Missouri Baptist Claims First AMC Tournament Title Since 2005 - Mar 4, 2022
John Yaeger (6'4''-G)'s jump shot with 0.5 seconds left sealed the first American Midwest Conference tournament championship for Missouri Baptist University since 2005. After watching a first-half lead fade to a 65-64 deficit with 13 seconds left, the Spartans found late game-heroics on a last-second offensive rebound and bucket to hand them their fourth tournament championship in program history and first in 17 years. Senior MBU guard John Yaeger started scoring with a fast-break dunk to send the home crowd into an early frenzy. They took the momentum and rode it to a 17-point lead after 14 minutes. An unphased Columbia College team closed the gap before halftime. Tony Burks made a jumper at 5:48 remaining in the half to make it a 29-14 ballgame and picked up the free throw after a foul on the shot. Cole Gerken (6'4''-G) hit a jumper followed soon after a pair of buckets from Burks to pull within eight. With a little over a minute remaining, Tyrell Andrews (6'2''-G) hit a pair of free throws to restore a ten-point lead, but the Cougars kept pressing and pulled it to 31-25 before heading into the locker room. The visitors picked up where they left off to begin the second half when Collin Parker (6'7''-F) made a jumper 13 seconds in. Stingy Columbia defense had the MBU offense sputtering, buying them time to catch up and eventually take a 55-50 lead with 6:30 left. With momentum swung entirely in the Cougars' favor and the visiting fan section at their loudest point, MBU guard RJ Pair (5'10''-PG) hit a massive three-point shot to move the needle back in favor of the home team. Moments later, a pair of free throws from Jadis White knotted the game back up at 55-55. The two teams continued to exchange points for the remainder of the game. With the Spartans up 63-62, the 2021-22 AMC Newcomer of the Year Chimaobim Oduocha (6'8''-F) hit a jump shot with 1:16 left. Tyrell Andrews answered on the other end to restore the lead to force a full Cougar timeout. Gerken missed a three-point shot for the visitors coming out of the break, with River Reed (6'9''-F/C) picking up the rebound that preceded his team's 30-second timeout. With 21 seconds left, Gerken then forced a steal that led to another full timeout taken from Head Coach Tomas Brock. After the third timeout in under a minute, Burks went up for a shot but was fouled by Tyrell Andrews to give Columbia a chance to take the lead. The senior from St. Louis knocked both down to make it 65-64. The Spartans inbounded the ball quickly, giving it to Andrews, who drove down the middle and missed the shot with four seconds left. With seconds to spare, Yaeger picked up the loose ball and tossed one in over Collin Parker to give his team the lead with 0.5 seconds left. The Cougars tried to get a last-second shot off, but it was not in time, sending Missouri Baptist to their first AMC tournament championship since 2005 and fourth in program history. Immediately after the game, the AMC announced the members of the 2021-22 AMC Men's Basketball All-Conference Team and the season award winners.
Courtesy of amcsportsonline.com
AMC Tournament Final: Missouri Baptist - Columbia 65-64 AMC Tournament Semifinals: Missouri Baptist - Central Baptist 82-69 Columbia - William Woods 77-52
All-AMC Awards 2022 - Mar 4, 2022
Player of the Year: Kelvin Robinson (6'2''-G-1998) of CBC Defensive Player of the Year: Darius Yohe (6'9''-C) of WWU Freshman of the Year: John Morgan (6'1''-G) of Lyon Newcomer of the Year: Chimaobim Oduocha (6'8''-F) of Columbia, MO Coach of the Year: Preston Ingram of MBU
John Yaeger (6'4''-G)'s jump shot with 0.5 seconds left sealed the first American Midwest Conference tournament championship for Missouri Baptist University since 2005.
Kelvin Robinson (6'2''-G-1998) of CBC
Shackeel Butters (6'6''-F) of WBU
Ingram
