ST. LOUIS – [BOX SCORE] Luke Call and David Gabrovsek helped lead the Spartans to an 87-61 victory over Avila University at the Hampton Inn Thanksgiving Classic Friday night.

The Spartans hit the road west to Columbia, Mo. the day after Thanksgiving and overcame a slow start to down the Eagles. Call finished with a career-high 23 points on 7-of-9 shooting from 3-point range, while Gabrovsek had 17 points in the win.

Avila jumped ahead to a 7-1 lead to start the game and led until the 8:13 mark of the first half. A Will Harrington 3-pointer seconds later gave MBU its first lead of the game at 20-18 and the Spartans wouldn't trail again. In fact, MBU caught fire and the three spurred a 24-3 run over the next six minutes.

Gabrovsek got to the line at ease during the stretch and throughout the game. The senior from Slovenia went 9-for-14 from the charity stripe and attempted just five fewer attempts than the entire Avila team combined. He had 12 first-half points to lead all scorers. Jared White also scored all seven of his points during the critical stretch. MBU led 43-25 at the break.

The Eagles once again started the half off strong, this time cutting the halftime deficit in half by the 15:19 mark at 47-38. To no surprise, Call hit a 3-pointer on the next possession and MBU led by double figures the rest of the way. The sophomore from Mt. Vernon hit four three-pointers in the second half to help the Spartans pull away.

MBU led by as many as 28 in the final half and 26 at the final horn, 87-61. Harrington and Johnny Benson also finished in double figures with 10 points each. The Spartans did a terrific job of taking care of the basketball, finishing the game with a season-low seven turnovers. MBU also limited Avila's leading scorer Trey Bales to 10 points for the game and two in the second half.

A quick turnaround awaits, as the Spartans face a tough William Penn squad to finish the Classic tomorrow afternoon. Tip is set for 1:00 pm.