December 4, 2023 | by Ashley Nerat

LEAD

ST. PAUL, Minn. -- Maranatha was left with no answers against Northwestern, who had an exceptional night from the field. The Eagles finished with a 50.7 field-goal percentage compared to the Sabercats' 27.5 percentage. 

Maranatha failed to handle the pressure all night, turning the ball over 20 times in the 44-84 loss. 

Caleb Moultrie led Maranatha on the night earning 15 points. He was the only one on the team to score in double-digits. 

OVERVIEW

• Result: Maranatha 44-84 Northwestern (Minn.)
• Venue: Ericksen Center - University of Northwestern
• Location: St. Paul, Minn.
• Attendance: 224
• Records: MBU (2-5), UNW (7-0)

STORY 

Maranatha knew they would face a challenge in Northwestern, who remains undefeated on the year. It looked as though the Sabercats would give the Eagles a fight as the two teams went back and forth in the opening minutes. With just over 10 minutes to go in the first half, Maranatha's Brandt Cashner hit a jumper to give his team a five-point lead.

But a spark ignited in Northwestern as they turned the tide of the game and found themselves with an 11-point lead over Maranatha going into the half (35-24 UNW). 

Things just seemed off for the Sabercats as they came into the second half. They were outscored 12-4 in five minutes, adding more cushion to Northwestern's already prominent lead. 

It only continued to get worse from there as Maranatha could not get a shot to drop and gave up a 13-point run to their opponents (65-30 UNW). The Eagles went on to win comfortably, 84-44.

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Maranatha Starters: 2-Cox, 12-Jensen, 21-Moultrie, 30-Shultz, 33-Mertes

STATS

• Box Score
• MBU: shot 27.5 percent from the field
• UNW: shot 50.7 percent from the field
• Last time: Maranatha fell to Northwestern 63-96 on December 2, 2023
• Series: Northwestern now leads the all-time series against Maranatha 4-2

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 '22-'23 season with a record of 14-12
• Northwestern (Minn.) fell to UW Superior (59-69) in the UMAC Tournament Semi-final

NEXT

The Sabercats travel to Ankeny, Iowa to take on Calvary in the FBBC Christmas Classic on Friday, Dec. 8 at 7:00 P.M. Follow at mbusabercats.com/schedule.