FULTON, Mo. – MBU Men's Basketball (13-11, 9-9 AMC) concluded a three-game road trip on Saturday afternoon with a narrow 75-71 defeat at William Woods (13-13, 9-10 AMC). The Spartans will return home to face St. Louis College of Pharmacy on Tuesday looking to snap a four-game winless streak.
 
After a lopsided defeat to Columbia on Thursday where they attempted 30 three-point tries, the Spartans decided to go inside the paint to find success on Saturday. Of their 31 FG attempts in the first half, 28 were from inside the arc.
 
It was back and forth opening 20 minutes. Each team held the lead for a significant stretch but it was the Owls who went ahead 21-20 with 6:02 left and eventually went into the break ahead by four at 30-26.
 
William Woods used a 9-0 run early in the second half to push the advantage to 10 before it was time for the Spartans find another gear. They chipped away until an offensive rebound and putback by John Yaeger made it 66-65 Owls with 2:55 to go.
 
It was a two-point game with 45 seconds left when WWU's Makenzie Fessler hit a back-breaking three. The home side converted their free-throws from that point forward to hold the Spartans off in the final half-minute.
 
Yaeger led the way for Missouri Baptist with his fifth double-double of the season (23 points, 11 rebounds). He was 10-12 from the field. The junior also had a career-high four steals. James McKelvin finished with 22 points, including a perfect 10-10 from the free-throw line.
 
The Spartans will continue the fight for a spot in the AMC Postseason Tournament on Tuesday night. With four games remaining, MBU is a half-game ahead of Williams Baptist for the eighth and final position.
 
The Spartans will play three games next week, starting Tuesday night against STLCOP. Tip time is scheduled for 7:30 pm inside the Petty SRC. They'll then go back on the road to meet the aforementioned Williams Baptist on Thursday and third-place Freed-Hardeman on Saturday.