Box Score TALLADEGA, Ala. – Faulkner (2-0) took Missouri Baptist's best shot and got off the deck in overtime for a 79-70 victory in the third game of the Fresh Start Talladega Classic Saturday. The Eagles watched a late Missouri Baptist run force overtime. Faulkner led by 11 with 6:57 remaining in regulation before the Spartans began chipping away at the double-digit deficit.

"We've got some toughness about us. We've got some absolute toughness about us. We can play in tough situations. Last night, they cut it to four. Today, they hit that bank shot. We've got some toughness about us. We understand who is supposed to shoot what shots," Faulkner Head Coach Scott Sanderson said of the 2-0 trip. "Those are January, February games in October. I'm so proud of the way our guys competed this weekend."

C.J. Williamson dropped a shot with 1:19 to play in the second half, putting the Eagles up 60-54 before John Yeager answered right back with a three off a Tyrell Andrews assist to narrow the gap to one possession. A turnover with 25 seconds left gave Missouri Baptist one more opportunity and the Spartans made certain to capitalize as Andrews banked in a contested three from the left elbow to tie the game with five seconds left.

"We were up six and they got us in rotations and 32 hit a three in the corner to cut it to three. We didn't execute down the stretch that last possession and the shot clock went off," Scott Sanderson said. "That's totally my fault. They came down and got a possession and we guarded it good but the guy got it in. We gave up a contested shot and he made it."

Missouri Baptist led for only 1:28 in the first half and lost that advantage on an Austin Rogers three with 2:29 left before intermission. The Spartans did not regain the lead until Brendon Hardy knocked down a shot with 4:35 left in overtime to put his team up 62-60.

That lead lasted until the 3:41 mark in the extra period when Garrett Sanderson ripped a three for the 64-62 advantage. The possession sparked Faulkner's senior guard as he turned a Trace Hill dime into a triple on the ensuing offensive trip to move it to a 67-62 lead. Sanderson created another bucket 16 seconds later when he drove by a defender for a shot at the rim and finished it with a bonus free throw as part of a personal nine-point stretch.

"He hadn't shot it great on the trip. He was having a hard time getting good looks. We got him free one time and got him a look," Scott Sanderson said. "We gave it to him again and he got us another one. Then the guy got right up on him and he drove past him."

Missouri Baptist narrowed it to a two-point deficit again with 1:18 to play when Ryan Pollard scored the final three of his 21 points.

"When you've got a guy that massive – he's so big – you've got to guard him with your quickness. You've got to make him run up and down the floor. You've got to make it a 94-foot game," Scott Sanderson said of the 7-0, 285-pound Spartan center. "I thought our guys did a good job battling him and guarding him."

Daniel Garmendia answered the possession with a tough make at the rim just 18 seconds later. A foul followed immediately by a tech on the MBC bench allowed Sanderson to knock down two free throws followed by four more from Williamson to cap the scoring.

Faulkner shot only 39 percent from the floor in the game but outrebounded Missouri Baptist 41-35 and won the second-chance points battle 19-12. The Eagles limited MBC to 16 percent shooting from beyond the arc while forcing 22 turnovers.

Williamson topped Faulkner in points, rebounds and assists as he finished with 20, 12 and three. Garrett Sanderson scored 19 and pulled six rebounds with 11 of his points coming in overtime. Hill matched his career high with 13 points to go along with five rebounds. Jordan Hamlette had five points and six rebounds despite limited minutes due to foul trouble.

"The problem is, you play half the game without Jordan. He was sitting over by us for a long period of time. Give our guys some credit. They figured out how to get it done without him. I thought Daniel played some big minutes for us late," Scott Sanderson said of the Lindsey Wilson transfer who scored 17 in his Eagle debut a night earlier. "He's a really good player. He's a difference maker for us. I need him on the floor. I'm a lot better coach when he's on the floor and not sitting over by me. My stuff looks a lot better when he's on the floor running it."

Faulkner is set to return to the court Friday in the Jimmy Faulkner Classic when it hosts Florida Memorial.