Wildcats Hang Tough Against No. 5 Georgetown, Fall to Tigers in Friday Night Clash

BALDWIN CITY, Kan. – After taking a lead midway through the second half, Baker men's basketball saw its upset bid come up short as the Wildcats fell to No. 5 Georgetown, 81-70 here Friday night in the Collins Center.

Shooting just under 40 percent from deep, the Wildcats tallied seven threes in the game to counter a Tigers side that shot nearly 50 percent (33-for-69) from the field. Georgetown outrebounded BU by a 51-35 margin with 23 of those coming on the offensive end.

Noah Rigatuso led the Wildcats in scoring with 18 points, while chipping in eight rebounds. Following up his 35-point outing on Wednesday against Ottawa, Quentin Harvey had 16 points and went 3-for-7 from behind the arc. Dylan Smith (11) and Brock Burling (10) reached double figures in scoring as well.

Playing for the second time in three days, Baker used a couple of threes to earn an early advantage with Harvey and Ty Henry each draining a triple to put BU up, 12-3 within the first three minutes of the game. Smith added another triple a little later to keep the Wildcats' lead at a nine-point favor.

The Tigers would work their way back, making it a five-point game midway through the first before a couple of tough buckets by Burling stretched Baker's lead back out to 24-17. Then, Georgetown rattled off 11 unanswered points to take their first lead since the opening tip.

With just under a minute left til halftime, Tommy Faseru knocked down a jumper to put Baker back in front by one, but the visitors closed the half with five straight points, including a three-point play, to take a 36-32 lead into the break.

Rigatuso came out of the intermission with an old-fashioned three-point play of his own to bring the Wildcats within three. After the Tigers pushed their advantage back out to six points, Harvey swished a three to light a spark for BU and Braden Griffiths followed with one of his own to tie the game at 49-49 with just over 11 minutes left in the game.

The second-half rally came to a peak for the Wildcats as Rigatuso was fouled on a made 3-pointer and knocked down the ensuing free throw to convert a four-point play and give Baker a 53-50 lead. The Tigers would counter with another crucial stretch, going on an 11-0 run before a triple by their leading-scorer Tommy Thomas made it 64-56 with 6:18 remaining.

Trailing by double digits, Harvey came through with his final three and added a bucket a little later to get the Wildcats within eight, but Georgetown would hold on to take an 81-60 win.

Tonight's matchup featured two teams from last year's NAIA Tournament with Baker earning their first trip in over 10 years and Georgetown making it all the way to the Fab Four before losing out to national runner-up Indiana Tech.

Wrapping up their early two-game homestand, the Wildcats continue with their non-conference schedule and head out to play in-state foe Saint Mary on Wednesday, Nov. 8 with tipoff at 8 p.m. in Leavenworth, Kan.

#BakerBuildsChampions