Henry’s Buzzer-Beater Sends No. 2 Baker to Heart Championship in Semifinals Overtime Thriller

BALDWIN CITY, Kan. - Ty Henry swished a buzzer-beating jumper with 0.6 seconds left to send the Wildcats to their first-ever conference title game as No. 2 Baker defeated No. 3 Graceland in overtime in the semifinals of the 2024 Heart Men's Basketball Conference Tournament, presented by WinWon Technologies, here Friday night in the Collins Center.

After the Yellowjackets banked in a three to take a one-point lead, a sideline inbounds play found Henry in the corner and the sophomore from Topeka, Kan. was able to fire off a falling fadeaway and sink the game-winner for BU.

For the second time this season, four quarters wasn't enough to decide the game between the two teams as the back-and-forth contest that saw neither side lead by more than single digits throughout the game remained tied at 66-66 at the end of regulation.

With both offenses averaging around 80 points per game, the semifinals showdown featured more of a methodical tempo with the combined 147 points in five quarters finishing well below the 174- and 166-point totals from their regular-season matchups.

Quentin Harvey dropped a game-high 25 points and added seven rebounds to lead the Wildcats offensively. Braden Griffiths connected on three straight triples at one point and finished with 11 points, while Ahmed Mahgoub finished in double figures as well with 10 points.

Harvey and Nick Whittick drained back-to-back threes to keep Baker close in the early going after the Yellowjackets capitalized on consecutive fouls from behind the three-point line and turned those BU miscues into a 6-for-6 trip to the line to take the opening advantage.

After Griffiths knocked down a jumper to make it 20-17 in favor of GU with just under 12 minutes left in the first half, the scoring would come to a lull as the next eight minutes saw the score only move up to a 26-24 lead for the visitors.

A couple of layups by Whittick and Mahgoub made it a two-point halftime deficit for BU as the Yellowjackets took a 32-30 lead into the intermission.

In the second half, a three from Mahgoub to open the frame gave the Wildcats their first lead of the game as the seesaw battle continued with both teams trading buckets.

Graceland took the lead on a layup with 11:23 left before Griffiths provided a huge lift from behind-the-arc as the senior guard drained three treys in a row to make it a 54-47 lead for BU.

After Harvey's second-chance bucket gave the Wildcats the game's largest lead at nine points, the Yellowjackets came storming back with a 13-4 run to tie the game at 60-60 with four minutes left in regulation.

With BU trailing by three with just over a minute left, Henry delivered what would end up being his second-biggest shot of the night with a three to tie things up at 66-66. Both sides would hold defensively as a couple of desperation threes fell off the mark and the two teams headed for overtime.

In overtime, Harvey's layup opened up the scoring and four straight free throws for BU saw them go up by four. Then, with five seconds left, Graceland's banked three put them in front by one before Henry's heroic shot capped a wild ending with Baker advancing on a 74-73 victory.

No. 2 Baker will host a conference championship for the first time in school history as the Wildcats take on No. 5 Peru State in the Heart Championship on Monday, March 4 at 7 p.m. in the Collins Center.

BU swept the regular-season series against the Bobcats, including a tough 78-76 win at home in the final game of the regular season on Feb. 21.

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