ST. LOUIS -- [BOX SCORE]  Hot second-half shooting, led by Jared White, helped Missouri Baptist pull away from Lindenwood-Belleville Saturday afternoon. The Spartans earned a huge 89-71 road win over their crosstown rival.

Missouri Baptist (13-9, 7-7 AMC) ended its two-game skid and picked up its biggest conference win of the season. Senior Jared White scored 24 points on 7-of-12 shooting to lead the way. Six total Spartans reached double figures.

MBU didn't trail in the final 35:49 of the game, but the road victory was hard fought. The Spartans didn't lead by more than six points in the first half and entered halftime ahead 36-31. 13 of White's 24 points came in half number one. Chris Deanes helped keep Lindenwood-Belleville (13-7, 7-6 AMC) close with 19 first-half points.

The Lynx tied the game at 40-40 with 16:50 left. Thanks to a 13-2 run as a response from MBU, they never did take a lead. The run broke the game open and the Spartans led by at least nine points in the final 14:29. David Gabrovsek had seven of the 13 points during the spurt to lead the charge. The senior finished with 10 points and seven rebounds.

The hot-shooting continued for the navy and white throughout the half. As a unit, MBU shot 55.9 percent overall and 5-of-7 from 3-point range. Fittingly, a bucket from White in the closing minute gave MBU a 21-point cushion, its largest lead of the afternoon.

The Spartan defense limited Belleville to 39.4 percent shooting overall and forced 17 turnovers. JT Jones joined Chris Deanes (25 points) in double-figures for the Lynx with 12.

James McKelvin took advantage of extended playing time and finished with 15 points on 7-of-9 shooting. Spartan starter Chris Buzzell missed his third consecutive game.  Luke Call had a bounce-back game with 13 points on three 3-pointers and senior Will Harrington finished one assist shy of a triple-double with 10 points, 11 rebounds and nine assists. Johnny Benson also added 11 points and eight boards.

The Spartans will look to remain tough on the road. Six of the final eight conference games are away from Lacey Gymnasium. The stretch  continues on Thursday with a trip to take on Lyon College. Tip is set for 7:30.