ST. LOUIS—MBU Men's Basketball went back and forth with Lyon College (2-2, 2-0 AMC) on Saturday afternoon but ultimately came up short in a 58-53 defeat. The Spartans are now 5-5 overall and 1-1 in the AMC.
 
A traditionally low-scoring matchup was no different on Saturday at the Petty SRC. After Lyon tied the game at 21 with 9:02 to go, the MBU defense locked in to hold the Scots without another point for over six minutes. In that stretch, the Spartans used an 8-0 run to lead 29-21.
 
After snapping that scoreless stretch however, Lyon closed the period on an 11-1 stretch of their own, leaving the Spartans with a 32-30 halftime deficit.
 
Scoring continued to be hard to come by in the second half. Neither team could find the basket for the first four minutes after the break. Lyon maintained a 42-40 advantage at the midway point.
 
Back to back threes by Brendon Hardy gave the Spartans a 49-44 lead with 8:31 remaining. But in a similar fashion to the way the first half ended, Lyon's defense found another level. MBU would record just one field goal in the final eight minutes. The Scots took the lead for the final time with 6:12 on the clock in route to a 58-53 win.
 
Of the Spartans' 23 second half points, Hardy had 11. The junior finished the day with 16 total. Jadis White and Mujtaba Alkhaldi each had 11 points. For the freshman Alkhaldi, it was a new career-high. John Yaeger led the Spartans on the glass with 13 rebounds.
 
The Spartans will return to game action on Tuesday in Walnut Ridge, Ark. against Williams Baptist (4-4, 2-0 AMC). Tip is scheduled for 7:30 pm.