ST. LOUIS – For the fourth time in five years, the Missouri Baptist Spartans have been eliminated from the American Midwest Conference Tournament by Central Baptist College. The Mustangs turned in a dominant performance to win for the second time in a month on the floor of the Petty SRC, this time 80-60 in the AMC Tournament Semifinals.
The Mustangs started the game on fire and only took their foot off the throttle for a brief time near the end of the first half and very early in the second. MBU Senior
Jadis White scored a layup just a minute and a half into the game for the Spartans only lead. CBC would then go on a 9-0 run to take the lead for good with the Spartans only getting back within four points of the Mustangs very briefly with just under 14 minutes left in the first half. But that four-point deficit would quickly turn into a 19-point cushion over the next four minutes. The Spartans would put together a nice run in the final three and a half minutes to cut a 21-point deficit down to 11 at the half.
The second half started promisingly for MBU. A
Mujtaba Alkhaldi bucket in the paint and a pair of
Tyrell Andrews free throws gave the Spartans a spark and gave a raucous crowd at the SRC some hope and something to cheer about as the Spartans trailed only 42-35. However, a 17-4 Mustang run over the next five minutes effectively put the game away. A
Brendon Hardy jumper with 9:05 left cut the lead to 61-48, but the Spartans could get no closer. CBC would regain their 20-point advantage with just over seven minutes remaining and the Spartans didn't have another run in them.
The Spartans struggled offensively throughout the game, shooting only 39% (20 of 51) from the field, six of 19 from behind the arc, and 14 of 22 from the foul line. Meanwhile CBC was 51% from the field and 12 of 23 (52%) from beyond the arc.
MBU was led in scoring by a trio of players suiting up for the Spartans for the final time.
Jadis White had 16 points and
Tyrell Andrews had 12. AMC Player of the Year
Brendon Hardy finished with 10 points, pushing him to 1,607 for his career and placing him fifth all-time in scoring in MBU history. White will finish his career in second place in career assists all-time at Missouri Baptist.
If teams are to make a run in the postseason, they often need players to step up at unexpected times. The Mustangs got that in this game. Six-foot-seven forward Tomas Mikyska entered the game with only eight successful three-point shots on the season, but he didn't miss on four attempts in the first half. Coming in averaging just under seven points per game, he was the second-leading scorer for the Mustangs with 16 points. Gabe Johnson led CBC with 17 points.
CBC certainly seems to have the Spartans number in AMC Tournament matchups. With last year's Spartans victory being the exception, CBC has beaten MBU once in the quarterfinals and now three times in the conference tournament semifinals in the last five years. The 2018-19 Spartans team would lose to CBC in the tournament semifinals but would still earn an at-large bid to the NAIA National Tournament in Matt Brock's final season. The other three losses to CBC have ended the Spartans' post-season hopes.
The was the third matchup of the season between the Spartans and the Mustangs, with the visiting team winning all three games. CBC won the last regular season game between the two on January 26 at the Petty SRC.
The Spartans 2022-23 campaign ends with a 17-13 record and back-to-back AMC Regular Season titles for the first time since 2005.
The win sends Central Baptist into the AMC Tournament Championship game on Tuesday night when they will travel to Columbia, Mo. to take on the Columbia Cougars. The winner of that game will receive an automatic bid to the NAIA National Tournament. It is almost certainly the only bid an AMC school will receive this season.
