ST. LOUIS—[BOX SCORE] No. 18 Missouri Baptist Men's Basketball kept rolling on Wednesday night with an 82-71 home victory over Culver-Stockton College (Mo.). 

For the third straight game, the Spartans were the better team from the start. Once again, they never trailed and were only tied for a mere 18 seconds. On this occasion, it was junior Pablo Hernandez who put the team on his back. The native of Ames, Spain made 7-10 field goals in the first half for 16 points.

Nine points apiece from Jesus Castillo and Johnny Benson also helped spot the Spartans to a comfortable 45-30 halftime lead. As a team, Missouri Baptist shot a blazing 54% from the field in the first half, including a 60% clip from behind the three point line (6-10).

However, after trailing by 15 at the half the last time they met Culver-Stockton back in November, the Spartans knew they couldn't rest on their laurels. They kept their foot on the gas and although the Wildcats did win the second half 41-37, the MBU lead was never threatened. The Spartans cruised to an 82-71 victory to improve to 11-1 on the season.

The final gap may have been wider had it not been for the red hot shooting of Wildcat guard Mike Johnson. The junior made 10-14 from the field in the second half to finish with a team-high 26 points.

Pablo Hernandez added eight more points to his tally in the second half to lead MBU with 24. The junior has now set new a career-high in points in back-to-back games.

Andrew Howard and Johnny Benson also reached double figures for the Spartans. Howard posted nine second half points to finish with 11. The senior also pulled down six rebounds. Benson finished with 12 points and led the Spartans on the glass with eight rebounds.

Missouri Baptist will now have two days to prepare for possibly their stiffest test yet. The Spartans will welcome (RV) Central Baptist College to the SRC on Saturday afternoon. Tipoff for the AMC Game of the Week is scheduled for 3 pm.