CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. – Missouri Baptist Men's Basketball put quite a scare into Southeast Missouri State on Monday night at the Show Me Center. The Spartans led the Redhawks at the intermission before ultimately coming up short in the final minutes of the second half.
The bright lights of an NCAA DI arena didn't phase the Spartans early. In fact, it was a dream start for the heavy underdog. After SEMO opened the scoring with two free throws two minutes in, Missouri Baptist went on an 18-2 run over the course of the next seven minutes.
They led by as many as 15 (21-6) before the Redhawks began to snap out of a nasty shooting slump. SEMO never could quite pull it back to even though as the Spartans came up with timely baskets to keep the lead. Heading into the halftime locker room, Missouri Baptist led 36-31.
The Spartans knew they would get the Redhawks' best punch in the final 20 minutes. Southeast finally retook its first lead since 2-0 with 12:49 left. A layup by
Daishaun Woods at the other end immediately erased it though.
Jadis White went crazy in the second half for 19 of the Spartans' 27 points. His fast break layup with 9:42 to go put Mo Bap up 53-51. In the final stretch, however, the Redhawks found another level defensively. They held the Spartans to just one field goal in the final nine minutes while doing just enough offensively to hold off the upset-minded visitors.
White finished with a team-high 21 points (6-13 FG) to lead MBU. He pulled down eight rebounds and added three assists and a steal. The former Chaminade standout was also a perfect 8-8 from the free throw line.
Brendon Hardy was the other Spartan to finish in double figures (10 points).
Daishaun Woods also made a solid contribution of eight points on 4-5 shooting.
The Spartans outrebounded the Redhawks 38-35 led by White's eight and five from graduate senior
River Reed.
John Yaeger and
Ryan Pollard pulled down four apiece.
Missouri Baptist will continue an exhibition tour on Friday and Saturday in San Angelo, Texas. They'll take on NCAA DII opponents Angelo State (Friday at 7 pm) and Texas A&M Kingsville (Saturday at 2 pm) as part of the Ed Messbarger Classic hosted by Angelo State.
The American Midwest Conference schedule begins at the Petty SRC on December 2 against Hannibal-LaGrange.
