ST. LOUIS – Missouri Baptist Men's Basketball had been eliminated by Central Baptist in the AMC Tournament in three of the last four seasons. On Saturday afternoon at the Carl & Deloris Petty SRC, they finally exorcised those demons with a gritty 82-69 victory in the AMC Semifinals.  
 
The Spartans trailed for a total of 36 seconds, but it was anything but easy against a team that has historically given them fits in the postseason. After an early 18-10 MBU advantage, CBC clawed back and took their first lead at 29-28.
 
After taking a one-point lead into halftime, the Spartans led 47-44 with just over 12 minutes to go. With separation between the two teams difficult to come by, RJ Pair delivered the turning point. The leading scorer in Thursday's win over Lyon nailed a step-back three with a hand in his face to bring the SRC crowd to life. Minutes later, another three by the graduate senior made it a 10-point game.
 
CBC never could trim the deficit to single digits in the final 10 minutes. The Spartans held a team that scored 100 against Williams Baptist on Friday to just 69 points.
 
Pair's 18 points (7-9 FG, 4-5 3PT) led the way and he was joined in double figures by three others. Brendon Hardy finished with 15; John Yaeger posted a double-double of 14 points, 11 rebounds; and Jadis White contributed 12 with four assists and four steals.
 
One final test remains on Tuesday in the AMC Championship. It will be a battle of the conference's top two teams as the two-seed, Columbia College, comes to town. The Spartans will be looking for their first AMC Tournament title since 2005. Also on the line is an automatic bid to the NAIA National Championship Opening Round. Tip time is scheduled for 7 pm inside the Petty SRC.