ST. LOUIS—[BOX SCORE] Spartan Men's Basketball led by one halftime against Central Baptist College on Saturday afternoon but was undone by hot Mustang shooting after the break. CBC earned a split of the season series with an 84-75 victory.

There was nothing to separate the two teams throughout the first half. CBC held the largest lead at 28-22 but the Spartans responded with an 11-0 run of their own. Neither team recorded a field goal in the final 1:50 of the first frame as MBU took a 35-34 edge into the break.

The second half would be a different story for both sides. Five minutes into the half, CBC began a 12-0 run to take a 14-point lead. They wouldn't look back from there. The Mustangs would go on to shoot 53% in the second half (17-32). Each time MBU found the slightest hint of momentum, the home side responded with a timely shot to stifle every attempt the Spartans made at a comeback. Central Baptist closed out a nine-point victory to hand Missouri Baptist its fifth loss of the season.

Fitzgerald Hopkins led the Spartans with 24 points. Pablo Hernandez also reached double digits, finishing with 17 on 6-8 shooting.

No. 22 Missouri Baptist is now 19-5 overall and 11-5 in the AMC. With six conference games remaining, the Spartans are in a battle for a top three seed in the AMC tournament. They sit one game behind Harris-Stowe (12-4) and a half game back of CBC (11-4). MBU will travel to Hannibal (5-15, 5-10) on Tuesday night for a 7:30 pm tip.