HANNIBAL, Mo. – [BOX SCORE] The Spartans used a strong first-half to jump ahead and defeat Hannibal-LaGrange 81-58 Tuesday night to snap the team's two-game losing skid.

Missouri Baptist (9-6, 4-3) took the lead with 13:29 left in the first half and never trailed again. They shot a blistering 60.4 percent from the field, while limiting the Trojans (3-9, 2-6) to 58 points on 36.8 percent shooting.

After a rather back-and-forth opening 15 minutes, the Spartans ended the first half on a 16-4 run to double-up Hannibal-LaGrange and take a sizeable 36-18 lead into the halftime break.

Five different Spartans scored during the run, typical of the Missouri Baptist offense this season. John Caraballo led a balanced-attack with 15 points. 11 Spartans to take the court scored, including three in double-figures. Stephen Buckner finished with 13 points and David Gabrovsek added 11, a team-high nine of those coming in the first half.

The Trojans desperately tried to get back in the game via the 3-point shot, but struggled mightily. Hannibal-LaGrange hit on just two of 14 attempts in the second half after missing all 10 shots from distance in the opening 20 minutes.

It didn't help that the hot Missouri Baptist shooting continued in the second half. The Spartans hit 17 of their 25 shots after halftime (68 percent) and never led by fewer than 13 points. Strong ball-movement contributed to 22 assists on 29 made shots during the game. Will Harrington finished with a team-high seven dimes.  

The sizeable lead allowed head coach Matt Brock to play all 13 players in the second half. Reserve guard Cody Hudson scored five points in less than three minutes of action thanks to a 3-pointer late in the game. Jake Terry added a point, two rebounds and an assist and James King tallied one board and an assist as well.

Tim Pace led Hannibal-LaGrange with 12 points. De'Shawn Terrell and Greg Nicoll also reached double-figures with 10 points each.

The Spartans return home on Thursday, Jan. 7 to take on St. Louis College of Pharmacy. Tip from Lacey Gymnasium is set for 7:30 pm.