POINT LOOKOUT, Mo. – Brendon Hardy had 24 points and John Yaeger posted the first double-double of the season to lead Missouri Baptist Men's Basketball (8-3) to an 84-58 victory over College of the Ozarks on Tuesday night.  
 
The Spartans trailed for less than a minute in route to their third straight win and second this season over the Bobcats. When the teams met for the first time back on October 30, MBU turned a five-point halftime lead into a lopsided 82-65 victory. They duplicated that effort and then some on Tuesday in Point Lookout.
 
A tightly contested first half was capped off by an RJ Pair three-pointer at the buzzer. That gave MBU a 37-32 halftime lead and seemed to shift the momentum to the visitors heading into the final 20 minutes.
 
The second half was ALL MBU and senior Brendon Hardy was a major reason why. Hardy literally could not miss from behind the three-point line. He knocked down all four attempts and was 7-10 overall from the field for 18 of his team-high 24 points.
 
The lead continued to balloon, all the way up to 24 in the final minutes. The Spartans made it almost halfway to 100 in the second half, finishing with 47 points.
 
Senior forward John Yaeger played key role in the rebounds battle, pulling down 10 as Mo Bap edged the Bobcats 40-36. Yaeger added 14 points to record the Spartans' first double-double of the season. It was the ninth double-double of his career.
 
In addition to the board battle, the Spartans got the better of COFO in every statistical category including turnovers (8-14), steals (9-3), and assists (13-10).
 
The season-long eight game road stretch continues Saturday with another crosstown opponent. The Spartans will meet Fontbonne University (2-3) for the first time since 2011. Tip time is set for 7 pm at the Mabee Gymnasium.