ST. LOUIS—[BOX SCORE] No.22 Missouri Baptist Men's Basketball held off Lyon College 71-66 in Batesville on Thursday night. Fitzgerald Hopkins recorded his second 30-point game of the season to lead the way.

In a battle of two of the NAIA's Top Five Scoring Defenses (No. 1 MBU, No. 5 Lyon) it was the Spartans who came out of the gate faster. MBU had an 11-3 lead after five minutes. The Scots would eventually find their footing and show the type of lockdown defense they are known for.

The game turned into a bit of a defensive slugfest at about the halfway point of the opening half. The Scots made it 19-17 with 12:30 but then went into an eight minute scoring drought. The Spartans wouldn't fare much better in that span, scoring just six points. Missouri Baptist would eventually go into the locker room with a 32-28 lead.

The Spartans led by as many eight in the second half before a 13-2 Lyon run not only erased the advantage but gave home side a four-point edge of their own. The game seesawed back and forth from there before Fitzgerald Hopkins took charge for MBU. The senior scored 12 of his team-high 30 points in the final 5:33.

Two clutch buckets from Andrew Howard with under a minute to go broke a 64-64 tie. Howard finished with 17 points on a perfect 7-7 from the field. The senior added seven rebounds and two blocks. The Spartans made 18 of 22 free throws on the night, including their last nine attempts, to seal the victory.

Missouri Baptist moves to 19-4 overall and 11-4 in the AMC. They'll battle Central Baptist College in Conway, Ark. on Saturday. Tip time is scheduled for 3 pm.