February 8, 2022 | by Taylor Pill

LEAD

WATERTOWN, Wis. -- Maranatha fell behind on their home floor this afternoon, picking up a 44-59 loss to concede a series sweep to North Region rivals Faith Baptist.

Aaron Sanders led Maranatha with 14 points as the Sabercats fall to 3-17 this season. Faith improves to 7-12 with the win.

OVERVIEW

• Result: Maranatha 44-59 Faith
• Event: NCCAA North Region Regular Season
• Venue: Main Gymnasium, Maranatha Baptist University
• Location: Watertown, Wis.
• Attendance: 274
• Records: MBU (3-17), FBBC (7-12) 

STORY

Maranatha struggled to be precise with their possession in the opening half. Faith published some sloppy passes, scoring 10 points off turnovers in the first half alone. Besides that, it was a close-cut opening, and Faith led 30-23 going into halftime.

Aaron Sanders was leading Maranatha with 11 points and Jayce Goergen was leading everyone with 13 points for Faith.

Faith was gritty in the early stages of the second half, maintaining their edge despite constant pressure from Maranatha in the opening minutes. When it was all said and done, the second half was somewhat of a repeat story from the first, statistically speaking. Faith's determined defending helped them stay the course, as their incessant intensity kept the Sabercats out of a rhythm and out of the game. A three-pointer from Caleb Moultrie (who is now just three career points shy of 500) brought Maranatha to within three points at the 11-minute mark, but that was the closest the Sabercats would come for the remainder of the evening.

With the 15-point win, Faith picks up their second-ever win from Watertown, and they've won both editions of the rivalry in the 2021-22 season.

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Maranatha Starters: 3- Mayhak, 5- Sanders, 15- Davis, 21- Moultrie, 24- Herbster // Faith starters: 5- Goergen, 12- Pearson, 15- Sidlinger, 21- Busenitz, 44- Boyer

STATS

• Sanders: 14 PTS, 3 REB, 2 AST, 2 BLK
• Moultrie: 12 PTS, 3 REB
• Malachi Herbster: 11 PTS, 8 REB, 2 STL, 3 BLK
• MBU: 34.1 FG%
• FBBC: 30.2 FG%
• Last time: Faith defeated Maranatha 84-74 in OT on December 11
• Series: Maranatha leads the all-time series against Faith 8-4

OPPONENTS

• Faith competes in the Midwest Christian College Conference
• Faith also competes with Maranatha in the NCCAA DII North Region
• Faith is coming off a 17-11 record in 2019-20, followed by 14-13 in 2020-21

NEXT

The Sabercats continue their week of North Region competition with a matchup on the road at Emmaus Bible College on Thursday at 6:00 p.m. Follow at mbusabercats.com/schedule.