Harvey’s 28 Points Leads Wildcats to Big Senior Day Win over Clarke, 86-66

BALDWIN CITY, Kan. – Quentin Harvey poured in 28 points to help Baker men's basketball roll past conference foe Clarke, 86-66 on Senior Day for the Wildcats here Saturday in the Collins Center and earn their third straight victory.

Prior to the game, the Wildcats honored six seniors for their contributions to the Baker men's basketball program. Those seniors included Brock Burling, Braden Griffiths, Mason Mecke, Brodie Pollock, Amari Sewer and Dylan Smith.

The Wildcats shot nearly 50 percent from the floor (49.2%) and weathered a Pride long-range attack that tallied 12 threes in the game. While Clarke fired at a 32-percent clip from deep, they made just nine field goals inside the arc and finished 34.4 percent overall from the floor with Baker forcing 16 turnovers.

Harvey finished a couple rebounds shy of a double-double with his eight rebounds going along with his impressive 28-point outing. Noah Rigatuso scored 19 points and added six rebounds, while Smith chipped in nine points.

With an all-senior lineup to start things off for BU, the Pride connected on back-to-back 3-pointers to build up a quick 11-2 lead before a Harvey three got the Wildcats going on the right track. The Pride maintained their lead throughout the first 10 minutes of the half with their third three of the stanza giving them a six-point advantage.

A CU free throw with just over 12 minutes to play would be the only scoring for the Pride for a key six-minute stretch as the Wildcats, who had trailed 20-16 after that free throw, turned on the gas and rattled off a 27-6 run to close out the half. Seven different players provided the scoring for BU during the run with Rigatuso putting up nine points during that stretch and Harvey finishing off the first half with a fadeaway jumper to give Baker a 43-26 lead at the break.

Boasting at least a 17-point halftime lead for the second straight game, the Wildcats continued to pad the advantage early in the second half with a couple of free throws from Harvey giving BU a 21-point lead just over four minutes into second half play.

After a Pride three put Baker's lead at 14 points, Harvey fired home a three of his own and Griffiths added one a little later to BU back on top by a 22-point margin with 9:46 left in the game.

A Rigatuso slam with just over five minutes left was followed by a string of seven straight points for Clarke, but another Griffiths three dashed any hopes of a late rally from the Pride as the Wildcats finished off their big 20-point conference win with Pollock's jumper sealing the Senior Day victory at 86-66.

Harvey's 28 points marked his third game with at least that many points after scoring exactly 28 points against Central Methodist on Nov. 25 and posting a season-high 35 points against Ottawa back on Nov. 1.

Winning the first two games of its three-game return to Collins, Baker will host its second top-four conference team of the homestand with a matchup against Graceland on Wednesday, Feb. 7 at 7:30 p.m. in Baldwin City.

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