ST. LOUIS – [Box Score] A missed go-ahead layup was all that separated the Missouri Baptist men's basketball team from a victory over Park. Instead, the Pirates left town with a 79-76 victory over the home team.
Missouri Baptist (5-22, 4-16 AMC) showed grit, determination, and heart for the entire 40 minutes of play, and nearly pulled off the upset. The Spartans used a duo of unexpected sparks to keep MBU in the contest.
Junior Bryce Weibrecht unloaded on the Pirates (13-10, 12-7 AMC) for a career-high 24 points off the bench. The Perryville, Mo. native was lights-out, sinking 10-of-12 from the field, 2-of-2 from three point land, and 2-of-2 from the free throw line. He added nine rebounds and two blocks before fouling out in the final seconds.
Freshman Josh Davis kept the post play of the Pirates in check. He scored eight points on 4-of-7 from the field and added five rebounds, including three offensive boards.
Senior guard Adrian Kuyinu netted 16 points after sinking 6-of-13 from the floor, 1-of-2 from 3-ball range, and 3-of-4 from the free throw line. He added four rebounds and three assists in 34 minutes of action.
Sophomore Chris Buzzell made 5-of-15 from the floor and 3-of-3 from the charity stripe for a 14-point night. He added four rebounds in 32 minutes of play.
Junior Stephen Buckner tallied just five points in the loss, but dished nine assists and tallied seven rebounds.
The Spartans shot an impressive .455 from the floor, and duplicated the field goals in both halves, making 15-of-33 from the field in each 20 minutes. MBU dominated the rebounding battle, winning 49-33, including 17 offensive rebounds.
In the first half, the Pirates took an early 4-0 lead, and never allowed the Spartans to jump in front. Missouri Baptist tied the score three different times in the half, but could not find a lead.
Josh Davis checked into the game for the first time with 16:17 left in the half, and made his presence known. The freshman worked hard in the paint to tie the contest at 6-6 with a hook shot with 15:44 left in the frame.
A minute later, the Spartans trailed by two, and Davis went to work again. His first shot was blocked, but he gobbled-up the rebound and found another bucket, which tied the game at 8-8.
Park followed with an 8-2 run to take a 18-10 lead, but MBU answered with an 8-0 run to tie the game at 18-18 with 8:45 left in the half.
The Spartans continued to play from behind, but would not allow the Pirates to get the lead to double digits. The half ended with Park draining a layup with four seconds left, and the Pirates led 43-34 at the break.
Weibrecht led the Spartans with 11 points and five rebounds at the half, while Buckner tallied five rebounds and four assists.
Just 1:29 into the second half, Park extended the lead to 47-34, and continued the pace for the next five minutes. Weibrecht took the reigns over the following three minutes to cut the deficit to 55-54. He scored six of MBU's 11 points during the run, which sparked an exciting final 13 minutes.
At the ten minute mark, Park held a 62-58 lead until Chris Buzzell scored four consecutive points to tie the game at 62-62 with 9:02 left.
Park's Mylin Jordan followed with seven straight points over a 40 second span to give the Pirates a 69-62 lead.
The seesaw battle continued as Adrian Kuyinu hit a 3-ball and a layup to cut the deficit to 69-67 with 5:57 left in the game. Weibrecht continued the run by sinking both free throws to tie the game at 69-69 with 4:58 left.
Missouri Baptist had a small taste of a lead when Weibrecht nailed a long three pointer to give the Spartans a 76-74 lead with only 1:16 left in the contest. It was part of a 5-0 personal run by Weibrecht.
On the next trip down the floor for Park, Weibrecht swatted the potential game-tying jumper, but the Pirates possessed the rebound and turned it into two points. The Spartans had a chance at taking the lead again, but Park came up with a block and followed with a go-ahead free throw with only 19 seconds left.
Missouri Baptist elected to not use a timeout and played for the game-winning shot. Kuyinu cut to the lane, drew a defender, which freed-up Buzzell in the paint. The 2014 Co-Freshman of the Year in the American Midwest Conference secured the ball, reversed to the left side, and went in for the game-winning layup. Instead of falling through the hoop, the ball rolled off the front of the rim and into the hands of the Pirates. Park was able to make both free throws after a Weibrecht foul, his fifth of the game.
Head coach Ray Farrell called a timeout to rally the troops for a last second effort at tying the game. Out of the timeout, Jake Terry ran across the baseline to his right, fired a baseball pass to Kuyinu. He took one dribble to his right and fired a three pointer as the horn sounded. The ball hit the backside of the rim and rolled out, ending in a 79-76 win for Park.
Although the Spartans were unable to get the victory, they have two more regular season chances at a victory, when they host No. 9 Columbia on Saturday, and William Woods on February 28.
