Box Score ST. LOUIS – [BOX SCORE] Missouri Baptist Men's Basketball clamped down defensively and dominated from start to finish Tuesday night. The Spartans defeated St. Louis College of Pharmacy 93-52 and led nearly the entire way.
The navy and white (12-7, 6-5) moved above the .500 mark in conference play with the win. It also marked the team's fifth straight. MBU forced 21 STLCOP turnovers and limited the winless Eutectics to 37 percent shooting from the field.
The starting five set the tone early on and brought tremendous energy. STLCOP led briefly at 4-2 early on and then never again. When the Spartan second unit entered at the 12:09 mark, MBU had extended its lead to 17-8. Johnny Benson and Chris Buzzell combined for 13 of the team's first 17 points.
Pablo Hernandez and James McKelvin highlighted the scoring in the first half for the MBU bench. McKelvin scored all 10 of his points before halftime, while Hernandez chipped in eight of his 10 in the first half. The Spartans turned defense into offense with regularity all night and the duo were the beneficiaries of multiple fast break layups.
MBU finished the first half with a 46-17 lead after shooting 57.1 percent. They kept the same intensity in the second half to cruise to victory. Hasaan DeCarolis and Robbie Bone each hit a pair of 3-pointers to boost the Spartans hot streak from distance after halftime. Luke Call also hit two after half, one in which MBU hit 7-of-11 attempts.
Buzzell led a balanced MBU attack with 12 points. Hernandez, McKelvin and Jahmouri Robinson added 10 more each and 13 of 14 players to see the floor found the scoring column.
The Spartans next scheduled game is set for Jan. 26th at home against William Woods. Tip is set for 7:30 pm. A makeup game against Freed-Hardeman is TBA. Stay tuned for updates at mbuspartans.com.
