January 10, 2022 | by Taylor Pill

LEAD

PLYMOUTH, Minn. -- The Sabercats had some Christmas-break rust to shake off tonight, as they took a 71-94 North Region loss in Minnesota to Trinity Bible College.

The Sabercats had three men hit double figures on the night, as the Lions out-played Maranatha to pull away to a comfortable win.

OVERVIEW

• Result: Maranatha 71-94 Trinity Bible
• Venue: Free Lutheran Bible College
• Event: NCCAA North Region
• Location: Plymouth, Minn.
• Attendance: 123
• Records: MBU (1-13), TBC (8-9)

STORY

Trinity found the looks they needed in the first half, shooting 50 percent from the field through the first 20 minutes. On the other side of the floor, Maranatha had some Christmas-break rust to shake off, as they committed 14 turnovers in the first half while hitting shots at a 32-percent clip through the opening 20 minutes.

Going into halftime, the Lions held a 14-point lead at 41-27 and were looking in control.

The closest Maranatha could come was only within 16 points in the second half, as Trinity stayed well in front without any signs of slowing down. Mike Mertes came off the bench to score 10 points with three rebounds and three assists in the second half, and Caleb Moultrie came close to his career-high with 20 points, but it just wasn't Maranatha's night. 

All in all, Trinity won the game with incremental superiority. The Lions out-shot Maranatha 48 percent to 40 percent; out-rebounded Maranatha by a margin of 10, and shot 16-17 from the free-throw line while Maranatha went 5-10.

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Maranatha Starters: 3- Mayhak, 5- Sanders, 15- Davis, 21- Moultrie, 24- Herbster // Trinity starters: 2- Phillips, 3- Bolden, 12- Stoughton, 20- Mencarini, 23- Molan

STATS

• Moultrie: 20 PTS, 3 REB, 5 AST
• Davis: 11 PTS, 6 REB
• Mertes: 10 PTS, 3 REB, 4 AST
• Last time: Maranatha won 89-59 in December of 2017
• Series: Maranatha now leads the all-time series 5-1

OPPONENTS

• Trinity competes with the Sabercats in the NCCAA DII North Region
• Trinity registered a 4-1 North Region record coming into tonight's game

NEXT

The Sabercats will stay in Minnesota for a 6:45 p.m. clash with Martin Luther tomorrow night. Follow at mbusabercats.com/schedule.