ST. LOUIS – [BOX SCORE] Missouri Baptist shot just 34 percent on Thursday night on the road at Park University and posted just 20 points in the second half en-route to a 67-56 loss.
Missouri Baptist (3-14, 3-5 AMC) played an outstanding first-half of basketball against the Park Pirates, but were unable to continue the momentum past the break. Missouri Baptist shot just 21 percent in the second half as the team dropped to 3-14 on the year.
The first half looked promising as MBU was on fire. Chris Buzzell led all scorers with 14 points heading into the break as his team shot 48 percent in the opening 20 minutes.
After halftime, however, the wheels seemed to come-off the bus. Slow shooting and 16 turnovers in the game proved to be a contiributing factor as Park also out-rebounded Missouri Baptist 45-33 on the game.
Overall, Buzzell was the lone Spartan to reach double digits as Park had four. Xavielle Brown's 17 points and three blocks led the Pirates. Also entering double figures was Melvin Rowe, Josh Lewis and John Kotsanos, all of which finished with 10 points apiece.
Missouri Baptist has now lost five of its last six games heading into a showdown at home on Saturday against Columbia College. The game will be played at Maryville University due to a conflict on the MBU Athletics calendar. Tip-off is scheduled for 8:30 p.m.
