Last Thursday at the Macon Tournament, Moberly stunned the Bulldogs 77-71, handing Mexico their first loss of the season.

Things went differently on Tuesday at The Sports Complex, as Mexico overpowered the Spartans 81-45.

“That loss – it hurt,” said Daeye Miller. “We used that.”

Although the game appeared to be a toss up from the start, the Bulldogs put together a dominant third quarter. They shut down the Spartans’ prolific guard Jaisten Payne, controlled the paint and poured in 24 points in the eight minute span.

Moberly could only muster 5.

“We knew what we had to do,” Isaiah Reams explained.

What they had to do was find space inside. In Macon the Bulldogs missed opportunities in the middle. On Tuesday 58 of Mexico’s 81 points came from in the paint.

Except for a pair of free throws by Miller just after the break and two deft three-pointers by Peyton Willer that closed out the period, the third quarter was an inside job. Jordan Mitchell went coast to coast after a steal, banking a lay up. Miller zipped the ball to Drew Blevins, holding court under the glass, for another.

Then it was Miller’s turn, followed by Reams and a pair of shots by Michael White – the second score resulting from some finesse, as Reams passed to Miller in the circle, opening a lane for White to make his move.

“We played smarter and got back on defense,” Miller said.

By the end of the period the Bulldogs were in full control, 69-38, with a running clock in the fourth.

Yet throughout much of the first half the balance teetered between the two sides. While the Bulldogs held the lead for good after a minute of play, Moberly made it a one-shot contest on several occasions.

Payne made it 23-20 at the start of the period and Derieus Wallace scored on a break moments later to make it a 1 point game, missing the plus one that would have even things.

And it remained tight, thanks largely to the Spartans’ diminutive Payne, who scored 18 on the night to match the Bulldogs’ Miller for game high.

“He’s a good player,” Mexico head coach Darren Pappas acknowledged. “We lost him a few times.”

Pappas was at a loss afterward to identify the moment that turned things Mexico’s way for good.

A dunk by Reams in the early going got the team fired up, but Moberly climbed back in the minutes that followed.

Reams beat Moberly’s Dominic Stoneking one on one to make it 27-24 midway through the second. But the Spartans erased much of the gap moments later – and again after Blevins thundered along the baseline to stretch out a 5 point lead.

But it may have been a 10-1 run at the end of the half that foreshadowed things to come in the third.

With Mexico in front 35-32, Mitchell sliced through two defenders and rolled in a reverse lay up. Reams scored on a goaltending call and Miller followed up. Then Mitchell found Raef Yager in the paint.

Blevins wrapped it up for the first half, but the run continued after the break until the Bulldogs had piled on 23 total.

“We finished a lot better,” Blevins observed. “Tonight we took it to them.”

In addition to Miller’s 18, Reams (17), Yager (13), Mitchell (11) and Blevins (10) finished in double figures. Willer popped in 7 and White hit for 4.

Dante’ Kelley finished things off with flying put back – from inside the paint, naturally.

Reams credited study of game tape and work in practice. This was also the first game students were allowed in the stands and more tickets were allotted. Miller pointed out that their presence ramped things up.

Pappas added that the loss on Thursday played a role in the outcome, as well.

“That was just a wake up call and we needed that,” he said. “This is the team I’m more familiar with.”