BATESVILLE, Ark. – Behind a career-high 22 points from Mujtaba Alkhaldi, the Missouri Baptist Spartans downed the Lyon College Scots 89-67 on the road on Saturday afternoon.
 
Alkhaldi entered the contest about five minutes in and showed that this was going to be a different kind of day for him. Normally counted on for his rebounding prowess and physicality, he quickly established himself offensively by scoring six points in the paint in the span of five minutes. He was impressive going seven of nine from the field and adding three rebounds and two steals to end the first half with 14 points. That point total matched his previous career-high for a game which he set earlier this season against Florida College.
 
The Scots put up a fight through the first 15 minutes and in fact had a lead as large as four early on. It was Alkhaldi who sank a basket with 5:05 left in the half to break a 26-26 tie. The Spartans would then end the half on a 16-4 run to own a 42-30 halftime lead.
 
The Spartans lead would never go below double-digits in the second half and would swell to as large as 21. As efficient as Alkhaldi was in the first half, sophomore Breven McMullen was equally as hot in the second. He would go four of four from the field including three from behind the arc in scoring 11 second half points, giving him 14 points for the game. As a team the Spartans shot 19 of 33 (58%) in the half to finish the game shooting 51% from the field. MBU also took care of the basketball, turning it over a season-low seven times.
 
Joining Alkhaldi and McMullen in double figures was Nico Hill. The sophomore from New Zealand had 15 points, just one shy of his career best. The offensive contribution from the trio of Alkhaldi, McMullen, and Hill was most welcomed on a day when the top four scorers on the season for the Spartans had a combined 22 points. For the Scots, Israel Palmer finished with 27 points.
 
With the victory the Spartans improve to 12-10 on the season and 8-2 in the American Midwest Conference. That's good enough for second place in the conference. Lyon drops to 6-10 on the year and 2-7 in the AMC.
 
Next up for MBU is a home date with Central Baptist College on Thursday. The women's and men's doubleheader will tip-off at 5:30 p.m. at the Petty SRC, with the men taking the floor around 7:30 p.m.