ST. LOUIS – In a game that started over two hours late, Missouri Baptist men's basketball took 20 minutes to find its rhythm. Once it did, the team erased a 17-point deficit to Benedictine University-Springfield to win 75-65 on Saturday night.
Benedictine had mechanical issues with the team bus which delayed both men's and women's games, but once play began, it was clear that Bulldogs had come to play.
Benedictine built as much as a 17-point, first-half lead thanks to the play of Jeremic Bennett. The guard scored 10 points in the first half and was a major part of the dominant lead for the Bulldogs.
The Spartans, however, responded by going on a 16-1 run over a span of five minutes to pull within two and make it a 24-22 Bulldog lead with five minutes on the clock. Though Benedictine came back to build a seven-point, 39-32 lead, MBU came ready to play after the break.
Halftime was good to the Spartans. After a slow first-half, senior's Garrison Plummer and LeAndre'Johnson picked-up the pace. Plummer scored all 12 of his points in the game in the second half and Johnson posted 13 of his 19 total points in the final 20 minutes to bring their team all the way back.
Kalvin Lewis and Lau'Ren Jones were also major contributors. The pair went 6-10 from three-point range and Lewis was 3-3 in the second-half.
Two major career milestones were reached during the game for two Spartan seniors as well. Johnson hit his career 1,100th career point in the first half. He now sits with 1,113 career points. Not to be outdone was Garrison Plummer. The Kansas City native grabbed his 500th career rebound in the second half. He now has 504 for his career in a game that he recorded a 12-point, 12-rebound double-double.
Missouri Baptist will travel to Lyon College on Tuesday as the team will try to win its third in a row before a meeting with the NAIA No. 1-ranked Columbia College on Thursday night at home.
