ST. LOUIS – Missouri Baptist men's basketball held a 37-30 lead at the half and held-on to a five-point, 78-73 win against Hannibal-LaGrange. With the win, the Spartans guarantee themselves a home game in the quarterfinals of the AMC Tournament next Thursday.

MBU trailed just once in the game, but Hannibal kept it close in the first half. Hannibal kept it close in the first 10 minutes of the period and led by one, thanks to a three-pointer by Herod Montgomery with 10:36 on the clock. Missouri Baptist quickly responded and outscored the Trojans by eight in the final 10 minutes to build a seven point advantage heading into the break.

Hannibal-LaGrange was much more efficient offensively in the second half. The team combined to shoot 54.5 percent in the final 20 minutes of play, thus keeping pace with Missouri Baptist. The Spartans, however, kept the game out of reach. LeAndre' Johnson finished the game with 25 points and was 7-7 at the line. Garrison Plummer chipped-in 13 points and eight rebounds as well.

Aggressive defense and a phenomenal day on the boards was the key throughout the game for MBU. Plummer and Matt Holmes controlled the low post and combined for 18 rebounds, 11 on offense. As a team, MBU out-rebounded Hannibal 40-26. Holmes, by the way, finished with a double-double (18 points, 10 rebounds).

Missouri Baptist will move directly to the AMC Tournament Quarterfinals on Thursday night. As the No. 3-seed in the tournament, the Spartans will host the No.6-seed Lyon College. 

Game time is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. at the Carl and Deloris Petty Sports and Recreation Complex.