ST. LOUIS— (RV) Spartan Men's Basketball (17-4, 9-0 AMC) grinded out a 64-54 win on the road against Hannibal-LaGrange (4-16, 2-17 AMC) on Thursday night. Despite its lowest point total in the last 13 games, MBU battled to earn its ninth straight win and remain in first place in the American Midwest Conference.
 
Missouri Baptist Men's Basketball has traditionally found Hannibal, Mo. a challenging place to play. The Spartans came into Thursday's meeting with the Trojans having lost three of the last five matchups at the Mabee Gymnasium dating back to 2018.
 
Mobap would once again have its hands full with the pesky HLG side. The Spartans led 5-0 early but the lead ping-ponged back and forth for the majority of the first half. In the final minute of the period, an offensive rebound and put-back by John Yaeger gave MBU a 26-21 advantage.
 
After a Tyrell Andrews free-throw, Hannibal's Michael Hood nailed a buzzer-beating corner three to make it 27-24 at the intermission.
 
The Spartans scored the first seven points out of halftime to build the lead up to 10 (34-24). It was 38-26 when the Trojans, spurred on by the always rowdy northeast Missouri crowd, went on an 11-0 run. MBU needed a full timeout to regroup.
 
The message from Head Coach Preston Ingram was well received and, a few minutes later, a three-ball from senior Brendon Hardy quieting things down. The lead never dipped below four from that point forward. Free-throws in the final two minutes sealed the deal to run the MBU record to 9-0 in AMC play.
 
John Yaeger's 16 points on 8-10 shooting led the Spartans. Yaeger recorded his second straight double-double with 11 rebounds. Jadis White (14) also finished in double figures for the fourth straight as did Brendon Hardy (11).
 
Missouri Baptist is back at the Carl & Deloris Petty SRC for the next three games starting with Saturday's matchup against crosstown rival Harris-Stowe. Tip time is scheduled for 3 pm.