ST. LOUIS - Game one of the AMC Tournament is in the books, with the Spartans facing off against Hannibal-LaGrange University. The third-seeded MBU enjoyed the home court advantage in their matchup against the sixth-seeded Trojans where they walked away with a resounding victory.
 
The Spartans came out hot, putting up five points right away. Nico Hill started the game strong, sinking the first of many three-pointers during the half. The senior was on fire, making 6 out of 7 threes in the first 20 minutes. Shortly after the first three-pointer, Keyyaun Batchman knocked down two free throws after being fouled while driving into the paint. From there, the Spartans continued to build their lead, finding themselves with a double-digit advantage. At 4:15 into the half, D'Mari Wiltz took the ball coast to coast, executing a spin move around the defender to sink the layup, putting MBU up by 11. From that point onward, MBU outshot the Trojans 33-21.
 
With the Spartans playing aggressively, it was no surprise that they frequented the free-throw line, making 11 out of 13 attempts in the half. Following Batchman's earlier attack, Sterling Benjamin was next in line. After securing an offensive rebound, the senior immediately put it back in the basket. Benjamin was then sent to the line for the and-one, sinking the free throw for an extra point. Several Spartans, including Courtland Soll, Evan Palmquist, and Kristian Davis, also made successful free throws.
 
With a 70.8 field goal percentage, MBU led by 23 heading into the second half, with a score of 52-29. They continued to dominate the game, embarking on several scoring runs. One of these runs began with a play by Palmquist, who, after spotting a hole in the defense, cut into the basket. Soll fed him a bounce pass, and Palmquist soared into the air, slamming down a dunk and initiating the Spartans' 11-point run. Soll followed up with a layup on a fast break, sneaking in behind the defenders for a bounce pass from Batchman. Soll was fouled on the play, sending him to the line, where he made the free throw. The next point came when Batchman attempted a layup, and though he missed the shot, Palmquist was there to tip it back in. Soll returned to the attack, fighting his way down to the paint and sinking a jump shot over two defenders. After forcing a turnover, the Spartans were back on the attack, and Palmquist made a jump shot, bringing the Spartans to a 37-point lead.
 
The Spartans maintained control for the rest of the half, extending their lead to as much as 41 at one point. The Trojans went on a brief scoring run, bringing the lead back into the 30s. However, with less than five minutes left in the game, there was no doubt about the outcome. With about a minute remaining, Benjamin drove into the paint and sank a jump shot, propelling the Spartans into the 100-point range. A couple of made free throws by Soll wrapped things up for MBU, securing a 103-69 victory over the Trojans.

Multiple Spartans had quite the game against the Trojans. With his big first half performance, Nico Hill led the Spartans with 23 points. Not far behind was Courtland Soll who not only had his highest scoring game of the season, he also succeeded in reaching the 1000-point milestone for his career and then some. The junior knocked down a total of 19-points during the game. A step behind was Breven McMullen who put up 17 points, making six out of eight field goals attempts. Evan Palmquist and Sterling Benjamin made their way into double digits by making 11 and 10 points, respectively.

With this win over HLGU, the Spartans will head down to Columbia to face the Cougars in the Semifinals. While they may not have emerged victorious against Columbia this year, the Spartans are eager to cause an upset against the second-seeded Cougars on Saturday, March 2.