PANAMA CITY, Fla. – The Missouri Baptist Spartans battled the ninth-ranked Faulkner University Eagles throughout Wednesday night's matchup at the Battle at the Beach in Panama City, Fla. But it really was a case of digging themselves a hole early, battling possession by possession throughout to get back within striking distance, then having it slip back away. The final was 80-72 in favor of the Eagles.
The Spartans were slow out of the gate in this one. It took them 3:46 before they got a three-point basket from
Jadis White to get them on the board. By that time the Spartans were down 12-3. For the remainder of the half, the Faulkner lead was never greater than 15 or less than seven. The Spartans had a pair of 5-0 runs in the first half, but the Eagles seemed to have an answer each time. Faulkner led 39-28 at halftime.
The second half started much like the first, but it was MoBap that dominated the early minutes. This time it was the Spartans who scored the first nine points and cut the Eagles lead to two. Had a jumper by
Tyrell Andrews gone down, the Spartans would have pulled even with 3:35 gone in the second half. The shot rimmed out and the Eagles scored the next three points to regain a two-possession advantage. The Faulkner advantage would grow to as many 11 points on two occasions in the second half. MBU wouldn't get closer than four for the rest of the game.
The trend of tight officiating in the games at the Battle at the Beach continued, at least for the Spartans. One night after committing 25 fouls, the Spartans were guilty of 27 tonight. Unlike last night however, Faulkner committed only 17, whereas Tuesday's opponent, Loyola University (La.), were whistled for 20. The discrepancy in fouls allowed Falkner to have an 18-shot advantage from the foul line. The Eagles were 26 of 34, while the Spartans made the best of the disadvantage by hitting 15 of their 16 attempts. In the three games MBU played in the Battle at the Beach a whopping 70 fouls were called against them. In fact, if you go back even further and include the NAIA Opening Round game vs Louisiana State University – Shreveport played in Alexandria, La. last March, the Spartans have been guilty of 96 fouls in four games that were played south of Arkansas. By comparison their opponents have committed 77. That would seem to indicate a desired style of play that is more "pretty over gritty" when it comes to officiating among some of the southern conferences in the NAIA.
A night after being held scoreless by Loyola, White led the Spartans by setting a new career-high with 22 points. He also grabbed eight rebounds, dished out four assists and added a steal. Sophomore
Bryce Johnson had his second double-double of the season and his second at MBU with 19 points and 10 rebounds.
Tyrell Andrews chipped in with 11 and
Breven McMullen had 8 points.
The Spartans shot the ball 44% from the field and 41% from behind the three-point arc. MBU outrebounded the Eagles 37-34.
Falkner had three players in double-figures in scoring, led by Trace Hill with 26 points.
The loss drops the Spartans to 5-6 on the season. However, five of those six losses have come against teams that are either nationally-ranked or who are receiving votes in the national poll. Next up, the Spartans will get back to friendly foes when they step back into American Midwest Conference play next Thursday and travel to Conway, Ark. to take on Central Baptist College. Like the Spartans, the Mustangs are undefeated in the conference thus far. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
