February 24, 2022 | by Taylor Pill

LEAD

WATERTOWN, Wis.. -- The Sabercats' season came to a heartbreaking end tonight, as they took a 64-67 overtime loss to the top-seeded Trinity Bible College Lions in the first round of the NCCAA North Region Tournament.

Caleb Moultrie led Maranatha with 19 points while Aaron Sanders tallied 17. Seniors Brenden Caldwell, Malachi Herbster, Jed Mayhak, and Aaron Sanders all concluded their senior seasons in the loss.

OVERVIEW

• Result: #8 Maranatha 64-67 #1 Trinity Bible College (OT)
• Venue: Maranatha Baptist University
• Event: NCCAA North Region Tournament 1st Round
• Location: Watertown, Wis.
• Attendance: 301
• Records: MBU (6-20), TBC (17-14)

STORY 

The home fans were in full voice early on, and the sixth-man advantage fueled a close first game in the opening minutes. But turnovers killed the Sabercats' momentum at key times in the first half, as the pressure-cooker of regionals was heating up. The Lions scored most of their points from downtown in the first half, going 6-20 from beyond the perimeter. On the other end of the court, the Sabercats couldn't settle their possession to a controllable pace, as the Lions' energized defending forced turnovers and missed shots throughout the opener.

When the dust settled, the Sabercats went into the locker room down 10 points, and they could only tie the game during the first half. The Lions were holding them off.

Once the Sabercats came out of the break, they looked poised and determined to turn things around. It was a total-team effort, as the energy from the stands fed off the execution on the court and vice versa. This was a team playing in front of their home fans. And the second half was looking like a different story.

Malachi Herbster had a big block five minutes into the second half, and when Aaron Sanders converted at the other end of the floor, the game was tied. Just like that.

�� @MalachiHerbster swats it.
�� @AaronSanders279 puts it in.

�� IT'S GETTING LOUD AGAIN �� pic.twitter.com/giPxYQBrlR

— Maranatha Athletics (@MBUSabercats) February 25, 2022

Things went from good to better just a few seconds later when senior Jed Mayhak drew contact and somehow still managed to find the basket. For the first time since the opening minute, the Sabercats had the lead.

�� @jedmayhak ‼️

We are now winning.

#8 Maranatha 41
�� #1 Trinity 39

13:50 x 2H x ❄️ pic.twitter.com/c3pkuE7TWw

— Maranatha Athletics (@MBUSabercats) February 25, 2022

Enter a wild finish, as both teams rode the storm of the regional tournament and traded blows down the stretch. No one in the gym could guess who would come out on top, as neither team had any firm grasp on the game at any time. The final few minutes seemed like an eternity, and when Dylan Woodward drew two free throws with just 16 seconds on the clock, you could feel the tension in the gym.

Woodward stepped up and made no mistake, burying both shots to give Maranatha a two-point edge.

WOOD WARDEN GIVES US THE LEAD!! �� pic.twitter.com/iYXHpkLuti

— Maranatha Athletics (@MBUSabercats) February 25, 2022

But Trinity answered at the other end of the court, forcing the only thing that fit the closeness of the occasion: overtime.

Overtime was cagey at the start and frantic at the finish, and it took both teams a while to find anything. A Caleb Moultrie three-pointer cut the Trinity lead from five to two with just 36 seconds on the clock, and with the noise in the gym reaching a fever pitch, it looked like the tide could be turning.

But it wasn't to be. Down the stretch, the Lions converted 5-7 free throws to hold the Sabercats off, and in a game where the smallest percentages make all the difference, the Sabercats were just one shot away from extending their season.

--

Maranatha Starters: 3- Mayhak, 5- Sanders, 15- Davis, 21- Moultrie, 24- Herbster // Trinity Bible starters: 1- Ward, 2- Phillips, 3- Bolden, 20- Mencarini, 23- Molan

SOUND BITE

"Can't say it enough how proud I am of these guys and the effort they put in tonight," said Coach Joel Borchardt. "We knew coming in that we had to give a hundred percent, and the guys played their hearts out tonight. There were a few things that we didn't execute on offensively that we wish we could have, but the defense was just outstanding tonight in holding them to 64 points when they were averaging 80-plus per game. Just wish we had a few more things fall our way, but each and every guy put out his best effort. Earlier in the season, we were just not playing the way we knew we could, so just so proud of the way we came out tonight. 

"It's sad to see the season end like this because the guys were playing great - playing hard and playing for each other and just hope to see the guys rebound from it. Very thankful for the seniors and all the work that they put in."

STATS

• Moultrie: 19 PTS, 7 REB, 3 STL
• Sanders: 17 PTS, 2 REB, 3 AST, 2 STL
• Herbster: 8 PTS, 10 REB
• MBU: 34.3 FG%
• Last time: Trinity Bible won 94-71 in January for their first series win
• Series: Maranatha leads the all-time series 5-1

OPPONENTS

• Trinity is the only team in the tournament with a winning record
• Trinity finished as runners-up in the North Region the last two years

NEXT

A full recap of the season will be coming at mbusabercats.com.