ST. LOUIS—[BOX SCORE] No. 17 Missouri Baptist Men's Basketball added another win to their resume on Saturday afternoon with a 74-52 triumph over St. Louis College of Pharmacy.
After slow starts over the course of the last few games, Head Coach Matt Brock inserted leading scorer Fitzgerald Hopkins into the starting lineup. The result was a dream start for the Spartans. With 10:40 remaining in the first half, MBU held a lofty 18-2 lead.
At 7:27, a highly anticipated milestone was finally achieved. Fitzgerald Hopkins converted a layup on a fast break for his 1,000th career point. The senior from Fayetteville, Tenn. would go on to finish the game with a team-high 16 points.
The Eutectics would eventually find their groove to cut into the Spartan lead but they were unable to get closer than seven. Missouri Baptist forced 13 STLCOP turnovers in the opening frame and took a 31-20 advantage into halftime.
The visitors kept the pedal to the metal after the break. Hopkins drained three-pointers on back-to-back possessions to start the half and the Spartans were off and running. They would pull away from there for a 22-point victory to move to 17-3 on the season and 9-3 in the AMC.
Aside from Hopkins, three other Spartans reached double-digits in points. Andrew Howard posted 11 and added five rebounds. Johnny Benson and Pablo Hernandez each went for 10 points.
Karson King pulled down a career-high 12 rebounds to lead MBU on the glass. The junior from Jackson, Mo. also added a block and four points.
The Spartans will be back in action next Thursday when they take on William Woods at home. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:30 pm at the Carl and Deloris Petty SRC.
