February 23, 2022 | by Taylor Pill

LEAD

WATERTOWN, Wis.. -- With a 73-65 win and a season trifecta over #9 Moody Bible Institute this afternoon, the Sabercats are into the first round of the 2022 NCCAA North Region Tournament.

Maranatha will take on the #1-seeded Trinity Bible College Lions tomorrow night at 8:15 p.m. with a spot in the North Region Final Four on the line.

OVERVIEW

• Result: Maranatha 73-65 Moody Bible Institute
• Venue: Maranatha Baptist University
• Event: NCCAA North Region Tournament Play-In
• Location: Watertown, Wis.
• Attendance: 155
• Records: MBU (6-19), MBI (0-15)

STORY 

The Sabercats wasted no time in the first half, running out to a sizeable lead that they would hold until the break. Dylan Woodward jumped off the bench to snag 10 points in the first half. Right behind him was Jed Mayhak, who connected three times from downtown to fuel a 40-22 performance in the first half for Maranatha.

It was all going according to plan.

The plan continued to work through the first 10 minutes of the second half, and when Caleb Moultrie connected his fourth of five deep shots just past the nine-minute mark, the Sabercats sat on a 19-point lead.

But the plans were quickly jeopardized, as the perfect storm of Maranatha misses and Moody makes took the game from settled to edgy. In just four minutes, Archers had all of a sudden cut a 20-point lead down to single digits and Maranatha was feeling the heat.

The biggest scare came when Brett Hill knocked down a three-pointer for Moody at the 1:48 mark to cut the lead down to four, as haunting memories from the 2017 North Region Championship game all of a sudden came drifting back.

The plans had changed.

But just when the game needed it, Aaron Sanders stepped up with a steal and a crucial and-one on the fast break. Sanders' clinical three-point play restored the lead to seven with a minute on the clock, and late free throws from Sanders and Josh Davis cemented a nerve-wracking win and a spot in the first round tomorrow night.

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Maranatha Starters: 3- Mayhak, 5- Sanders, 15- Davis, 21- Moultrie, 24- Herbster // Moody Bible starters: 5- Young, 10- Kovacs, 11- Hayes, 20- Kirpas, 21- Wright

STATS

• Moultrie: 16 PTS, 4 REB
• Woodward: 13 PTS, 8 REB
• Malachi Herbster: 10 PTS, 6 REB
• 2nd Half: Moody - 47.1 FG%, Maranatha - 28.1 FG%
• Last time: Maranatha won 83-56 in Chicago and 82-54 in Watertown already this season
• Series: Maranatha leads the all-time series against Moody 51-15

OPPONENTS

• Moody lost in the first round of last year's NCCAA North Region Tournament
• Moody came into the tournament with a 0-3 North Region record

NEXT

The Sabercats continue their North Region run tomorrow night at 8:15 p.m. against #1 Trinity Bible College. Follow at mbusabercats.com/schedule.