ST. LOUIS—[BOX SCORE] No. 17 Missouri Baptist Men's Basketball erased a three-point halftime deficit and knocked off Park University (Mo.) 62-60 on Thursday night. A bucket from Andrew Howard gave the Spartans a one-point lead with 28 second left. The defense then held on at the end other end to seal the victory.
The Spartans were sluggish out of the gate in the first half and a fired up Park squad took an early seven-point lead. MBU eventually steadied the ship but was unable to climb any closer than a two-point deficit. They made just 2-11 from the behind the arc and entered the break trailing 32-29.
The teams went blow for blow in the early part of the second half before a deep three from Fitzgerald Hopkins finally gave the Spartans their first lead of the night. The game was tied at 42 when Jesus Castillo converted from downtown on back-to-back possessions. A layup from Hopkins and two free throws from Andrew Howard gave MBU its largest lead of the night at 52-44.
The Pirates weren't quite ready to roll over, however. They chipped away and eventually tied the game again at 55. With the Spartans ahead 59-58 and the clock ticking under a minute, Brandon Townsell drove into the paint, converted a layup, and drew a foul. The sophomore couldn't hit the free throw, however, and the Spartans went the other way down by just one.
Fitzgerald Hopkins was off the mark with a three-point attempt but Andrew Howard was able to corral the offensive rebound. The senior spun toward the basket and laid it in to give the Spartans a 61-60 lead. Johnny Benson then made a game-saving block at the other end to preserve the advantage. Benson then made one of two free throws and Park had one last chance with two seconds left. This time it was James McKelvin who came up with the steal from Park's 6-11 center Mason Stuteville as the clock reached all zeros.
Hopkins and Pablo Hernandez each finished the night with 13 points to lead MBU. Hernandez grabbed 10 rebounds as well to complete the double-double. Hopkins inched closer to a major milestone. The senior is now just four points away from 1,000 for his career.
Mason Stuteville led Park with 14 points and nine rebounds. Brandon Townsell posted 12 points while Josh Rutland contributed 10.
Missouri Baptist dominated the glass, out-rebounding Park 47-29. The Spartans gave up just four second-chance points all night.
The 17th ranked Spartans are now 16-3 overall and 8-3 in the AMC. They sweep the season series with Park for just the second time in school history and the first since the 2005-06 season.
Next on the schedule is a date with St. Louis College of Pharmacy on Saturday afternoon. Tipoff at the brand new STLCOP Gymnasium is set for 3 pm.
