ST. LOUIS – [BOX SCORE] Zach Rutland's 3-pointer with seven seconds left helped Park University escape with a 73-70 road win Thursday night over Missouri Baptist.

 Both teams staged comebacks during the game, with the Spartans doing their best to retake the lead late. An acrobatic layup from Jahmouri Robinson knotted the game at 70-70 after Missouri Baptist trailed by as many as 11 in the second half.

The bucket capped an 8-0 run, one in which Robinson scored or assisted on all eight points. A 70-62 Park lead with 3:57 on the clock had vanished. The Pirates also led 68-57 at the 6:19 mark.

The nail-biter was a tale of two halves. Missouri Baptist (14-11, 8-9 AMC) led by as many as 16 in a huge first half. The Spartans shot 47.1 percent in the first 20 minutes and executed well defensively, limiting Park to 36 percent shooting.

An old-fashioned 3-point play from Jared White extended the lead to 39-23 with 2:27 left in the first half. The bucket capped an MBU 8-0 spurt to pull away. Park however didn't cave in and outscored the Spartans by six to end the half. A late bucket from Levi Mitchell got the Pirates within 10, 41-31, at the break.

Park carried that momentum into the second half. The Pirates opened the half on an 18-6 run and took its first lead with 13:50 to go after a Xavielle Brown 3-pointer. Brown hit four on the night and finished with 22 points.

The spurt eventually reached 27-8 in Park's favor. MBU looked startled until the late run erased an 11-point deficit. Robinson sparked the run with a 3-pointer from Chris Buzzell also mixed in.

Robinson finished with a team-high 14 points and six rebounds. Pablo Hernandez added 12 and David Gabrovsek and Chris Buzzell each finished with 10. Led by Robinson, the Spartan bench outscored Park's 33-5. Rutland, the hero for Park, had 19 points. The Pirates shot 55.2 percent in the second half comeback.

MBU's next game is Saturday against No. 5 Columbia. The Spartans will honor their four seniors, Will Harrington, Chris Buzzell, David Gabrovsek and Jared White prior to the game. Tip is set for 3:00 pm with Senior Day festivities taking place right before.