ST. LOUIS—It took overtime on Tuesday night but Missouri Baptist Men's Basketball took out NCAA DIII opponent Webster University by a score 80-70 for the second straight season. The win was also the Spartans' second straight on the road.
The two extremely evened matched teams found separation hard to come by in the first half. Webster briefly led by five at 9-4 but beyond that neither side could stretch the advantage to more than four points.
Webster took a quick 41-36 lead out of halftime but the Spartans battled back with help from some strong bench play. Sophomore
Morenke Bettis came on and contributed 12 points and six rebounds in just 14 minutes. A 17-5 run flipped the script and gave the Spartans a 10-point lead.
It was 67-57 Mo. Bap with 4:04 remaining in regulation when the Spartans went cold from the field. An 0-6 stretch let WU back in the game and the Gorloks sunk a pair of free-throws with 14 seconds left to tie the game and send it to OT.
In overtime, however, it was all Spartans.
Jahmouri Robinson scored 7 of MBU's 13 points in the extra period. At the defensive end, it was Webster's turn to go cold from the field as the Gorloks made just one of 11 attempts. Two free throws from Robinson with 18 seconds left officially put it out of reach.
Missouri Baptist was led offensively for the night by senior
Hasaan DeCarolis. The St. Charles West product posted a career-high 20 points on 6-11 from the field. DeCarolis was also 5-7 from 3PT. Robinson (17 points),
James McKelvin (10), and
Morenke Bettis (12) were the other Spartans to reach double figures.
MBU outrebounded Webster 50-47 thanks in large part to junior
Aumonie Armond. Making his season debut, Armond pulled down 10 boards while also contributing seven points in 30 minutes of action.
Brendon Hardy was another key with eight rebounds and eight points in 36 minutes.
The Spartans are now 2-1 on the season heading into a trip to Columbia, Ky. this weekend. They'll face a pair of tough tests in Lindsey Wilson (4-0) and Campbellsville (2-2) as part of the Lindsey Wilson College Classic. Tip time against the unbeaten Blue Raiders is scheduled for 6 pm on Friday night.
