(RV) Saint Mary Squeaks by Wildcats, 76-72 in Ernie Stevens Jr. Classic

LAWRENCE, Kan. - Baker men's basketball battled back from a double-digit deficit and held multiple late leads, but ultimately fell 76-72 to (RV) Saint Mary on Friday night in Lawrence, Kan., in the opening game of Haskell's Ernie Stevens Jr. Classic.

The Wildcats trailed by nine early in the second half before swinging the game back to their side with a 12-2 surge that put them in front with less than 12 minutes remaining. From there, the game featured five ties and four lead changes down the stretch, with the Spires using late free throws and timely finishes to close it out in the final 30 seconds.

In its first game away from the Collins Center this season, Baker forced 20 Saint Mary turnovers, controlled the glass (37-32), and won the bench scoring margin by a six-point gap (30-24), but a tough shooting night from long range late in the second half, combined with 16 points off turnovers by USM, proved pivotal.

Baker shot 40.7 percent (24-59) from the field and connected on 10 three-pointers, but only got one triple to fall in the game's final 11 minutes. Meanwhile, the Spires created their margin at the free-throw line, converting 19 of 20 attempts, including all 11 in the first half, while Baker went 14-of-18 (77.8 percent).

Myles Tucker led BU in scoring with 22 points on 7-of-15 shooting to go with six rebounds and four blocks in 27 minutes. Cam Jones added 16 points and a team-high nine rebounds, providing consistent energy on both ends in the second half. Alex Gunnels managed seven points, three assists, and two steals off the bench, while Eli Obaseki contributed seven points and eight rebounds. Tucker's 22-point performance maintained his season scoring average of 15 points per game through three games, tied with Mo Niang for the team lead.

The Wildcats set the tone early, riding three first-half triples from Tucker to build their largest lead of the opening 20 minutes, 37-28, with 2:37 to play before halftime. Saint Mary closed the half on a 9-2 push, trimming the margin to 39-37 at the break.

Tucker scored 11 first-half points, while Jones provided eight and five boards in the opening period as BU shot just over 40 percent as a team in the half and nearly matched that pace (37.5 percent) from deep.

Coming out of the break, Saint Mary used a 12-4 run, punctuated by back-to-back threes to take a 52-43 lead - their largest of the night. BU responded immediately as Jones buried a three, Jimmy Dorsey hit a pull-up jumper, and Carter Trumbore drained a go-ahead triple at the 11:36 mark to flip the deficit into a 55-52 advantage.

The final eight minutes evolved into a possession-by-possession battle. Tucker converted two clutch free throws to put Baker up 60-56 with just under seven minutes left to go and Jones answered a USM run with a layup to pull BU within two at 66-64 with 2:14 to play.

Back-to-back threes from Saint Mary spoiled Obaseki's only trey of the night, which briefly made it a one-score game before the second USM three-point dagger. Tucker's three in transition got BU back within one possession at 72-70 with 20 seconds left, but Saint Mary closed a perfect 4-of-4 at the line in the final 11 seconds to seal the nonconference win.

Baker will close out its early-season tournament in Lawrence, taking on the host Haskell tomorrow (Nov. 9) at 4 p.m. inside the Coffin Complex Gymnasium.

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