ST. LOUIS – [BOX SCORE] An explosive offensive output in the second half lifted Missouri Baptist to its third straight win. The Spartans defeated Harris-Stowe 82-61 Saturday afternoon behind a 65.4 percent shooting performance in the second half.

The Spartans (10-7, 4-5) made 17 of their 26 shots in the second half to erase a three-point halftime deficit and cruise to victory. Harris-Stowe (4-10, 2-6) led by as many as 10 in the first half, but couldn't fend off the navy and white.

A late first half run turned the momentum in the Spartans favor. The Hornets held the aforementioned 10-point margin with 4:12 to go before the half. However, the next 10 points went the Spartans way to tie the game. Eight of the 10 were delivered at the charity-stripe, as MBU started to claw its way back in. Harris-Stowe hit a late 3-pointer to lead 30-27 at the break.

A 3-pointer from Chris Buzzell in the early moments of the second half brought the home team within a point, and they took the lead one possession later on a bucket from Jared White. MBU hit 6-of-9 3-pointers in the second half and found its offensive rhythm. After shooting just 28 percent in the first 20 minutes, MBU hit 65.4 percent of its shots after halftime.

The teams traded buckets for a few moments, before MBU made its push. A big 3-pointer from Will Harrington at the 15:14 mark put the Spartans ahead 43-41 and for good. MBU rattled off 11 of the next 14 points and the lead reached double digits at the 12:15 marker after an old-fashioned 3-point play from Jahmouri Robinson.

Harris-Stowe trailed by the same margin with 3:32 to go, before MBU ended the game on a 13-2 run. Gabrovsek led the way in the second half with 13 points. Luke Call hit three triples in the half and White also had nine points.

Gabrovsek had a team-high 17 points for the game. White finished with 15, Buzzell with 14 and Call had 12 on four 3-pointers. Harrington stuffed the stat sheet with nine points, nine rebounds and seven assists. Trevor Roberts led the Hornets with 15 points. Stowe shot 44.4 percent for the game and committed 20 turnovers.

MBU continues its homestand on Thursday, January 12 against Williams Baptist. Tip is set for 7:30 pm.