Health & Fitness
Cougars Erase Big First Half Deficit to Beat Spartans
Missouri Baptist University men's basketball team built a 15-point, first-half lead, but succumbed to a stingy Columbia College defense in a 58-54 loss on Thursday night.
COLUMBIA, Mo. – The Missouri Baptist University men’s basketball team built a 15-point, first-half lead, but succumbed to a stingy Columbia College defense in a 58-54 loss on Thursday night.
The Spartans came out on fire in the first half. The team looked poised to win from the outset, but was not able to finish on a night that had major American Midwest Conference implications. MBU shot 43% from the floor in the half, but only 37% for the game.
After the break, the Cougars began to dial from long distance, but the Spartans hung around at the start. Columbia hit its first two, three-point attempts of the half to begin to close-in. Missouri Baptist’s Dezmon Hickman, however, was hot. The current AMC Player of the Week also hit his first two field goals to keep his team in it. It was at this point where the Spartans ran cold. The team shot 28% from the floor in the second half, including a three-minute scoring drought, allowing the Cougars time to get back into the game. The Cougars outscored MBU 36-17 in the half.
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Columbia began to press the Spartan offense, causing several turnovers. As Missouri Baptist struggled to maintain possession of the ball, the Cougars continued to score. The top team in the AMC out-rebounded MBU 47-36, including an astounding 20 offensive rebounds.
Kyle Ford led the Spartans in the game with 18 points, followed by Hickman, who posted 12 on the night. Missouri Baptist will return home on Saturday to face Hannibal LaGrange at 4:00 p.m. Prior to the game, the team will honor its seniors in the final home game of the season.