ST. LOUIS – Missouri Baptist men's basketball was outshot and outplayed by a talented Maryville University team on Monday night as the Saints defeated the Spartans 86-54.

Missouri Baptist (5-8) began the game without senior leader LeAndre Johnson, who is suffering from a back issue. Johnson was a late scratch in the game as coach Ray Farrell made the decision to rest his top scorer to prevent further injury heading into the 17-day Christmas break.

The first half began very well for the Spartans. A quick bucket by Theodore King and a three from Kalvin Lewis put the Spartans up 5-4, but the good fortune soon ended as the Saints heated-up. Maryville, who is shooting 47 percent from the floor on the year, went on a 22-3 run to amass a 26-8 lead.

The Saints, true to form this season, continued to drain shot after shot. Maryville shot near 52 percent from the floor in the first half and just under 47 percent from three-point range to build a 40-21 lead heading into the half.

More of the same was in store for the Spartans as the second half began. The Saints continued its success and built a 24-point lead with 15 minutes left on the clock. Every time MBU looked to be making headway, Maryville came right back down the court and hit its shots.

In the end, Missouri Baptist was simply outplayed in the game and never seemed to be able to right the ship. Both Matt Holmes (17 points) and Kalvin Lewis (10 points) finished the night in double digits, but as a team, MBU struggled to score. The Spartans shot 35 percent on the night from the floor.

For the Saints, Asa Toney and Gerald Shaw led the way. Shaw finished the game with 18 points while Toney added 20 points and 10 rebounds to complete the double-double.

The Saints are now 9-2 on the season while the Spartans fall to 5-8. Next up for MBU will be the beginning of conference play in January. The Spartans travel to Park University on January 3 to get things started.