ST. LOUIS - In what was a conference opener to remember, the Missouri Baptist Men's Basketball team faced off against William Woods University. With the Spartans on a three-game losing streak, MBU needed to be dialed in for this one if they wanted to emerge victorious.
After Connor Redrow won the tip-off for the Spartans, things didn't quite go the way they wanted. MBU missed their opportunity to score, and Woods immediately took advantage. The Owls secured the rebound and headed up the court to score the first points of the game on a fast break. MBU wouldn't stay down for long.
On the Owls' next possession, D'Mari Wiltz got a jump on a pass, claiming the ball for the Spartans. Down on the Spartans' end, after receiving the ball at the top of the key, Wiltz pulled a spin move on his defender to sink a jump shot inside the paint, putting MBU on the board. Building off Wiltz's basket, Evan Palmquist drained a three to really get the momentum going for MBU. Soon after, WWU sank a layup, bringing it to a one-point game.
The Spartans were determined to hold onto their early lead, putting up another six points to bring the score to 11-4. This marked the highest gap that MBU would hold all game. Both teams were relentless in their pursuit of victory. With tight defense and both teams shooting under 35%, it was going to be a grueling contest for victory.
It was a low-scoring first half, with MBU up 23-21. Mujtaba Alkhaldi was effective in the post, leading the Spartans' scoring effort. Alkhaldi went to work down on the block, putting up a total of eight points. Palmquist had a couple of big moments in the half. Besides his three-pointer early in the game, the sophomore took advantage of a lackluster pass from an Owl. Palmquist stole the ball right at the top of the Spartans' three-point line, taking a short run up to slam home a completely uncontested dunk.
The second half started on a high note for MBU, with Nico Hill sinking a three less than a minute in. MBU continued to stay aggressive, drawing multiple fouls early into the half. It looked like the second half was going to mirror the first with both teams having to really put in the work for their opportunities to score.
Five minutes into the half, things got a little heated between the benches. This led to the unusual situation of both teams' benches being sent to their respective locker rooms, leaving the ten players on the court as the only remaining players in the game. Evan Palmquist, D'Mari Wiltz, Breven McMullen, Nico Hill, and Mujtaba Alkhaldi were the five remaining players for the Spartans.
The rest of the half was a battle of endurance with timeouts the only chance these players would have to take a break.
After things were settled, Breven McMullen was sent to the line to shoot four free throws for the Spartans. Sinking two of them, the junior put the Spartans back on top, 27-28. Soon after, MBU found themselves shooting bonus free throws. MBU would have to make their free throws if they wanted to win this game. After being fouled on a defensive rebound, Alkhaldi went down and made his first but missed the second.
From that point on, it was a lot of back and forth between the teams. The game was already intense with how close things have been, but it was brought to a whole new level. For a moment, it looked like the Owls were going to run away with the game due to a couple of bad passes leading to WWU points. Hill put a stop to their momentum, sinking a layup and then scoring the and-one off of the foul.
Things started to go the Spartans' way at the ten-minute mark. McMullen, who moved to the corner and out of sight of his defender, received a pass from Wiltz and knocked down a three to tie the game 41-41. A minute later, Palmquist took the lead for MBU. On a fast break, the sophomore displayed terrific ball control to sink the layup despite the Woods defender in his way.
Woods managed to tie it up two more times after that, but a made free throw by Alkhaldi with four and a half minutes left put the Spartans back on top. Woods did gain the lead with 2 and a half minutes left, but Hill, who had been making waves all game, drove into the paint and knocked down a fadeaway to take the lead. MBU managed to hold on to the lead for the remainder of the game. A couple of blocks coming from Hill and Alkhaldi shut down key Woods scoring opportunities.
A three-pointer from Palmquist and a free throw by Wiltz concluded the ball game. With a final score of 60-54, MBU defeated a tough William Woods team to win their conference opener. Hill had a big game this time around, really stepping up in the second half. The senior not only led the team in points with 23 but earned a double-double after securing 11 rebounds in the game. Palmquist and Alkhaldi were also key players for the Spartans. Palmquist put up a total of 12 points and five rebounds while Alkhaldi had 10 points and seven rebounds.
The Spartans will be back at home on Tuesday (Jan 9) to take on UHSP at 7:30 PM.
