December 12, 2023 | by Taylor Pill

LEAD

WATERTOWN, Wis. -- A first-half surge sent the Sabercats into the halftime break with a 34-34 tie against Rockford University tonight, but the Regents' persistence fueled an 81-70 win to close out the semester of games.

The Regents, ranked third in the Northern Athletic Collegiate Conference, shot 48 percent from the field on the night, led by a 27-point showing from Kevin Diemer. Noah Jensen led Maranatha with 15 points; four of Maranatha's starting five hit double-digit points on the night.

OVERVIEW

• Result: Maranatha 70-81 Rockford 
• Venue: MBU Gymnasium - Maranatha Baptist University
• Location: Watertown, Wis.
• Attendance: -
• Records: MBU (3-7), RU (8-2)

STORY

Rockford jumped out to a 7-0 lead, but a high-energy first half became a back-and-forth battle, and what the Sabercats had slated as a tall order all of a sudden seemed doable. Mike Mertes, Caleb Moultrie, and Joe Shank connected from downtown to give the Sabercats their first lead at 11-10, and it was "game on" for most of the first half.

Rockford eventually strode out to a 32-22 lead, but a late 10-2 run to finish the half sent Maranatha into the break with a tie ballgame and all of the momentum. Mertes was leading the starters with eight points while Shank had notched five from off the bench. Maranatha held Rockford to shooting just 36 percent and it was looking like the Sabercats could call the shots in the second half.

But Rockford answered. Rockford started the second half with a dozen unanswered points, extending the run to 22-6 to put the Sabercats at arm's length. A layup from Moultrie at the 6:57 mark put the Sabercats within seven points, but that was as close as Maranatha could come on an exciting but frustrating night.

When it was all said and done, the Regents had shot at a clip of almost 62 percent in the second half alone, and Diemer led the charge with 18 points on 9-11 shooting. 

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

STATS

• Box Score
• MBU: shot - percent from the field
• RU: shot - percent from the field
• Last time: Maranatha fell to 42-85 to Rockford on Feb. 11, 2023
• Series: Maranatha trails the all-time series against Rockford 1-13

OPPONENTS

• Rockford competes in the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference (NCAA Dlll)
• Rockford finished the '22-23 season with a 13-11 record
• Rockford fell to Marian University in the first round of the 2023 NACC Tournament

NEXT

The Sabercats kick off the New Year in Galesburg, Ill. where they will face Knox on Saturday, January 6 at 3 P.M. Follow at mbusabercats.com/schedule.