HUNTINGTON, Ind. – MBU Men's Basketball trailed at halftime but stormed back to beat East-West University (Ill.) 77-61 on Friday night. In Saturday's championship game of the Ness Bros. Hall of Fame Tournament, the Spartans will meet the tournament host, Huntington University, for a 2 pm (CST) tip off.
 
The Spartans came out to a slightly sluggish start and the lead caromed back and forth for much of the first half. The Phantoms scored the last seven points before the break to take a 34-29 advantage into the locker room.
 
A reenergized MBU side fired out of the gate in the second half. The Spartans' 20-2 run to start the period left EWU in the dust. They led by as many as 31 at one point before cruising to a 15-point victory.
 
The Spartans shot 55% (20-36) from the field in the final 20 minutes while holding East-West to 28.1% (9-32). The final numbers showed a dominant performance in the rebounds (50-34) and assists categories (18-10).
 
Individually, John Yaeger was 8-10 from the field for 17 points. River Reed pulled down 11 rebounds and narrowly missed a double-double with nine points. Jadis White's six assists and two steals were both team-highs and graduate transfer RJ Pair made a nice MBU debut with eight points and four assists.