ST. LOUIS— [BOX SCORE] No. 5 Missouri Baptist men's basketball warded off one of the top teams in the AMC on Thursday night with a 77-57 win over Central Baptist College (Ark.) (15-6, 8-6 AMC). Senior Pablo Hernandez continued to tear through conference play with 29 points to lead the way.
 
The game got off to a balanced start with the sides trading baskets back and forth for much of the first half. After CBC took a 25-24 lead with 6:24 to go, the Spartans finally found the right gear. An 8-0 run forced a timeout by the visitors. MBU would go into the half up 37-32.
 
The Spartans would come out of halftime on a 9-3 run to push the lead to double digits for the first time. Back to back threes from Jesus Castillo and Jahmouri Robinson made it 49-37. The Mustangs would not recover.
 
After an undisciplined technical foul on CBC, Torrance Littles delivered the dagger. The senior saw a wide open lane and threw down a thunderous two-handed jam to bring the home crowd to its feet. MBU would cruise home from there to another 20-point victory at the Petty SRC—their 12^th in as many tries.
 
Hernandez's 29 points led Missouri Baptist. The senior was nearly perfect from the field, knocking down 12 of 14 shots. His only two misses were from behind the three-point line. Castillo (12) and Robinson (10) were the other Spartans in double figures. Castillo capped off his first collegiate double-double with a career-high 10 rebounds.
 
The 23-1, AMC-leading Spartans will now finish off a three-game week on Saturday afternoon when they welcome Lyon College to the SRC. Tipoff is scheduled for 3 pm.