ST. LOUIS – [BOX SCORE] Missouri Baptist cut a 23-point second-half deficit to five with five minutes to go, but the navy and white's comeback attempt fell short Thursday night in the team's 91-78 loss to Williams Baptist. 

The Eagles (14-10, 12-9) built the large lead via the 3-point ball. The road team went 13-of-26 from distance, led by EJ Rucker who hit five threes and finished with 27 points. Meanwhile, the Spartans (18-11, 12-8) struggled from deep, hitting just two of their 16 attempts on the night. 

Using the 3-point ball, the Eagles built their lead all the way to 23 with 11:49 to go in the game. A Reece Dunlap triple gave WBC the 73-50 lead, one of four 3-pointers from the Eagles in the second half. 

Then the Spartans locked down defensively and used a 22-4 run to cut the huge deficit all the way down to five points. Will Harrington, Stephen Buckner and David Gabrovsek combined to score all 22 points during that run to get the crowd in R. Alton Lacey Gymnasium loud and on its feet. 

Things got chippy in the middle of that run, that resulted in a double technical issued to both sides. The physical play brought renewed energy to the Missouri Baptist faithful, one that nearly helped the Spartans pull off a miraculous comeback. 

The trio combined to score 28 points in the second half after scoring just four in the first. A Harrington three cut the deficit to single digits with 6:47 to go followed by two Gabrovsek buckets to dwindle it all the way to five. 

However, Dunlap answered with a bucket for the Eagles on the very next possession and MBU never got any closer. WBC hit its free throws down the stretch to seal the win. 

A very balanced attack wasn't enough for the Spartans in the loss. Six Spartans reached double-figures: Harrington, Buckner, Gabrovsek, Chris Buzzell, Jared White and Pablo Hernandez. Gabrovsek led the way with 12 points. 

20 of Rucker's game-high 27 came in the opening half. He took over thanks to four triples and helped Williams Baptist jump out to a 13-point lead at the half. However, the first 20 minutes were rather back-and-forth until late.

Isaiah Cotton scored the first four points for MBU, including a jam that put the home team up 4-2. Caraballo hit two free throws but then Rucker scored eight straight points as part of a 10-0 run by the Eagles to put WBC up by 6. The Spartans responded with a 16-4 run to take a brief six point lead- which happened to be their largest of the game.

MBU shot an impressive 56.7 percent in the first half, but the Eagles shot even better, at a 58.3 percent clip, en route to 51 first-half points. After Harrington hit a bucket to cut the deficit to three with 5:26 left in the half, Williams Baptist ended on a 14-4 run to lead 51-38 at the break. Stanley Malcom hit a jumper at the buzzer to give WBC some momentum heading into the second half, which it carried to the win. 

The Spartans will look for win number 19 on Saturday against Freed-Hardeman on Senior Day. A win helps MBU stay in the running for a home conference tournament game. Tip is set for 4:00 pm.