ST. LOUIS—[BOX SCORE] For the second consecutive game, No. 5 Missouri Baptist men's basketball hosted the second place team in the American Midwest Conference. And for the second consecutive game, the Spartans lapped their opponent by more than 20 points. On Tuesday night, the victim was Park University (Mo.) in a 102-65 rout.
 
As they've done at home all season, the Spartans got off to a lightning fast start. They held an 11-2 lead with less than four minutes off the clock. Park finally used their first timeout with the score 17-4. The Spartans were undeterred and continued to build a cushion, eventually leading by as many as 18.
 
The Pirates struggled to find an answer for MBU's size in the paint. Seniors Pablo Hernandez (13) and Callum Barker (10) each had double figures in points in the first half. The Spartans shot 55% (16-29) in the opening 20 minutes and led 47-29 at the break.
 
Any hopes Park had of staging a comeback were quickly dashed in the opening three minutes of the second half. Missouri Baptist scored the first 13 points after the intermission, capped off by back to back threes from Jesus Castillo and Kai Woodfall, to lead 60-29.
 
With the score 75-40 and 12:29 left in the game, the Spartans emptied the bench for the stretch run. The only question at that point was whether they would reach triple digits. That milestone was achieved in style in the final minute when James McKelvin stole the ball and slammed it home on a fast break. The final score of 102-65 marked the first time this season that the navy and white reached 100 in an AMC contest.
 
The crowded stat sheet was highlighted by 20 points (8-9 FG) from Pablo Hernandez and 14 (5-8 FG) from Callum Barker. Barker completed his first career double-double with a team-high 10 rebounds.
 
Three other Spartans reached double figures led by 15 from James McKelvin, all of which came in the second half. The Hazelwood East product also registered a career-high five steals and pulled down seven rebounds.
 
Jahmouri Robinson (4-7 FG) and Torrance Littles (5-5 FG) each had 12 points. Littles also blocked two shots to move his career total (and MBU record) to 94.
 
The Spartans dominated the glass all night, finishing with 47 total rebounds to just 22 for Park. Along with the 10 from Barker and seven from McKelvin, Littles pulled down five as did sophomore Jesus Castillo.
 
Missouri Baptist is now 22-1 overall and 14-1 in the AMC. They continue to hold a three and a half game lead at the top of the conference with seven games left in the regular season. Central Baptist College (Ark.) (15-5, 8-5 AMC) will be the next to visit the SRC on Thursday. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:30 pm.