ST. LOUIS – [Box Score] The final game of the 2014 portion of the schedule ended on a sour note for the Missouri Baptist men's basketball team, as No. 10 Freed-Hardeman defeated the Spartans, 90-74.
Missouri Baptist (1-11, 0-5 AMC) led at the half, 40-37, but the Lions outscored MBU, 53-34, over the final 20 minutes.
The Spartans shot 38.98 percent in the contest, knocking down 23-of-59 shots from the floor. The visiting navy and white squad lit it up from 3-point range, sinking 7-of-15 shots. The Spartans also added 21-of-29 from the charity stripe.
Freed-Hardeman (11-1, 6-0 AMC) made 29-of-64 from the field and 8-of-25 from deep territory. The Lions made 24-of-34 from the free throw line.
The rebounding battle was won by the Lions, 45-35.
Junior Bryce Weibrecht has started to heat-up for the Spartans. He made 5-of-12 from the floor, 3-of-6 from deep range, and all four free throw attempts en route to a career-tying 17 points. Weibrecht also pulled down five rebounds.
Senior Adrian Kuyinu netted 16 points on 6-of-9 from the floor and 1-of-1 from 3-ball land. He added 3-of-9 from the charity stripe.
Junior Stephen Buckner II scored 10 points on 4-of-12 shooting from the floor. He made both free throw attempts, tied for a team-high five rebounds, and led the Spartans with three assists.
The first five minutes of the game could not have gone any better for the Spartans. Missouri Baptist built a 10-0 lead and made 5-of-7 shots during the span.
Weibrecht drained his third three-ball of the half with 10:49 left in the half to extend the MBU lead to 18-7.
Freed-Hardeman chipped at the deficit and cut the MBU lead to 24-22 with 4:20 left in the half. That set-off a blistering pace in which the two teams would combine for 31 points over the final 4:20 of play.
The Lions tied the contest three different times during the half, but could never jump on top, which led the Spartans to a 40-37 lead at the break.
Missouri Baptist shot 46.7 percent in the half, while the Lions made 42.9 percent from the floor. Weibrecht led the Spartans with 15 points and five rebounds in the first 20 minutes of play.
The first five minutes of the second half featured a furious run by the Lions. FHU used a 15-2 run during the span to take a 52-42 lead.
Chris Buzzell splashed a 3-ball with 14:44 left in the game to cut the Freed-Hardeman lead to just 52-47, but that would be the closest the Spartans would get.
The Lions outscored the Spartans 38-27 over the final 14 minutes to earn the victory.
Missouri Baptist will host Harris-Stowe on January 3 to open the 2015 portion of the schedule.
