Lebanon, Ill.- The Missouri Baptist men's basketball team was looking for its second win in a row against Bethel College in the McKendree Classic Tournament. After having at one point a 18 point lead in the first half, the Spartans held on in the second half winning 94-85. 
 
The Spartans wanted to play this game against the Wildcats the same they did against Fontbonne, with a lot of energy and strong play on both ends of the floor. After grabbing an 8-7 lead with 16 minutes left to go in the first half, the Spartans never let the lead go. With nine minutes to go the team was up 32-14.
 
Missouri Baptist never let the lead get smaller than 12 points and at the half were up 47-34. The team shot 54% from the field, continuing their hot shooting from their previous game. Bethel was contained by the Spartan defense only shooting 35% from the field.
 
In the second half, the offense picked up even more for both teams. The Wildcats went on a 17-4 run to tie the game up at 51-51 with 15 minutes to go. MBU grabbed the lead again on a basket by Dezmon Hickman and never looked back. The team held onto their lead for the rest of the 14 minutes and won 94-85. 
 
Missouri Baptist shot 46% from the field but were 21-26 from the free throw line. Four of the five starters were in double digits. The team was led by Sam Pearson II with 29 points and seven rebounds and was 13-14 from the free throw line. Dezmon Hickman had 22 points, Garrison Plummer had 15 points and 13 rebounds and Erik Hunter had 13 points and nine rebounds. 
 
The team will look for its third win in a row when they play the host McKendree University on December 3rd at 7:00 p.m.