ST. LOUIS – [Box Score] The Missouri Baptist men's basketball team scored 52 points in the second half, but the Park Pirates took the victory, 100-87. The Spartans could not slow down the hot shooting by the Pirates, who shot an eye-popping .691 from the field.
Missouri Baptist (3-12, 2-6 AMC) played well on the offensive side of the court. The Spartans shot an impressive .464 from the floor after connecting on 32-of-69 shots. MBU sank 9-of-27 from three-point range and made 14-of-21 from the free throw line.
Park (5-6, 4-3 AMC) netted 38-of-55 shots from the field and made 20-of-32 free throws. The Pirates made 18-of-26 shots from the field in the first 20 minutes and drained 20-of-29 from the field in the second half.
The Pirates won the rebounding battle, 38-27, and were aided by six blocked shots.
Senior Adrian Kuyinu left a lasting memory in his last trip of his career to the Breckon Sports Center. Kuyinu led the Spartans with 21 points on 9-of-15 from the floor and 1-of-3 from deep territory. He added a team-high six rebounds, and dished four assists.
Junior Stephen Buckner has had an outstanding start to the 2015 portion of the schedule. Buckner scored 14 points and drained 9-of-10 from the free throw line. He added three rebounds, five assists, and three steals in 32 minutes of game clock. The Carrollton, Texas native has scored 56 points over the last three games and has been successful on 22-of-28 free throw shots. He has also dished 19 assists in three games in 2015.
Sophomore Jahmari Gordon added 10 points off the bench after hitting 4-of-7 from the field and 1-of-4 from deep territory.
Freshman Josh Davis recorded eight points on 4-of-5 from the field, and added two assists, one block, and one steal.
Sophomore Chris Buzzell drained a three pointer to give the Spartans a 5-2 lead early on, but the Pirates used a 21-5 run to take a 23-10 lead with 12:10 left in the half.
Missouri Baptist answered with an 8-0, thanks to four different Spartans scoring during the run. MBU trailed 23-18 with 10:40 left in the half, but the Pirates would not let the Spartans get any closer.
Jahmari Gordon scored a bucket after a Park turnover that cut the deficit to 40-31 with 1:59 left in the half, but the Pirates outscored the Spartans 10-4 the remainder of the half. That sent the two teams into the locker room with Park on top, 50-35.
Kuyinu led Missouri Baptist with 13 points at the break and the Spartans shot .452 from the field in the first 20 minutes of play. They were trumped by Freddie Manyawu's 17 points in the half. The Pirates shot .692 from the field in the half.
The deficit for the Spartans swelled to 22 points after Park outscored MBU 17-10 over the first seven minutes of the second half to take a 67-45 lead.
A huge 12-0 run by Missouri Baptist over a 2:39 span brought the Spartans right back into the game, as they trailed 69-59 with 9:49 left in the game. Cody Hudson scored five points during the run, and MBU forced Park into four turnovers during the stretch. Park was held to just one shot during the big Spartan run.
Later in the half, Tywan Brooks sank a jumper to cut the deficit to single digits (79-70) with 6:34 left in the game, but Park answered with two points just 14 seconds later.
The Spartans could not cut the deficit to single digits the remainder of the game as Park outscored MBU 21-17 over the final six minutes.
When the final horn sounded, Park took the victory, 100-87.
Missouri Baptist will look to rebound with a Saturday afternoon matchup in Columbia, Mo. to take on Columbia College. The Cougars had the night off tonight and will take its 13-3 record into the game. Tipoff is set for 4:00 pm.
