December 9, 2023 | by Ashley Nerat

LEAD

ANKENY, Iowa -- The Sabercats put in the work today at the Faith Christmas Classic, defeating Faith 92-83 in a highly competitive game.

Three Sabercats finished with double-doubles on the night. Will Shultz earned his seventh double-double of the season with 19 points and 13 rebounds. Noah Jenson got his second double-double of the season, finishing with 16 points and 12 rebounds. And Brayden Cox got his first double-double of the year with 20 points and 10 rebounds. 

OVERVIEW

• Result: Maranatha 92-83 Faith 
• Venue: Nettleton Courts - Faith Baptist Bible College
• Location: Ankeny, Iowa
• Event: FBBC Christmas Classic
• Attendance: 279
• Records: MBU (3-6), FBBC (3-4)

STORY

Neither Maranatha nor Faith could earn any type of cushion in the first half of play as the score remained neck-and-neck from start to finish. The Eagles jumped out to the first lead with a 7-2 advantage over the Sabercats. But a couple of quick buckets from Caleb Moultrie, Will Shultz, and Noah Jensen put Maranatha right back into the game. 

The lead continued to change throughout the half, but a mistake from the Eagles sent Brayden Cox to the line with the chance for a four-point play. Cox finished at the line, sending Maranatha into the locker room with a 45-39 lead. 

The Sabercats wasted no time in the second half, converting their first two chances on offense to gain their biggest lead of the game (49-39). 

With the stands packed full of fans from both teams, the tensions on the court started to rise. Aggressive play led to a combined total of 29 fouls in the second half alone, turning the game into a battle at the free-throw line. Maranatha took advantage of these free opportunities, going 16-21 from the line in this second half (76.2%). 

These free-throws kept the Sabercats alive throughout the rest of the half, earning them a 92-83 win over their rivals. 

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

STATS

• Box Score
• MBU: shot 41.2 percent from the field
• FBBC: shot 45.1 percent from the field
• Cox^: 20 PTS, 10 REB
• Shultz^: 19 PTS, 13 REB, 3 AST
• Jensen^: 16 PTS, 12 REB
• Moultrie: 10 PTS, 7 REB, 4 AST
• Garcia: 8 PTS, 3 REB
• Last time: Maranatha fell to 68-91 to Faith on Feb 7, 2023
• Series: Maranatha leads the all-time series against Faith 12-6

^Double-Double

OPPONENTS

• Faith competes in the NCCAA North Region
• Faith also competes in the Midwest Christian Collegiate Conference
• Faith finished the '22-23 season with a 17-14 record
• Faith fell to Manhattan College in last year's MCCC Championship game
• Faith fell to Crown College in last year's NCCAA North Region Semi-final

NEXT

The Sabercats return to Watertown to face Rockford, on Tuesday at 7 P.M. Follow at mbusabercats.com/schedule.