LEAD

WATERTOWN, Wis. -- It was close at the end, but Maranatha was denied the comeback and revenge as they lost 73-78 to Trinity International.

Taylor Ball continued his stellar performances with 30 points and nine rebounds. Josh Davis logged 14 points and Jed Mayhak had 10 as the Sabercats picked up their second home loss of 2021.

OVERVIEW

• Result: Maranatha 73-78 Trinity International 
• Venue: Main Gymnasium, Maranatha Baptist University
• Location: Watertown, Wis.
• Attendance: 188
• Records: MBU (5-5), TIU (6-4)

STORY

It was an up-tempo and hard-fought opening few minutes, as both teams fought for momentum. Jed Mayhak scored eight early points before Trinity gave him special attention, and 11 first-half points from Davis kept the Sabercats in the game. But a late 12-2 run from Trinity put the Sabercats behind by nine points (38-47) in an unexpected and deflating end to the first half.

Offensively, the second half was almost a repeat of the first half for Maranatha, but their push for the win meant they had to tighten the ship on defense. They held Trinity to just 31 points, but the late push for the win wasn't enough. Ball had a scoring spree in the middle of the half that pushed him to 30 points, but Trinity answered by sending four of five starters into double digits.

Maranatha may have won the second half, but Trinity put up the roadblock in the end to seal a well-earned five-point win. Despite the loss, this was a significant step in the right direction for Maranatha, who took a heavy 67-91 loss to Trinity just last week.

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Maranatha Starters: 2- T. Ball, 3- Mayhak, 4- Steuerwald, 5- Sanders, 15- Davis // Trinity Int'l Starters: 1- McQueen, 3- Johansson, 20- Jefferson, 23- Presniakovas, 34- Williams

SOUND BITE

"First of all, congrats to Coach Miller and his team," said Coach Joel Borchardt after the game. "They came and they played well and they deserved the win. I'm super proud of our guys and how they came out against a team we knew we had trouble with last game. Really proud of the improvement we've seen over the last week and a half. Wish we could've pulled it out at the end, but we're excited to see how we continue to move forward."

STATS

• Ball: 30 PTS, 9 REB, 2 AST
• Davis: 14 PTS, 4 REB, 1 AST
• MBU: 39.1 FG%
• Last time: The Trojans won 67-91 last week.
• Series: Trinity now leads the series 5-0

OPPONENTS

• Trinity competes in the NAIA's Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference
• Trinity also competes in the NCCAA DI
• Trinity made it to the NAIA tournament in 2017-18

NEXT

The Sabercats will take on Emmaus Bible College next Monday (February 8) at 4:00 p.m. at home. Find details at mbusabercats.com/schedule.