Wildcats Win Fourth Straight, Clip Yellowjackets at Home, 88-78

BALDWIN CITY, Kan. – Wildcats duo Noah Rigatuso and Quentin Harvey combined for 50 points to help lead Baker men's basketball to a double-digit victory over Graceland, 88-78 on Wednesday night in the Collins Center to close out a perfect 3-for-3 homestand for BU.

Winners of four straight overall, the Wildcats got 26 points from Rigatuso in the first half and hit four threes in the second to defeat a Yellowjackets team that sits in the top-four of the conference standings. BU outrebounded GU by a 47-27 margin with 18 of those boards coming on the offensive end and translating to 22 second-chance points for the Wildcats.

Rigatuso matched his season high with 30 points and finished a rebound shy of having himself another double-double outing. Harvey flirted with a double-double as well, pulling down eight rebounds to go along with his 20 points.

After Graceland opened up with an 8-4 lead, Rigatuso splashed in the first three of the contest to put Baker in front and sharpshooter Braden Griffiths came off the bench to sink one a little bit later.

The Yellowjackets worked the score back to a tie midway through the first half and briefly regained the lead with just under seven minutes left to halftime. Seven straight points from Rigatuso swung the favor back to BU and then some free throws saw the score settle at 36-29 with three minutes to go.

The two sides scored a combined 16 points in the final three minutes of the first half with Nick Whittick going the full length of the court and getting a running floater to fall right as the buzzer hit to give Baker a 46-35 halftime lead.

Things cooled off a little bit coming out of the intermission until Harvey and Ty Henry connected on back-to-back threes to push the Wildcats' lead out to 18 points. Then, the Yellowjackets used a 12-0 run to get back within single digits and keep things interesting in the second half.

With the score sitting at 71-67 with 4:23 left to play, Henry delivered a clutch bucket to get the Wildcats going again and Harvey added a three-point dagger a little bit later to make it a six-point lead for BU.

Baker made all six of its free throws down the stretch and a Harvey dunk put the cherry on top of the Wildcats' third straight double-digit win.

Boasting a 16-4 conference record, the Wildcats now sit in second place in the Heart standings after defeating two of the other top-four teams by a combined 23 points. BU started off the homestand with an 80-67 win over (RV) Central Methodist on Jan. 31.

Up next, Baker takes its four-game winning streak out on the road for its final regular-season road trip, beginning with a matchup against William Penn on Saturday, Feb. 10 at 4 p.m. in Oskaloosa, Iowa.

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