Five Wildcats Earn All-Conference Honors, Jones Named to All-Defensive Team
BALDWIN CITY, Kan. - After setting a program record with 18 conference wins, Baker men's basketball had five players earn All-Heart honors as the league announced its 2024 Heart of America Athletic Conference Men's Basketball All-Conference teams and individual awards on Thursday afternoon.
Quentin Harvey (Jr., Tulsa, Okla.) and Noah Rigatuso (Jr., Omaha, Neb.) each received first-team recognition after leading the Wildcats in scoring this year with both players averaging around 17 points per game. It's the second straight first-team nod for Harvey, while Rigatuso landed on the second team last year.
After reaching double figures in six of his first seven games against conference opponents, Ty Henry (So., Topeka, Kan.) picked up second-team honors. He has started all but two games this season for head coach Sean Dooley and has shot over 55 percent from the floor and over 46 percent from three in 2023-24.
Baker's backcourt duo of Korey Jones (Jr., Dallas, Texas) and Dylan Smith (Sr., Stillwater, Okla.) garnered honorable-mention honors with Jones earning a spot on the Heart's All-Defensive team for the second straight year as well. Smith has started all 29 games for BU and leads the team with 77 assists, while Jones started the first 25 games before suffering an injury in the final week of the regular season.
The Wildcats posted the program's first back-to-back 20-win season after going 20-8 in the regular season and finished 18-6 in conference play. Earning the No. 2 seed in the Heart Tournament, BU marked its highest finish in the conference standings since 1989.
Advancing to the semifinals for the second straight year, No. 2 Baker will take on No. 3 Graceland on Friday, March 1 at 7 p.m. in the Collins Center in the 2024 Heart Men's Basketball Conference Tournament, presented by WinWon Technologies.
BU swept the regular-season series against the Yellowjackets with an overtime win (90-84) on the road back in January before a double-digit victory (88-78) at home on Feb. 7.
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