ST. LOUIS – [BOX SCORE] Missouri Baptist men's basketball shot an impressive 54 percent from the floor on Friday night in game one of the Hampton Inn Thanksgiving Classic, hosted by Columbia College, but fell to the Baker Wildcats 78-74. With the loss, MBU dropped to -0-7 on the season.
Missouri Baptist looked good in the first half as junior Corey McKinney led the way. The guard from Detroit, Mich., posted 12 points and went 2-2 from beyond the arc in the first half alone to lead his team to a 39-36 lead heading into intermission.
The Spartans were unable to hold the lead, however. The Wildcats began the second half on an 11-0 run and took a 47-39 lead with just over 15 minutes remaining. Baker extended the lead by as much as 11 points before Missouri Baptist began slowly chipping away.
McKinney drained one of his four three-pointers on the night to cut the deficit to seven with just over eight minutes remaining. MBU then brought it to within three points with 32 second left, but that was as close as it got.
Corey McKinney produced career numbers on the night and was the main bright spot in the game for the Spartans. He finished with 23 points and was perfect from both the floor and the free-throw line. McKinney was 8-8 on the night, 4-4 from three-point range and 3-3 from the charity stripe.
Lau'Ren Jones was nearly as good for the Spartans. The senior finished with 14 points and went 4-6 from the floor. Kalvin Lewis finished with 10 points of his own and was the only other to finish in double figures for MBU.
The Spartans finished Friday's contest with 23 fouls, but outshot the Wildcats in every category. Baker's lone advantage came in the second half when the team posted 11 more shots than Missouri Baptist.
The Wildcats were led by Jared Fulks, who finished with 20 points and four rebounds. EJ Carter was also very good for Baker. He posted 17 points and shot 60 percent in the game.
Next up for Missouri Baptist will be Central Methodist University on Saturday. Game time is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. at the Arena in the Southwell Complex on the campus of Columbia College.
