ST. LOUIS – Missouri Baptist Men's Basketball (8-4) saw its three-game winning streak come to an end on Saturday night with a 94-80 defeat at the hands of Fontbonne University (NCAA DIII). Mo Bap will try to start a new streak next weekend when they head to Lake Wales, Fla. for a pair of games.
 
The start on Saturday night could not have been better as the Spartans stormed out to an early 16-2 lead before Fontbonne knew what hit them. It was 25-10 with 13:29 remaining.
 
Down 27-12, the home Griffins finally woke up. A 12-0 run spanning three minutes made it a three-point game in the blink of an eye. Scoring was suddenly a much more difficult task for MBU. In the final 11 minutes of the first half, Fontbonne outscored the Spartans 32-18. They led 49-45 at the break.
 
The Griffins made 5-8 from 3PT in the first half and continued to shoot it well in the second. The Spartans managed to cut the deficit to two (53-51) with 16 minutes to go but were never able to tie it back it up. Down the stretch, Fontbonne managed to score a clutch bucket each time they needed it.
 
With 6:13 left, Billy Francis Jr. knocked down a three to make 74-69. FBU responded one last time with a crushing 13-2 stretch that officially put the game out of reach.
 
Brendon Hardy led the Spartans with 18 points. After scoring 10 of his team's first 16 points, the Griffins keyed in on the senior sharpshooter and held Hardy without a make from deep for the final 38 minutes. Hardy still finished 7-13 from the field for the night.
 
John Yaeger (13) and RJ Pair (12) also finished in double figures for the Spartans. Yaeger added a team-high four rebounds and four steals.
 
Missouri Baptist will travel to Lake Wales, Fla. next Thursday for a matchup with Warner University (9-4). The Royals were just outside the most recent Top 25 Coaches' Poll but that was prior to a victory over No. 1 St. Francis (Ind.) on Friday night. Tip time is scheduled for 5 PM CST.