River Reed's basket in the paint with 14 seconds left proved to be the game-winner as the Spartans sent the Owls to their third American Midwest Conference loss in a row Thursday night at Anderson Arena.
William Woods University (2-6, 2-4 AMC) was on top 34-29 at the break, but Missouri Baptist University outscored the Owls 38-31 in the second half to rally.
William Woods opened up a 12-point advantage with 16 minutes, 48 seconds left in the game when senior forward Makenzie Fessler hit two free throws to make it 44-32.
The Spartans scrambled back behind a 20-7 run, taking a 52-51 lead when Tyrell Andrews scored in the paint with 9:38 to play. Missouri Baptist led by as many as four points before sophomore forward Jared Crutcher's basket in the paint pulled the Owls even at 65-all with 1:21 remaining.
The score remained that way until Reed put the Spartans in front to stay. William Woods had one last chance to tie the game and force overtime, but Fessler's shot was off the mark as time expired.
Junior forward Andrew Nett connected on 6-of-11 shots - all from 3-point range - to direct the Owls with a game-high 18 points. Crutcher logged 15 points and Fessler finished with 14 as William Woods shot 43% (25-of-58) as a team.
Crutcher rounded out a double-double with 10 rebounds as the Owls were outrebounded 43-31.
Andrews came off the bench to score 14 points in pacing five players in double figures for Missouri Baptist (9-6, 5-2), which shot 41% (23-of-56) from the field. Jadis White was next with 13 points, Reed chipped in with 12, Brendon Hardy had 11 and John Yaeger contributed 10.
William Woods remains at home for an AMC matchup against Hannibal-LaGrange University at 3 p.m. Saturday.