Wildcats Finish Off Yellowjackets in Overtime to Win Battle of Conference Frontrunners

LAMONI, Iowa – The Baker men's basketball poured in 23 points in an extra five-minute period as the Wildcats knocked off (RV) Graceland, 90-84 in overtime in a matchup between the Heart of America's top two teams on Wednesday night in Lamoni, Iowa.

The Wildcats weathered a Yellowjackets barrage that tallied 10 threes in the game and countered with 42 points in the paint and 29 points off of turnovers for BU. Baker missed just one field goal and went 10-for-13 from the free throw line in overtime to come away with its 11th conference win of the season.

Noah Rigatuso notched his second straight 20-point outing with a game-high 24 points and earned his third double-double of the year after pulling down 12 rebounds. Four other Wildcats joined Rigatuso in double figures with Dylan Smith next in line at 15 points, followed by Keynan Russell with 14 points. Ty Henry and Ahmed Mahgoub each totaled 10 points apiece with the pair combining to go 3-for-5 from behind-the-arc.

Baker got off to a hot start to open things up, building a double-digit lead just five minutes into the game with a basket by Smith making it 14-4. Mahgoub provided eight straight points for BU during a stretch midway through the first half, starting it off with his only triple of the game.

The Yellowjackets cut Baker's lead to a two-point margin on a pair of 3-pointers and tied things up at 29-29 on a layup with just over four minutes left until halftime. Rigatuso drained a three and Russell added a nice finish on a feed from Smith to push BU ahead, 37-33.

After Graceland closed the half with five unanswered points to take a one-point lead at the break, Baker quickly went back ahead with Rigatuso and Russell combining on back-to-back layups in the first minute of the second half. A jumper by Korey Jones kept it at a three-point advantage for BU before the Yellowjackets used another set of back-to-back 3-pointers to go back in front at 50-47.

The two sides would exchange leads back-and-forth for the rest of the second half with GU pulling in front, 67-63 with 4:03 left in regulation. A layup by Rigatuso and a couple of free throws by Smith brought the game even again at 67-67 with just under two minutes remaining, but both teams failed to find the game-winning bucket down the stretch as Baker found itself heading to its first overtime game of the season.

With the Yellowjackets scoring the first points of overtime, a three-point play by Rigatuso kickstarted a momentous 14-0 run for the Wildcats that saw them lead by double digits at 81-71 with less than two minutes left. Baker survived from there and finished off with a 90-84 victory to move into first place in the Heart standings.

Winners of back-to-back league games, Baker gets a weekend off and will continue with its conference road trip with a midweek game at Missouri Valley on Wednesday, Jan. 17 at 7:30 p.m. in Marshall, Mo.

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