LINCOLN, Ill. --- The Sabercats' first-win search was extended after 40 minutes of play in Illinois, as the Sabercats took the game right down to the wire against the Red Lions on Lincoln Christian University, falling 73-75. Richard Medina led the Sabercats with 14 points while Micah Shepard added a dozen. The Sabercats ran into foul trouble, as they gave the Red Lions 32 chances from the line throughout the 40 minutes - a tally which accounted for 22 Red Lions points.

The Basics

• Result: Sabercats 73-75 Red Lions
• Venue: Laughlin Center; Lincoln, Ill.
• Series: Maranatha leads the all-time series 24-12
• Sabercats: now 0-4, Red Lions: now 1-7

How it Happened

• 1st Half
  • The first half was an even tradeoff for the most part, as the Red Lions enjoyed the largest lead of the half - which was only seven points - at 4-11 just over six minutes into the game.
  • MBU then answered LCU's opening statement by posting a 10-2 run. Back-to-back jumpers from Medina gave the Sabercats their first lead of the game just over the halfway mark in the first half. (14-13)
  • It remained a two-possession game at most in the final ten minutes. Medina concluded his first half performance by posting 10 points while the Red Lions' Zach Thompson put up 14 points. Shepard came off the bench to post seven points of his own, and Matt Gill added six as the Sabercats shot 37.8 percent from the field and went just 11.1 percent from three-point range. 
  • At the end of the first 20, the Sabercats held the 36-33 advantage. 
• 2nd Half
  • Tyree Bearden salvaged some of MBU's misfires from the first half by stroking two shots from downtown in the first minute of the second half. Bearden's shots contributed to his 10-point showing in the second half and they extended the Sabercats' lead to nine points - their largest lead of the game. (42-33)
  • The Red Lions stymied the Sabercats' momentum there, as the hosts' 12-2 run swung the flow of the game back in their own favor and triggered a back-and-forth battle that would last until the end of the game. (44-45)
  • The Red Lions seemed to be taking control of the game going into the closing stretches, as they held a 57-67 lead with four minutes on the clock after Zach Thompson (23 pts on the night) made a three-pointer. (57-67)
  • From then on, the Sabercats began a determined comeback that ultimately fell short. After Shepard, Bearden, Rob Sonnenberg, and Clayton Morrison all posted vital points to tie the game at 71, a nail-biting final minute was set up. (71-71)
  • The game would then be decided at the line, as the last sixty seconds yielded six shots from the charity stripe. The Red Lions were cool when it counted, as Zach Thompson stared down a pair of free throws with 16 seconds on the clock to give Lincoln the win. Thompson made no mistake, and when the Sabercats' final effort was off  the mark, the Red Lions collected their twelfth win over the Sabercats since the series began in 1971. (73-75)

From Coach Keith

"I'm proud of our guys, as they took the game right down to the wire. I thought there were times where we played very well, but we just have to be more consistent from start to finish. We were down by ten with four minutes left but we fought back, tied it, and things just didn't work out for us in the end. They shot 32 free throws to our 17, so that hurt us, and we had a couple turnovers at bad times as well. But all in all, we are making major improvements and we look forward to our second home game of the year against Great Lakes on Thursday."

Up Next

• The Sabercats will return to their home floor to host the Lakes of Great Lakes Christian College on Thursday for a 6:00 PM tip.
• You can watch the game live at mbusabercats.com/live