ST. LOUIS – Missouri Baptist men's basketball attained its longest win streak of the season on Tuesday as the team beat Lyon College 84-78 on the road.
Missouri Baptist (14-12) improved to its best record of the season with the win, thanks in large part to a 24-point performance by LeAndre' Johnson. The senior now has 1,137 career points after breaking the 1,100 mark on Saturday against Benedictine-Springfield.
The Spartans began the game on an 8-3 run and looked to be in control early, though Lyon stayed within striking distance. Kalvin Lewis helped to extend the lead to 17-11 with a three-pointer nearly midway through the first half.
The Scots, however, came back quickly. The home team rattled-off a 7-0 run in a span of just over a minute to take an 18-17 lead. Down the stretch, both teams played evenly and MBU went into the break trailing 32-31, in spite of shooting just 33 percent from the floor.
The second-half, however, was a different story. Missouri Baptist shot over 61 percent in the final 20 minutes of play and made the home team work for every point. The Spartans took a one-point lead off a fast break by Johnson and went on a 12-3 run to build a 10-point, 53-43 lead.
Turnovers and contested shots helped the Spartans lead by as much as 12 points twice in the second half, but Lyon came back to tie the game with just 4:58 remaining on the clock. The comeback seemed to wake-up the Missouri Baptist offense and the team took advantage of missed opportunities by the Scots to secure the six-point win.
Four Scots ended the night in double digits, led by Kendall Leeks. The sophomore guard finished with a double-double (20 points, 10 rebounds) and led all Lyon scorers. Slater Belew (10 points), Marcus Humose (10 points) and Devonte Young (11 points) also had double figure point totals.
LeAndre' Johnson, who finished with 24 points and three steals, led Missouri Baptist on the night. Garrison Plummer was also big for his team. He posted 15 points and six rebounds while Sophomore Matt Holmes finished with 17. Kalvin Lewis had his second game in a row with 11 points.
Missouri Baptist will return home for a rivalry game on Thursday night against the number one team in the nation, Columbia College. The Cougars are the only undefeated team remaining in the NAIA. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. at the Carl and Deloris Petty Sports and Recreation Complex.
