LEAD

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. -- Tonight marked the end of the season for the Sabercats, who took a 67-99 loss to the top-seeded Great Lakes Crusaders to finish the 2023-24 season in the NCCAA Midwest Regional Semifinal.

Brandt Cashner led the Sabercats with a career-high 16 points while Noah Jensen (15) and Caleb Moultrie (13) fueled the offensive efforts on the night.

OVERVIEW

• Result: #4 Maranatha 66-97 #1 Great Lakes
• Venue: Aldrich Athletic Center - Grace Christian University
• Location: Grand Rapids, Mich.
• Event: NCCAA Midwest Regional Semifinal
• Attendance: 81
• Records: MBU (7-18), GLCC (17-10)

STORY
A 14-0 run for Great Lakes in the opening minutes made a big difference early, as the Michigan squad made a statement in the opening minutes. The Crusaders kept things moving and maintained a double-digit point lead for most of the first half, until a David Gingery three-pointer made it an eight-point game for the first time since the opening exchanges. 

That three seemed to poke the bear, however, as the Crusaders responded with 15 straight to increase the lead to 23 with just over three minutes left in the first half - a lead that would hold until the halftime break.

The Great Lakes bench would ultimately be as deep as it was effective, as the top-seeded Crusaders only had one played play more than 20 minutes on the night and had 14 players register points. The sabercats were forced to chase the game and struggled through turnovers (25) and forced shots in the second half, ultimately yielding to the relentless pressure from the deep Crusaders bench.

Maranatha Starters: 2-Cox, 12-Jensen, 13- Shank, 21-Moultrie, 44- Cashner

STATS

• Maranatha: shot 41.9% from the field
• Great Lakes: shot 61.2% from the field
• Last time: Great Lakes to a 62-99 win away from Watertown on February 3
• Series: Maranatha currently leads the all-time series against Great Lakes 14-6

OPPONENTS

• Emmaus competes alongside Maranatha in the NCCAA Midwest Region
• Emmaus has gone 0-2 against Maranatha in this years regular season
• Emmaus finished the '22-'23 season with a 9-16 overall record

NEXT

A full recap of the season will be forthcoming at mbusabercats.com.