THE OVERVIEW

• Result: Maranatha 91-81 Crown College
• Location: Wild Athletic Center, Crown College
• Attendance: 172
• Record: Sabercats are now 8-6
• Next Game for MBU: Thursday, Jan. 23 at 7 p.m. vs Emmaus Bible

THE LEAD

ST. BONIFACIOUS, Minn. -- A 30-point effort from Micah Shepard and a season-best shooting performance from the team fueled a 10-point win for the Sabercats this afternoon.

MBU topped Crown College, 91-81, in one of their best offensive performances of the season to date.

THE STORY

The teams kept it close from the start, as neither unit gained control of the game in the first half. The biggest lead came to the Sabercats at the 4:30 mark, when Shepard hit a 3-pointer to make it a 38-32 game.

The treble from the senior was 1 of 8 buckets that he recorded in the first half. Shepard scored 20 points by himself to give the Sabercats a 45-41 lead going into the halftime break.

Overall, the Sabercats stayed patient with their chances in the first half. They put up a sizeable 45 points, but did so with a noteworthy 60 percent shooting performance from the field.

Jonathan Book backed up Shepard with 10 points of his own in the first half. 

In the second act, the Sabercats repeated their trend of patient and precise offense, as they made the most of their chances to remain a comfortable distance away from the hosts.

Crown made it a 2-possession game at the 3:11 mark, but that was as close as they would come in the second half. The Sabercats' trend of precise shooting and patient offense did the job in Minnesota, making for a stress-free win.

The Sabercats sealed the deal with their free-throw shooting late in the game, as they made 8 of their last 10 to stay out of Crown's reach.

THE NUMBERS

The bucket was big for the Sabercats, who shot a season-high 57.6 percent from the field. That mark is good enough for 9th in program history.

Shepard finished the game with 30 points - that was his second time this season with 30 or better.

Book ended the day with 20 points of his own.

David Lerma (11) and RJ Medina (10) both recorded double-figure points as well.

THE SOUND BITE

"We were fortunate to win today against a strong UMAC team in Crown College," said head coach Keith Salscheider at the end of the game. "They have several potentially all-conference performers, so we were really happy with our effort. Our patience and poise really helped on offense, and we had four guys in double figures, so every possession was important, and our guys bought into that. Our effort was excellent tonight, so we want to try to copy this as much as we can."

THE CALENDAR

The Sabercats will return to their home floor Tuesday for a 7 p.m. tip-off against Emmaus Bible. Catch the details at mbusabercats.com/composite.