Lawrence, Kan.— Spire men's basketball scored the final 11 points to turn back a late rally and defeat Arkansas Baptist 90-70 on Saturday, November 7
th to wrap up day two of the Ernie Stevens Classic in Lawrence, Kansas.
Adam Tanner led the Spires with 23 points.
Joe Clark gave USM its first lead at 4-2 with a put back at 17:40 of the first half. After Arkansas Baptist moved ahead 9-8, Tanner answered with a layup and one made free throw at 15:24 to put the Spires ahead for good.
Preston Ross then secured an offensive rebound and assisted
Carsten Seitz's 3-pointer before
Zach Hayslett connected from beyond the arc for a 26-16 advantage with 9:09 remaining.
Harvey made three free throws to trim the margin to seven, but
Connor Rabbitt answered with a 3-pointer and made all four of their first-half attempts from long range. Tanner added a steal and layup, and
Hassan Flemming followed Rabbitt's steal with a 3-pointer off an
AC Rollins assist for a 49-29 lead at 3:20. Arkansas Baptist scored the half's final eight points, capped by Pitts' layup, to leave USM ahead 49-37 at halftime.
Mahr opened the second half with a 3-pointer to bring the Buffaloes within nine. Tanner and Rabbitt responded with five straight points, restoring a 54-40 lead. Rabbitt later hit a sixth 3-pointer after the margin again dipped to nine, and Flemming's second 3-pointer pushed the advantage to 74-58 with 9:36 left. Tanner made two free throws at 7:43 for a 77-60 lead.
Tanner scored 16 points in the second half and finished with 11 rebounds and seven assists, shooting 7-of-10 from the field and 9-of-10 at the foul line. Clark contributed 17 points and 11 rebounds, including 13 first-half points. Rabbitt finished with 18 points on 6-of-10 shooting from 3-point range, while Flemming added 15 points and five rebounds on 5-of-7 shooting. Hayslett supplied nine points and four rebounds, and Ross collected four rebounds, including two on the offensive end.
USM shot 50.8% overall and made 10-of-23 3-pointers, while Arkansas Baptist finished at 41.7% from the field and 4-of-19 from beyond the arc. The Spires held a 42-29 rebounding advantage and an 11-7 edge in second-chance points. Despite committing 15 turnovers to Arkansas Baptist's 12, USM led 17-11 in points off turnovers. Mahr paced Arkansas Baptist with 22 points and eight rebounds, Harvey scored 15 and Johnson added 12.
Johnson's layup completed an 8-0 run that brought the Buffaloes within 77-68 with 4:20 remaining. Flemming ended the Spires' drought with a layup following a turnover, and Clark answered Harvey's two made free throws with a layup for an 81-70 lead at 3:23. Arkansas Baptist did not score again. Tanner made four consecutive free throws during the closing stretch, and
Ben Meehan rebounded a missed 3-pointer and scored with seven seconds left to complete the scoring.
Coming Up…
As we march through November, this concludes the Spire non-con schedule. KCAC action heats up at home on Saturday, November 14
th as USM hosts the Evangel Valor for the season's first conference double header. The men's team is set to tip-off at 4 p.m. at the Ryan Sports Center.
