Wildcats Cruise to 20-Point Victory over Bobcats in Heart Game of the Week

BALDWIN CITY - In a rematch of last year's Heart Championship game, No. 19 Baker pulled away in the second half against (RV) Peru State before eventually claiming an 87-64 victory over the Bobcats at home on Tuesday night in The Heart Conference Network Game of the Week.

The Wildcats took a 10-point halftime after a bit of a low-scoring end to the first half, but rolled out a devastating 19-4 run in the second half to come away with their fourth victory this year by 20 or more points.

Baker shot lights out from all spots on the court, firing at a 50-percent clip from both the floor (55%) and from three-point range (50%), while knocking down all but one of its 11 free throws in the game.

Kaimen Lennox led another balanced effort from BU offensively with a game-high 16 points, while four other Wildcats joined him in double-digit scoring. Ahmed Mahgoub tallied 14 points and Quentin Harvey and Noah Rigatuso each finished with 12 points apiece. Ty Henry had 11 points and five rebounds.

After cutting down the nets their last time in the Collins Center, the Bobcats jumped out to an early lead in this one, taking a 13-6 lead through the first five minutes of action.

The Wildcats responded with a huge counterpunch, scoring 17 unanswered points to erase the early deficit and take a 25-15 lead. Lennox chipped in six points during the hot stretch and Mahgoub knocked down the first of his four threes in the game.

The lead hovered around double digits for the rest of the half for BU as the offensive firepower fizzled out for both teams down the stretch. Lennox's layup at the 6:16 mark and a second-chance bucket from Harvey with under three minutes left were the only field goals for the Wildcats as their defense maintained a 36-26 halftime lead.

Things heated back up quickly after the intermission though with Mahgoub and Henry trading buckets for Baker. Mahgoub caught fire from downtown, draining three straight triples to balloon BU's lead out to 17 points.

Peru State worked its way back though to get within single digits through the midway point of the second half.

Then, the Wildcats reeled off another big run with six different players contributing to the spurt. Keynan Russell converted a couple of tough baskets and Korey Jones hustled for a stick-back as BU took a 71-51 lead with over seven minutes left in the game.

Baker kept the lead around that margin for the rest of the way with each team eventually unloading their benches as Braeden Colwell drained the final three for BU to cap an 87-64 win.

Off to their best start in at least 17 years, the Wildcats remain undefeated in Heart play (5-0) and boast a remarkable 24.6 margin of victory against league opponents this year. BU's "closest" game so far came on a 15-point victory against Park last week, while the biggest blowout occurred this past weekend with a 100-57 thrashing at Culver-Stockton.

Up next, Baker will take on last year's conference regular-season champion in MidAmerica Nazarene with a matchup on Saturday, Nov. 30 at 7:30 p.m. in Olathe, Kan.

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