ST. LOUIS – [Box Score] After an emotional, heart-breaking loss two nights ago, the Missouri Baptist men's basketball team had no answer for Lindenwood-Belleville, in a 101-75 defeat. The Spartans were held scoreless for the first 5:37 of the contest and were unable to carve into the deficit.
Missouri Baptist (4-19, 3-13 AMC) was forced to play catch-up from the opening tip. The Lynx jumped out to a 9-0 lead just 5:05 into the game. The Spartans shot .387 in the contest, hitting 29-of-75 shots from the floor. MBU added 7-of-21 from three-point territory and made 10-of-13 from the charity stripe, but LUB dominated the boards with a 49-39 advantage.
Lindenwood-Belleville (13-10, 12-5 AMC) owned the paint, outscoring the Spartans 50-30 in the paint. The Lynx made 38-of-70 from the floor en route to a .543 shooting percentage. Lindenwood-Belleville succeeded on 6-of-14 from deep range and 19-of-33 from the free throw line.
Sophomore Jahmari Gordon provided a nice spark for MBU off the bench. Gordon torched the twine for 15 points on 6-of-9 from the floor and 3-of-5 from 3-ball range.
Sophomore Chris Buzzell led the Spartans with 16 points, making 7-of-10 from the floor and 1-of-2 from three point territory. He added 1-of-1 from the free throw line, three rebounds, three assists, and one steal.
Junior Bryce Weibrecht led Missouri Baptist with 10 rebounds, with five in the offensive zone. He scored seven points on 3-of-7 from the floor and 1-of-1 from the charity stripe.
Junior Cody Hudson netted 10 points, making 3-of-6 from the field, and 2-of-5 from three point range. He made is lone free throw attempt, pulled down two rebounds, and dished two assists.
The first ten minutes of the contest proved to set the tone for the game. Missouri Baptist was held to just eight points, as Lindenwood-Belleville built a 21-8 lead.
The lead for the Lynx swelled to as much as 22 points, when they led 47-25 with 46 seconds left in the half.
MBU trailed 50-31 at the half after making 13-of-35 from the floor. The Lynx shot an impressive 19-of-37 from the field over the first 20 minutes.
Jahmari Gordon led all scorers with 13 points at the half, but MBU could not get into any rhythm.
In the second half, the Lynx once again used a lethal dose of inside-outside shooting to extend its lead. Lindenwood-Belleville blew the game wide open with 8:21 left in the game when they led 84-47.
When the final horn sounded, all 13 Spartan players earned playing time. Freshman Jake Terry scored four points in the final eight minutes of play, while Chance Welch scored three points.
The two teams will go at it once again on February 12 in Belleville, Ill. Tipoff is set for 7:30 pm.
