November 8, 2022 | by Taylor Pill

LEAD

AURORA, Ill. -- The Aurora Spartans (NACC) started hot and finished even hotter tonight, topping Maranatha 49-97 to spoil the Sabercats' season opener.

Caleb Moultrie and Malachi Herbster both registered 12 points on the night to lead Maranatha, who will regroup before Thursday's home opener against Knox College.

OVERVIEW

• Result: Maranatha 49-97 Aurora
• Event: Season opener
• Venue: Thornton Gymnasium, Aurora University
• Location: Aurora, Ill.
• Attendance: -
• Records: MBU (0-1), AU (1-0)

STORY

The Spartans seemed to be everywhere in the first half, as they out-rebounded Maranatha 23-7 through the opening 20 minutes. Aurora didn't bother shooting from downtown, going just 1-2 from three-point range and shooting 60 percent from in close. At the other end, Maranatha went just 8-22 and when the dust settled, the Spartans were protecting their home court to the tune of 49-19 and the Sabercats needed a breather.

Once the Sabercats shook off the first-game rust, they settled into their game but the Aurora momentum was already too hard to stop. Maranatha managed to reduce the deficit to just 18 points from half to half, as Caleb Moultrie and Malachi Herbster led the Blue and Gold with a dozen points each.

But at the end of the 40 minutes, the NACC mainstays showed their depth and their quality, staying ahead 97-49 to take all the celebrations from the season opener.

COLLEGE DEBUTS

The following student-athletes made the collegiate debuts for Maranatha tonight: Goodnews Akonofua, Brayden Cox, Jataz Gray, and Joe Shank.

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Maranatha Starters: 0- Woodward, 15- Davis, 21- Moultrie, 24- Herbster, 34- Jensen

STATS

• Box Score
• Last time: Maranatha fell to Aurora on December 16, 2013, with a final score of 86-70
• Series: Maranatha trails the all-time series against Aurora 0-10

OPPONENTS

• Aurora competes in the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference
• Aurora finished last season with a 5-18 record

NEXT

The Sabercats return to Watertown, Wisconsin for their home opener against Knox on Thursday at 6 p.m. Follow at mbusabercats.com/schedule.