ST. LOUIS – Missouri Baptist Men's Basketball won another double-digit contest on Tuesday, defeating Williams Baptist (8-5, 1-3 AMC) 80-65 inside the Carl & Deloris Petty SRC. The Spartans are 13-4 overall and 5-0 in the AMC. 12 of the 13 wins have been by 10 points or more.
 
Playing at home for the first time in 40 days, the Spartans raced out to a big lead on Tuesday and never looked back. Junior point guard Jadis White capped off an early 13-2 run with a three that put MBU ahead 18-7 after six minutes.
 
A deep ball from Luke Hicks with 10:29 on the clock gave the Spartans their first double-digit advantage at 24-13. Powered by 11 first half points from sharpshooter RJ Pair, the home side eventually led 39-24 at the break.
 
The advantage ballooned to 26 (58-32) early in the second half. Despite a brief run by Williams Baptist to trim the deficit back under 20, the drama was long gone. The teams tied the final 20 minutes 41-41 but the Spartans still cruised to a 15-point victory. Missouri improved to 12-0 this season when they hold a halftime lead.
 
Pair tacked on three more three-pointers in the second half to finish the night unblemished from the field – a perfect 7-7, including 6-6 from deep, for a game-high 20 points. The graduate senior added four steals and three assists.
 
Three other Spartans finished in double figures. John Yaeger made it back to back games with 13 points (6-9 FG) while Tyrell Andrews scored 10 points in 19 minutes.
 
Senior Brendon Hardy continued his march toward 1,000 career points, completing the night with 11 (4-7 FG). Hardy stands at 982 for his career heading into Thursday.
 
The Spartans are one of two teams in the AMC still unbeaten in conference play. That other team is Central Baptist, whom the Spartans will face at home on Saturday. Before that, however, the next test will be UHSP on the road on Thursday – a team that knocked off previously undefeated William Woods on the road on Tuesday night.