December 2, 2022 | by Ashley Nerat

LEAD

HANCOCK, Mich. -- The Northwestern Eagles finished victorious with a 96-63 win over Maranatha. 

The Sabercats will continue tomorrow morning by facing North Central University in an NCCAA Regional match-up. Here they hope to find their first win of the season. 

OVERVIEW

• Result: Maranatha 63-96 Northwestern (Minn.)
• Venue: Paavo Nurmi Center - Finlandia University
• Location: Hancock, Mich.
• Attendance:50
• Records: MBU (0-7), UNW (3-3)

STORY

In his first collegiate start, Goodnews Akonofua put the first points on the board for the Sabercats with a powerful dunk. Going off of that good energy, the Sabercats were able to pull into a small 6-3 lead within the first few minutes of the game. But the Eagles of Northwestern would soon go on a 17-5 run and continue to pull further away from Maranatha. 

The Sabercats continued to play hard throughout the entire game, fighting until the very end. Malachi Herbster, Caleb Moultrie, Josh Davis, and Dylan Woodward all scored in the double digits for Maranatha. But the Eagles continued to make baskets look easy, shooting 50 percent from 3-point range and 55 percent overall.

Maranatha couldn't catch up and ultimately fell 63-96. The men are still looking for their first win of the season. They hope to find a victory tomorrow against North Central University, who is an NCCAA North region opponent.

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Maranatha Starters: 0- Woodward, 15- Davis, 21- Moultrie, 24- Herbster, 35- Akonofua

STATS

• Boxscore
• MBU: shot 32.3 percent from the field
• UNW: shot 55.2 percent from the field
• Last time: Maranatha lost 69-100 against Northwestern back in the 2014 season opener.
• Series: Northwestern now leads the all-time series against Maranatha 3-2

OPPONENTS

• Northwestern (Minn.) competes in the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (NCAA-DIII)
• Northwestern (Minn.) also competes in the NCCAA-DI North Central Region
• Northwestern (Minn.) finished the '21-'22 season with a record of 22-7
• Northwestern (Minn.) finished the '21-'22 regular season with a 4-game winning streak
• Northwestern (Minn.) defeated Crown College (85-69) in the UMAC Tournament Championship
• Northwestern( Minn.) did not compete in the NCCAA-DI National Tournament but they did compete in the NCAA-DIII Tournament. They were eliminated after losing their first game to Pomona-Pitzer (66-67)

NEXT

The Sabercats stay in Hancock, Michigan to take on North Central University tomorrow at 2 p.m. EST. Follow at mbusabercats.com/schedule.