ST. LOUIS—[BOX SCORE] No. 19 Missouri Baptist Men's Basketball improved to 15-2 overall and 7-2 in the AMC after an 83-66 win over Williams Baptist College (Ark.) on Saturday afternoon.
After a feeling out process in the early part of the first half, the Spartans slowly began to pull away around the 10 minute mark. Back to back buckets from Jesus Castillo gave MBU a six point edge and the lead would mostly increase from there.
After taking a 39-31 advantage into halftime, the Spartans put the pedal down after the intermission. An 11-4 run to start the second half pushed the lead all the way to 15. A lay in from Johnny Benson off a perfect pass from Fitzgerald Hopkins made it 79-59 with four minutes left.
The Eagles struggled to find an answer for the Spartan defense all day. After shooting just 36% as a team in the first half, the visitors didn't fare much better after the break, converting just 11/28 field goals (39%). They became the 11th MBU opponent this season to be held under 70 points.
The Spartans struggled most of the day to find good looks from the behind the arc but made up for it and then some with points in the paint. Pablo Hernandez went for a game-high 20 points while fellow big men Karson King and Andrew Howard supplied 14 and 10, respectively. King went a perfect 6-6 from the field on the way to a new career-high.
Fitzgerald Hopkins was once again the Spartans go-to man from outside. The senior scored 13 and added seven assists. The Fayetteville, Tenn. native is now just 27 points away from 1,000 for his career.
The Spartans' next action will be on the road next Thursday against Hannibal-LaGrange. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:30 pm. MBU will return home on Saturday, January 13 against No. 7 Columbia College. That matchup of the top two teams in the AMC will also be broadcasted nationally on ESPN3.com.
