MINNEAPOLIS -- It was an NCCAA Top-10 clash, and the Sabercats came away on the wrong side of the equation, falling 65-91 at North Central University.

Jonathan Book and Adam Millican led MBU with 11 points each.

• Result: Maranatha 65-91 North Central
• Venue: Clark-Danielson Gymnasium
• Location: Minneapolis
• Attendance: 141
• Records: MBU (2-3), NCU (3-4)

MBU struggled with consistency in shooting once again, going just 35.7 percent from the night. A first-possession jump shot from RJ Medina gave the Sabercats the lead, but that was the only time they were in front for the entire contest. Throughout the night, Maranatha had more chances to connect than North Central did, but they ultimately fell short to the Rams' precise shooting. 

Jared High went 10-11 from the floor and racked up 24 points in the first half alone for North Central. High's total of 24 was just three short of Maranatha's combined efforts.

The story didn't change much in the second half. Adam Millican came off the bench to bag 11 points, but the freshman was the only one to hit anything from three-point range. MBU left the points on the floor, as they went 2-14 from beyond the arc. On the defensive side of things, Maranatha limited High to just nine points in the second half, but the terminal damage had already been done.

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MBU Starters: 3-Book, 11-Medina, 15-Lerma, 22-Sonnenberg, 30-Blake // NCU Starters: 1-Kavanagh, 4-Ellerbusch, 22-Martin, 23-McGrew, 24-High

"North Central played great, and they deserved to beat us," said Coach Keith Salscheider. "They gave us a lesson on what basketball is supposed to look like at the DIII level. We showed some good things but just couldn't keep up with their pace. I think we learned that we can't take any time off, and we were shown the consequences of that."

• Book: 11 points, 8 rebounds
• Jared High: scored 24 first-half points and 33 in the game
• MBU: shot 35.7 percent from the floor - their second below-40 mark in a row
• MBU: tallied 44 bench points
• Rebounding: MBU 33-43 NCU
• Last year: Maranatha won in overtime, 105-97
• Series: MBU leads the series, 8-7

• The Rams compete in the NCAA DIII and NCCAA DII
• NCU competes in the North Region with Maranatha
• North Central finished last season with a 7-19 record, going 4-1 in NCCAA regional play

The Sabercats will stay up north until Saturday when they take on Northland College in Ashland, Wisconsin at 3:00 p.m. Follow at mbusabercats.com/composite.