BELLEVILLE, Ill. – [BOX SCORE] Chris Buzzell scored a season-high 23 points and Stephen Buckner added 18 to lift Missouri Baptist over Lindenwood-Belleville 93-90 and help the Spartans secure their first conference win.

Missouri Baptist (4-4, 1-1) shot 55 percent from the field in the high-scoring affair. They used clutch free-throw shooting down the stretch to hold off the Lynx (4-6, 1-3).

After trailing by as many as eight in the first half, the Spartans jumped out to a 67-60 lead with 10:44 remaining. Lindenwood-Belleville wouldn't go down quietly though, fighting back to tie the game at 70 with 7:03 to go. The close-knit game featured 10 ties and 13 lead changes.

Buzzell drained a 3-pointer to push the Spartans ahead 73-70 and the Lynx wouldn't lead again. The junior finished 5-of-7 from 3-point range after hitting six total in the first seven games.

Lynx forward ShunQuez Stephens scored four unanswered points to shrink the lead to 88-87, but the Spartans iced the game at the charity stripe. Buzzell calmly knocked down two from the line to push the lead to 90-87 with 25 seconds left.

Buckner then picked up a huge rebound on the ensuing Lindenwood-Belleville possession and was quickly fouled. He missed the first free throw, but hit the second to make it a two-possession game. That point proved to be the game-winner. Buckner shot 5-for-9 from the field and scored seven of his 18 points from the free-throw line.

Foul trouble caused Missouri Baptist to play the final 2:45 without David Gabrovsek or John Caraballo. Both fouled out with the game still yet to be decided. That caused the Spartans to lose size, but the team managed to secure enough rebounds late to come away with the win.

The Spartans managed to tie the game at 46 heading into the locker room after Lindenwood-Belleville led 43-35 with 3:44 remaining in the half. Buzzell and Buckner sparked an 11-1 run to give Missouri Baptist a 46-44 lead before the Lynx tied things up.

Buzzell scored 14 of his 23 points in the first half on 5-of-5 shooting. The Spartans shot a blistering 62.5 percent as a team in the first 20 minutes including 8-of-10 from 3-point range.

All nine Spartans to play scored. Caraballo also reached double-figures with 12 points, while Luke Call and Will Harrington added 11. Five Lynx also hit double-digits, led by Andrew Douby's 19 points. Collin Mingo recorded a double-double with his 18 point, 12 rebound performance.

The Spartans will go for back-to-back victories on Friday, Dec. 11 against Asbury University in the Central Christian (Mo.) Classic. Tip is set for 6:00 pm. 

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