha in the first half. MBU coughed it up 17 times to unintentionally fuel the Stars' run. The Sabercats shot 45 percent from the floor, and Book led the scoring efforts with 8 points.

Entering the locker room, MBU trailed by a score of 28-44. That 28-point mark was their lowest single-half mark so far this year.

Just 9 turnovers in the second half and some improved shooting showed that the Sabercats had resolved to finish well. However, after the sloppy first half, MBU turned out to be in too deep of a hole to recover fully.

Book turned out another 12 points in the second half, and a Rob Sonnenberg layup with 8 minutes left made it a 9-point game. From there, the Sabercats continued to press, and they kept the game interesting.

Despite the noteworthy MBU charge, the Stars held on when it mattered most. Dominican continued to stay just out of Maranatha's reach, and closed out the game by extending their lead back out to 15 points by the final horn.

THE NUMBERS

Book supplemented his career-high 20 points with 7 rebounds and 5 assists.

Blake joined Book in double digits. Blake recorded 11 points and 11 rebounds.

Dominican had 2 bench players break 20 points. Domenic Aiello and Antonio Amoah both registered 21 points. 

MBU shot over 50 percent from the floor in the second half.

This would have been the first ever win over Dominican for Maranatha. The Stars hold a 16-0 advantage in the historical series.

THE CALENDAR

The Sabercats will hit the road again on tomorrow to face Trinity Bible College. The game will be played in Minneapolis at North Central University and will tip off at 5:30 p.m. Catch the details at mbusabercats.com/composite.