ST. LOUIS – [BOX SCORE] Missouri Baptist entered the half with a six-point advantage over Williams Baptist College on Tuesday, but was unable to hold-on in a 77-68 loss in Arkansas.
Missouri Baptist (2-12, 2-3 AMC) held the Eagles three-point shooting in-check through the first 20 minutes, but Williams Baptist came back to shoot 4-7 from behind the arc in the second half (57 percent) and 14-21 from the floor (67 percent) in the loss.
Down the stretch, however, free throws became the key to the Williams Baptist victory. The Eagles went 26-for-31 (84 percent) from the free-throw line while Missouri Baptist committed 22 personal fouls in the game.
Missouri Baptist entered the game with a chance to move above .500 in conference play for the first time since January 4 after a win against Benedictine-Springfield and looked good through 20 minutes. The Spartans led by as many as nine as Chris Buzzell and Stanley Eboh both finished the half in double figures. MBU held a lead for the majority of the half and took a 35-29 lead into the half.
After the break, things began to slowly swing in the direction of the Eagles, though the Spartans owned the opening five minutes offensively. Chris Buzzell opened the half with a three-pointer, his second of the night, to get the lead back to nine. This was, however, the high-water mark for Missouri Baptist.
Perimeter shooting and free throws put Williams Baptist right back into the ballgame and the home team took its first lead of the second half with just over 13 minutes to play. Though Missouri Baptist fought back to grab another lead, the Eagles stayed right in it and took the lead for good with just 5:37 remaining.
From the moment the Eagles re-took the lead, they were a phenomenal 13-14 from the charity stripe, thus icing the game.
Stanley Eboh posted a new career-high 17 points in the game while Chris Buzzell and Kalvin Lewis both matched that number. On Saturday, Lewis netted a new career-high 31 points and eclipsed the 1,000 point mark in his collegiate career.
Next up for Missouri Baptist will be Lyon College at home in the friendly confines of the Carl and Deloris Petty Sports and Recreation Complex. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
