ST. LOUIS— [BOX SCORE] On a night of milestones and broken records, No. 3 Missouri Baptist men's basketball took care of business and claimed a 91-78 home victory over Hannibal-LaGrange on Tuesday evening.
 
A talented and potentially underrated Hannibal squad got off to fast start, taking an early 8-3 lead on MBU after two and a half minutes. A timeout by Head Coach Matt Brock served its purpose with an ensuing 12-2 run by the Spartans.
 
As MBU built its lead to double digits, the first of two Spartan milestones was achieved late in the first half. With 3:25 remaining, senior Pablo Hernandez became the 18^th player in program history to record 1,000 points all as a Spartan. The Spaniard would go on to finish the night with 17 points.
 
After firing at a blistering 59.3% (16-27) from the field, Mo. Bap took a 48-29 advantage into halftime. Sophomore swingman Jesus Castillo paced MBU with 15 points on 5-6 shooting (all from 3PT range).
 
In the second half, the lead ballooned as high as 28 before Hannibal clawed back in the final five minutes. Sophomore guard Brady Smith played through foul trouble to post 32 points to lead the Trojans. It wasn't enough, however, as the Spartans settled on a 13-point victory.
 
Jesus Castillo finished with a career-high 21 points for Missouri Baptist. The Malaga, Spain native also tied a career-high with four assists.
 
In addition to the aforementioned Hernandez, three other Spartans reached double figures led by junior James McKelvin. The Hazelwood East product joined Castillo in setting a new career with 18 points (6-10 FG). McKelvin added three steals as well. Australians Kai Woodfall (13) and Callum Barker (11) made it a quintet to post 10+ for the home side.
 
The other milestone moment of the night came early in the second half when senior Torrance Littles recorded his 83^rd career block. The Henderson, Nevada native eclipsed the previous MBU record of 82 set in 1994 by Brandon Scott. Littles leads the AMC with 47 blocks (2.50 per game) this season.
 
Missouri Baptist is now 19-0 overall with an 11-0 mark in conference play. The Spartans maintained their three-game lead at the top of the AMC with the second round of conference play set to begin on Thursday. St. Louis College of Pharmacy will visit the Petty SRC with tip scheduled for 7:30 pm. The Spartans claimed an 80-55 victory over the Eutectics back in November.