ST.LOUIS – [BOX SCORE] (RV) Missouri Baptist came away with a 75-71 victory in a game that went down to the wire. After being tied with Williams Baptist at halftime, the Spartans would prevail victorious in this closely contested AMC matchup.
 
The Spartans were firing on all cylinders at the beginning of the first half. It started with Fitzgerald Hopkins knocking down a three-pointer 17 seconds into the game. Within four minutes Missouri Baptist found themselves up by nine points.
 
The Eagles came soaring back in the last five minutes of the half, cutting the lead to two with 1:32 left on the clock. Williams Baptist made this a tie game when Devante Carolina scored with 19 seconds remaining. The teams went to the locker room knotted up at 43.
 
Half number two began with the Eagle offense picking up where they left off. The underdogs found themselves up by six points with 15 minutes remaining in the game. Momentum shifted in favor of the visiting Spartans when Fitzgerald Hopkins hit his third three-point field goal of the day, making it a one-point game.
 
The Eagles held onto their slim lead for several minutes until Pablo Hernandez put the Spartans up 64-63. Dominique Dyes answered with two points of his own for Williams Baptist. The teams continued exchanging blows until Johnny Benson scored with 1:10 left in the half, giving Missouri Baptist a 73-71 lead.
 
The Spartans would hang on to win this nail biter by a final score of 75-71. Fitzgerald Hopkins was clutch, hitting four from behind the arc while posting 18 points. Johnny Benson and Pablo Hernandez also did their part scoring 13 points each.
 
The win gives Missouri Baptist a 14-6 AMC record (22-6 overall) which is good for third in the conference.
 
The men will take on Hannibal-LaGrange in their next match up on Thursday. Game time is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. in the Carl and Deloris Petty SRC.