FULTON, Mo. – Down two starters Missouri Baptist Spartans Head Basketball Coach Preston Ingram knew his team was in for a stern test at William Woods University on Thursday night. But as any coach might tell you, when one player (or more) goes down, it creates an opportunity for others to step up. The Spartan bench did exactly that in securing a hard-fought 64-59 win over the Owls.
 
Leading the way for MBU was one you might expect and another who was looking for an opportunity. Senior starter Brendon Hardy and sophomore Daylan Dalton both finished the game with 14 points to the lead the Spartans to victory.
 
The Spartans came into this game without starters Jadis White and Daishaun Woods who were both unavailable tonight. Freshman Nick Wasilewski suffered a fractured wrist versus Harris-Stowe State University on Saturday and will be sidelined for at least a couple of weeks. If that wasn't enough, the second-leading scorer on the season, Tyrell Andrews, turned an ankle barely six minutes into this game that cost him most of his mobility and explosiveness. He would finish the game with six points and four rebounds.
 
The short-handed nature of the Spartan lineup only compounded the matchup issues that the Owls present, especially in the person of six-foot ten Darius Yohe and six-foot eight Grant Peters. The Owls length and physicality made it difficult for the Spartans to establish anything in paint. Yohe finished the game with eight blocks, which is just one short of his career high which he established earlier this season. Yohe also had 13 rebounds, which helped the Owls own a 50-40 advantage in that category for the game.
 
Neither team shot the ball well from the field with the Spartans going 22 of 67 (32%) while William Woods was only slightly better at 23 for 62 (37%) for the game. William Woods was especially inept from behind the arc as they were successful on only one of 12 chances (8%). While the Owls would finish the game with 13 blocks as a team, the Spartans were stout defensively as well in turning over the Owls 19 times.
 
The first half was a back-and-forth affair with neither team leading by more than five points and the lead changing hands six times. William Woods enjoyed a lead for the majority of the first half but a Mujtaba Alkhaldi bucket with 3:35 left on the clock would tie the game at 23. The Spartans would end the half on a 6-0 run, including four more points from Alkhaldi, to hold a 29-23 halftime lead.
 
The second half proved to be much like the first, although it appeared the Spartans may be able to open up some breathing room for a while. When Hardy hit a three-pointer with twelve and half minutes left, the Spartans had their largest lead of the game at 41-32. The Owls would chip away at the deficit and when Nathan Schwatze hit a pair of free throws with 4:44 left, the game was tied 49-49.
 
With the depleted bench and Andrews obviously not playing at 100%, the Spartans needed someone to step up and carry the team.  Enter Daylan Dalton.  The sophomore from St. Louis stroked a three to regain the lead for MBU. After a couple of successful free throws for WWU, Hardy scored a two-point basket to get the lead back to three. Dalton then got a steal and layup to make it a two-possession game at 56-51 with 2:54 remaining. The Owls would trim the lead back to one with 1:01 remaining. Even with his abilities compromised by injury, Andrews may have hit the biggest shot of the game. Following an MBU timeout, the Spartans had the ball and a chance to extend the lead. With only a precious few seconds remaining on the shot clock Hardy drove into the paint but lost the ball. Andrews alertly picked it up as it was rolling across the floor and heaved it at the rim as the shot clock expired. It found the bottom of the net and the Spartans lead was back to three with under a minute to play. William Woods would inbound and call a timeout of their own with 37 seconds remaining to set up their play. However, an alert Bryce Johnson was able to steal a weak inbounds pass and get the ball to Dalton who was immediately fouled. Dalton would hit both free throws, and though the Owls continued to send the Spartans to the line down the stretch, MBU would hold on for a 64-59 victory. Dalton scored all nine of his second-half points in the final 3:48 to seal the win.
 
The win moves the Spartan to 11-10 overall on the season and they remain all-alone in second place in the American Midwest Conference with a 7-2 record. William Woods drops to 9-10 overall and 3-6 in the AMC.
 
MBU will travel to Batesville, Ark. to take on Lyon College on Saturday. Earlier this season the Spartans scored an 88-73 at home. Tip-off for Saturday's game is scheduled for 3:00 p.m.