LAKE WALES, Fla. – Missouri Baptist Men's Basketball earned a huge road win in Florida on Friday night. The Spartans (10-4) took down Warner University (10-5) 92-85 in the second game of the Warner Christmas Classic. The Royals came in 5-0 at home and fresh off a win over then-No. 1 St. Francis (Ind.) last weekend.
 
In a meeting of two very evenly matched teams, the Spartans took it to the Royals on their home court. Except for a very brief 6-6 tie, MBU led for all but 13 seconds of the 40-minute contest. Graduate senior RJ Pair was the catalyst early on with 10 of the Spartans' first 12 points in the opening five minutes.
 
A John Yaeger layup with just over five minutes left in the first half gave Mo Bap its largest lead of the period at 14 (38-24). Warner pulled it back to single digits with a buzzer-beating three but the visitors still went into the intermission with a 46-37 advantage.
 
It was the same story for much of the second half. The Spartans dominated in the midrange and in the paint. They also managed to make the free-throw line a popular place to be. After 16 trips to the charity stripe in the first half, MBU shot another 20 FTs in the second.
 
The Royals' comeback attempt was fended off until just inside the final eight minutes.  A long possession, featuring two offensive rebounds, ended in a layup for WU to make it 70-66 Spartans. But RJ Pair once again took control at the other end, converting a jumper from the elbow. Two possessions later, an offensive board by John Yaeger set Jadis White up with an attempt from deep. The former Chaminade HS standout drilled the back-breaking three-pointer to put the Spartans back up 75-67. Warner never threatened from that point forward.
 
All five MBU starters finished in double figures led by RJ Pair with a new career-high 25 points. He was 7-11 from the field and a perfect 9-9 from the FT line. He also pulled down five rebounds.
 
John Yaeger (19), Brendon Hardy (18), River Reed (12), and Jadis White (10) all contributed to a season-high 92 points. Yaeger double-doubled for the second time in four games with 11 rebounds while Hardy, the reigning AMC Player of the Week, finished 5-7 from the field and 2-3 from 3PT. The Spartans made 30-57 FG (52.6%) as a team.
 
Equally important was the MBU effort at the defensive end. The Spartans forced seven steals and held the Royals to a 7-22 night from behind the 3PT line. Leading scorer Darryl Mercer was limited to 4-15 FG attempts and just 11 points.
 
Missouri Baptist now heads into the Christmas break at 10-4 overall. After an exhibition against SIU-Carbondale on December 28, the AMC schedule will resume January 6 at Lyon in Batesville, Ark. The Spartans are back home January 11 against Williams Baptist.