ST. LOUIS – Missouri Baptist University men's basketball defeated the University of Health Sciences & Pharmacy, 89-68, Thursday evening at the Carl and Deloris Petty SRC, behind a near triple-double from Courtland Soll.
With the victory, the Spartans improved to 10-13 overall, 5-4 at home, and 7-6 in American Midwest Conference (AMC) play.
MBU currently sits in sixth place in the AMC standings following the result.
Five different Spartans scored in double figures, highlighted by Soll, who recorded a 17-point, 10-rebound double-double, nearly securing a triple-double while also dishing out eight assists.
Breven McMullen led MBU in scoring with 18 points on 7-of-10 shooting, adding three rebounds, two assists and a block.
Austin Lewis posted 13 points on 6-of-11 shooting, with five rebounds, one assist and a block.
Evan Palmquist contributed 13 points, shot 2-of-4 from beyond the arc, recorded six rebounds, and added three assists and a steal.
Taiden Conner finished with 10 points, five rebounds, two assists and two steals.
MBU shot a blistering 54.5% from the field and knocked down nine 3-pointers at a 40.9% clip.
McMullen quickly put the Spartans ahead in the first half, scoring the team's first 11 points to give MBU an 11-8 lead.
Later in the half, Connor Redrow nailed a 3-pointer to give MBU a 32-16 lead with seven minutes to go. UHSP answered with a 3-pointer before a corner three from Lewis pushed the Spartans' advantage to 35-22.
MBU continued to maintain its lead, and a dunk from Lewis, a layup from Conner, and a steal and bucket at the buzzer from Soll gave the Spartans a 48-29 lead at halftime.
A 6-0 run to close the first half helped cap a 55.9% shooting performance heading into the locker room.
The Eutectics trimmed their deficit to 51-38 early in the second half before a corner 3-pointer from Redrow extended MBU's lead to 54-38 with just over 15 minutes remaining.
Following a timeout, McMullen drove to the basket, converting an and-one to push the Spartans' lead to 57-38.
Later in the half, a layup from Lewis put the Spartans ahead 64-47 with just under 10 minutes remaining.
Palmquist nailed a 3-pointer, assisted by McMullen, to extend the lead to 69-49 with just under eight minutes to play.
The Spartans continued to control the game and cruised to victory.
MBU returns to action Tuesday for a road matchup against Harris-Stowe State University. Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m.
