THE OVERVIEW

• Result: Maranatha 56-64 Lincoln Christian
• Location: Maranatha Baptist University
• Attendance: 314
• Record: Sabercats are now 7-6
• Next Game for MBU: Saturday, Jan. 20 at 3 p.m. at Crown

THE LEAD

WATERTOWN, Wis. -- It was a defensive battle in Watertown tonight, as the Red Lions of Lincoln Christian University emerged the winners while holding the Sabercats to their second-lowest tally of the year.

The Sabercats' NCCAA DI opponents took home a 64-56 win after 40 minutes of hard-fought basketball on the MBU campus.

THE STORY

The game was fast-paced from the get-go, and after the two teams combined for just 26 points through the opening 10 minutes, everyone knew it would be a defensive struggle. The first half stayed tight all the way through, and 2 late jumpers from Lincoln Christian made it a 6-point game going into halftime.

The Sabercats' only significant lead stood at the 9-minute mark when they held just a 4-point edge over the visitors. Ten turnovers in the first half threw the Sabercats off of their offensive rhythm, and MBU only shot 25 percent from downtown.

The starting 5 did almost all of the scoring for MBU in the first half, and the scoring load was shared.

As a unit, the Sabercats will wish they had a second chance at some of their shots, as uncharacteristic misses were a part of the story in the second half.

Going the other way, the Red Lions needed no second chances on their attempts, as the visitors gradually extended their lead to 11 points at the 12-minute mark.

The Sabercats showed some spirit late in the game, however, and a Micah Shepard layup made it a 3-point game with 6 minutes on the clock.

Enter the miscues, as the Sabercats missed their next 6 shots from the field, allowing Lincoln to move out to a 10-point lead. Those missed shots would prove to be the difference-makers in the end, as Lincoln held on for what was ultimately a comfortable win.

THE NUMBERS

Jonathan Book led Maranatha with 13 points and 9 rebounds on the night.

David Lerma registered a dozen points. 

MBU logged 16 turnovers to LCU's 4.

After tonight's result, Maranatha still holds a 25-13 advantage in the all-time series.

THE SOUND BITE

"It's hard to know what to say sometimes," said head coach Keith Salscheider at the end of the night. "For whatever reason, we had a lot of close shots that didn't fall. We tried to take advantage of our size advantage, but we've got to give credit to Lincoln Christian - they played well enough to beat us. We've got to go back to practice and work on finishing, and if we can take care of a couple things I think we can be in good shape."

THE CALENDAR

The Sabercats will travel to Crown College Saturday for a 3 p.m. tip-off. Catch the details at mbusabercats.com/composite.