Wildcats Use Big Second Half to Edge Past Pesky Vikings, 81-68

BALDWIN CITY, Kan. – Ahmed Mahgoub poured in four of Baker's eight threes in the second half of its double-digit victory over Grand View on Saturday as the Wildcats outlasted a tough Vikings team, 81-68 to earn their 12th conference win of the season.

After leading by just one at the half, the Wildcats dropped 48 points in the second half - fueled by Mahgoub's 14 points - and held off the Vikings, who led for most of the first 20 minutes of the game.

Each team shot over 40 percent from three-point range with GVU almost matching BU with seven threes. Additionally, while Baker shot better overall from the floor (54.4%) than Grand View (43.1%), the Vikings went 17-for-20 from the free-throw line compared to the Wildcats' 11-for-16 outing.

Noah Rigatuso recorded a team-high 17 points, going 6-for-8 at the line, while Mahgoub finished with 16 points and Brock Burling added another impressive performance from the BU bench after missing only one of his eight shots for 15 points in the game. Keynan Russell and Dylan Smith each reached double figures as well with Russell going for 12 points and Smith tallying 11 points.

Points were hard to come by through the early going of Saturday's matchup with the scoreboard sitting at a 14-14 stalemate after the first eight minutes of action. The Vikings took a five-point lead with just over seven minutes left in the first half before BU big men Russell and Burling connected on back-to-back buckets with Burling's turnaround jumper bringing the Wildcats within one.

Then, a slashing drive by Korey Jones resulted in a kick-out three to Rigatuso to put BU in front with 4:31 remaining as the two sides traded leads down the stretch with a floater by Nick Whittick giving the Wildcats a 33-32 advantage heading into the break.

The Wildcats put together a sizzling start to the second half, breaking off a 13-0 run to open things up and ended up holding the Vikings without a field goal until the 13:39 mark of the half.

Henry fired off a triple and Rigatuso slammed in his second dunk of the half to make it a 15-point lead for Baker before the Vikings got back within single digits with 10 minutes left to play.

With BU leading by 10 at 58-48, Mahgoub began his barrage with four 3-pointers across a five-minute stretch with his fourth and final three giving the Wildcats their largest lead of the game at 76-59 with just over four minutes left in the game.

Both teams would empty their benches down the stretch as the Wildcats finished off the season sweep of the Vikings with an 81-68 victory.

Despite not getting in the scoring column himself, Jones, a junior from Dallas, Texas, spent most of the game setting up his teammates and filling out the stat sheet in other ways after dishing out a team-best six assists and adding five rebounds and a steal to his day.

With a logjam at the top of the Heart standings, Baker looks to keep pace with a midweek road matchup at Park on Wednesday, Jan. 24 at 7:30 p.m. in Parkville, Mo.

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