COLUMBIA, Ky. – Missouri Baptist Men's Basketball (4-1) earned its first win over a ranked opponent on Saturday afternoon. The Spartans knocked off No. 21 Campbellsville (4-3) 88-84 in the finale of the Brown & Brown Sleep Inn Classic in Columbia, Ky.
The Spartans picked up where they left on Friday night against Lindsey Wilson with more red-hot shooting from the field. Three quick three pointers led to an early 15-7 lead. Campbellsville battled back and eventually took their first lead at 36-35 with 4:02 left in the opening frame.
Brendon Hardy finally snapped a nearly four-minute scoring drought with a three but the Spartans still went into halftime down by four (42-38).
Out of the break, Mo. Bap quickly regained the lead and didn't look back. Hardy and senior
Jahmouri Robinson proved a handful for the Tigers with 16 and 12 second half points, respectively.
Campellsville wouldn't go away though and, after trailing by as many as seven, CU trimmed the MBU lead all the way down to one with 8:17 left. It was 74-71 with 4:09 to go when the Spartans finally began to pull away. A 7-0 run made it a 10-point game and Mo. Bap was able to seal the game at the free throw line.
Five Spartans reached double figures led by Hardy with a career-high 21 points. The Farmington, Mo. native knocked down 5-8 from behind the 3PT line in 33 minutes.
Jahmouri Robinson finished with 18 points and five assists.
James McKelvin and
Aumonie Armond both posted double-doubles. After going for 26 on Friday night, McKelvin continue to scorch the nets with 19 points on Saturday. The senior was 7-12 from the field and 3-4 from 3PT. McKelvin also pulled down 11 rebounds tying him with Armond for the team-lead on the glass. Armond added a career-high 10 points as well. Junior
Brandon Conwright found his stroke off the bench in the second half with nine of his career-high 13 points in the final 20 minutes.
As a team, the Spartans shot 52.5% from the field including a blistering 55% from 3PT (11-20). They made 7-12 from beyond the arc in the first half.
The Spartans will now begin preparations for the AMC schedule which begins on Thursday with a difficult assignment. Mo. Bap will travel to Conway, Ark. to meet the defending AMC Tournament Champion Central Baptist Mustangs. Tip is scheduled for 7:30 pm. The Spartans return home on December 3 for 'Pack the Petty' night against rival Columbia.
