WATERTOWN, Wis. – Welcome back MSOE basketball. The Red & White were finally able to begin their season after a two month delay this evening, taking on the Sabercats of Maranatha Baptist. While there was a little bit of rust that had to shaken off in the opening minutes of the ballgame, the Raiders found their grove and pulled away in the second half to grab their first W of the season.

RESULTS
MSOE RAIDERS – 90
Maranatha Baptist - 71

HOW IT HAPPENED
Each team in the contest got off to a slow start. Only 31 combined points were scored by the time the first period reached the ten-minute mark, but MSOE (1-0, 0-0 NACC) had the pieces quickly fall into place. The Raiders outscored Maranatha Baptist (3-2) 23-13 in the last 9:50 and brought an 11-point lead into the half. The Red & White kept improving throughout the second period, increasing their shooting percentage from 43.2 to 53.8. The Raiders also sunk seven of their ten three pointers in the back half of the ballgame and dished out 11 of their 21 total assists. There were seven different lead changes throughout the duration of the contest but none of those came in the final 20 minutes where MSOE grew their lead to 31 points before it got chipped down to their final margin of victory of 19. The Raiders amassed a total of 50 rebounds while outscoring the Sabercats 30-4 in the paint for their first win of the abbreviated 2021 season.

RAIDER REMARKS

• 17 Raiders saw the court this evening, allowing each to see their first live game action in almost a year.
• Not only did the Red & White dominate the paint, they also outpaced MBU in second chance points 21-8.
• The MSOE bench was active tonight, contributing 46 total points throughout the ballgame.

MSOE STAT TRACKER
Points –Will Busch (15)
Rebounds – Steve Dillard (9)
Assists – Josh Herzog (5)
Steals – Seven with one
Blocks – Sammy Linn (1)

WHO'S ON DECK
The Raiders will take on Concordia-Wisconsin on Wednesday night in Mequon. Their first of three contests against the Falcons, and the only non-conference game of the bunch, will tip off at 7:00 pm.

For up-to-the-minute MSOE Raiders news, visit us at www.go-raiders.com. You can also follow the Red & White on Twitter @MSOE_Raiders and @msoe_raiders on Instagram.