No. 8 Wildcats Grind Out Road Win vs. William Penn, 79-76

OSKALOOSA, Iowa – Despite a tough afternoon offensively, the No. 8 Baker men's basketball team was able to grind out a tough road win over William Penn on Monday to stay perfect in conference play and pick up their 15th straight win, 79-76.

Noah Rigatuso led the Wildcats in scoring with 24 points, coming up just one rebound short of a double-double with nine. Ty Henry was perfect at the free throw line and went 7-for-15 from the field for 22 points, while Kaimen Lennox and Quentin Harvey also reached double figures with 13 and 10 respectively.

Both teams traded points for the first eight minutes of the game but with Baker trailing by one with 11:52 left in the half, William Penn went on a 9-0 run to hold onto a 21-11 lead. William Penn stretched their lead to as many as 13 points in the first half but with William Penn leading 35-25 with 3:52 left, the Wildcats finished the half on a 9-0 run of their own to cut the lead to one at the break, 35-34.

It took just over two minutes into the second half for Baker to regain the lead on a layup from Noah Rigatuso, 40-39. Baker was eventually able to stretch their lead to nine points, but the Statesmen would not go away. In the game, the lead changed 12 times and with 2:39 left in the game, WPU took a 72-71 lead on a three-pointer.

After a Nick Whittick three-pointer tied the game at 72, Ty Henry knocked down his only three-pointer of the game and gave the Wildcats a 75-72 lead. William Penn was able to cut it to one multiple times, but Baker didn't miss a free throw the rest of the way as they held on to win, 79-76.

With the win, Baker is now 18-1 on the season and a perfect 15-0 in Heart of America play. They will be back on the road on Wednesday, January 22, when they travel to Parkville, Mo., to take on the Park Pirates at 7:30 p.m.

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