HANCOCK — It was all out war as the Finlandia University men’s basketball team (3-13) beat Maranatha Baptist (2-12) 78-72, Thursday night at the Paavo Nurmi Center.

The first four minutes, Maranatha Baptist and Finlandia played on even terms. Tied 8-8 at the 15:15 mark, the Sabercats scored eight straight points.

MBU led by three to eight points for the next 10 minutes. Down seven, the Lions began to creep back in. Junior Emmett Johnson scored in traffic to tie the game at 34 with 16 seconds left. 

Maranatha Baptist hit two free throws to take a 36-34 lead at the break. In the second half, it was back-and-forth basketball the entire way with nine ties and nine lead changes.

Junior Ilrick Higgins-Moise hit a tough jumper in the paint to tie the game at 70 at the 1:02 mark. FinnU hit two buckets to lead by four with 23 seconds left but the Sabercats cut it to one three seconds later.

Moise-Higgins and Johnson each hit two free throws in the last 18 seconds to seal the game.

A big difference maker in the game was turnovers. The Lions scored 21 points off of 19 MBU turnovers while the Sabercats could score just two points off 14 FinnU turnovers.

For Finlandia, senior Danny Zuchak had 14 points and two steals, sophomore Jordan Askew scored 11 points and Johnson had 11 points, five assists and four steals.

For Maranatha Baptist, Malachi Herbster had 22 points and 10 rebounds while Goodnews Akonofua had 12 points and 10 rebounds.