ST. LOUIS – [BOX SCORE] The Spartans used hot-shooting and a late first-half spurt to snap their three-game losing streak with a 76-59 win over Hannibal-LaGrange Tuesday night.

The Spartans (8-7, 2-5) shot 51.6 percent as a unit, while limiting the opposing Trojans to 32.8 percent. Jared White led the Spartans with 18 points, while Johnny Benson notched a double-double with 15 points and 14 rebounds.

A 3-pointer from Chris Buzzell gave the Spartans a nine-point advantage, 23-14, with 7:48 left in the half. The Trojans (4-8, 1-7) wouldn't go away however, and cut the deficit all the way to one after two free throws from Trevor Ison.

The huge 14-2 run in the final 3:04 gave the Spartans a 39-26 advantage at the half and turned momentum in their favor. White got things started with a bucket plus the foul and James McKelvin followed with three more points after knocking in a triple for six straight MBU points. Jahmouri Robinson capped things off with a runner at the buzzer to give the home team some mojo heading into the break.

MBU made 16 of its 29 field goals in the second half and carried a double-digit lead throughout. Back-to-back buckets from Buzzell and Jake Terry upped the Spartan lead to 17 in the opening minutes of the half. HLG shrunk the deficit to 11 at one point, but never could cut it any further.

Buzzell had a team-high nine points after halftime and finished with 12 on the night. Benson continued to clean up the glass and keep possessions alive, as eight of the junior's 14 boards were on the offensive end. David Gabrovsek finished his night with nine points and Robinson had eight points and four assists.

The Spartans continue their home stretch on Thursday against St. Louis College of Pharmacy. Tip is set for 2:00 pm.