WATERTOWN, Wis. --- After a slow start, the Sabercats stormed their way to the finish to cap off a 104-point night over the Pilots of Providence University College. Micah Shepard led the Sabercats with 20 points and added 12 boards to log his first career double-double.

The meeting was the first between the two teams in their history, and it marked the first time since Jan. 30, 2014 that the Sabercats have reached triple digits in a game.

The first half was sluggish for the Sabercats, as the Pilots held the advantage for the better part of the half. The two teams traded three-point shots early on, and the Pilots began to put the Sabercats on edge by pulling into the lead.

PUC's thoughts of winning would quickly be erased by a 27-6 MBU run to end the half, as a variety of contributors combined to snowball the Sabercats' momentum. Matt Gill was a decisive attacking threat by registering nine points off the bench while Shepard sparked the starters with 11 points. All in all, MBU made their chances count through shooting 48.9 percent from the field in the first half.

The Sabercats not only made their chances count, but limited their turnovers to five while out-rebounding the Pilots 26-14. At the end of the opening 20 minutes, MBU held a 52-36 lead after being down 25-30.

In the second half, Wes Wagner set the tone with a three-pointer that started a 9-0 run to get things started. Shepard kept things rolling with a couple of shots from downtown, and the Sabercats found themselves ahead by a full 30 points with the better part of the half remaining.

CJ Jones then came off the bench and immediately added to his first-half contribution with another shot from downtown, marking one of four shots from outside the arc for MBU in the second half. Jones would go on to post nine points in the second half.

The Sabercats were active around the rim, as they registered 56 rebounds on the night, which is tied for the third-highest mark in a single game since 2003. MBU also dished out a season-high 22 assists. Clayton Morrison led MBU in the assists category with six setups of his own.

Both Gill and Jones posted noteworthy numbers, as both marked a career-high 14 points on the night.

As the clock wound down, MBU closed out a well-balanced team effort. 12 different players logged points and five Sabercats reach double figures in the game. A layup from Jones pushed the Sabercats over the century mark, and buckets from Bryce Nelson and Justin Blake polished off the convincing win. (104-69)

With the win, the Sabercats move to 5-13 on the season while the Pilots fall to 7-16.

"Our guys played really well tonight," stated assistant coach Joel Borchardt. "We saw a lot of improvement from previous games, especially in how we connected with open teammates for shots - we found the 'right guy' and it paid off. Providence started off very well, but our guys really showed resilience and played a very good game. We hope to continue to improve, shore up a few things defensively, and continue to see results moving forward."

The next test for the Sabercats will be at Dayspring Bible College Tuesday, Feb. 7 at 7:00 p.m. Details regarding live coverage will be made available at mbusabercats.com.