Wildcats Push Past Bobcats, 80-70, in Statement Conference Victory

BALDWIN CITY - Backed by a pair of 20-point outings from Alex Gunnels and Myles Tucker, Baker men's basketball picked up a big conference win at home, defeating Peru State, 80-70 on Wednesday night in the Collins Center.

The Wildcats held the Bobcats to just 23 points in the opening half to take a nine-point lead at halftime and maintained the advantage throughout the second half to earn a hard-fought victory in a matchup between two teams that have competed for the Heart championship that past few years.

With neither side holding much of an advantage on shooting, Baker did force 20 turnovers and earned a season-high 43 trips to the free-throw line, knocking down 31 of them. BU went just 3-for-16 from three-point range, but Peru State wasn't much better at 5-for-21.

Tucker dropped 25 points and Gunnels tallied a season-high 21 to account for over half of BU's scoring in the contest as the duo went a combined 22-of-27 at the line to capitalize in an area that has been an achilles' heel for the Wildcats this season. Additionally, Baker got a big lift from its bench with Luke McDonald highlighting the group and contributing nine points, seven rebounds, three assists and three steals.

With a low-scoring start to the game, Peru State owned a slight advantage through the first five minutes, taking a 13-8 lead on its first and only 3-pointer of the first half. A Gunnels three ignited a 14-2 run as the Wildcats surged ahead to lead by seven late in the half.

After Ethan Viets' three gave BU a 22-15 lead, the Bobcats responded and cut it to a one-point game with less than four minutes left until halftime. KJ Odour chipped in key points and a transition layup from McDonald settled the halftime score at 32-23 in favor of the Wildcats.

Tucker knocked down the first shot of the second half to give BU the first double-digit lead of the night. After Bobcats fought back to get within four, Tucker and Gunnels helped Baker back to a more comfortable margin, taking a 45-36 lead at the 13:49 mark.

McDonald, a junior from Lee's Summit, Mo., came through with a big stretch midway through the second half, setting up a shot for Carter Trumbore before Trumbore paid the favor back on McDonald's layup on the next possession. A jumper from McDonald made it a 51-36 lead before PSC mustered up another burst to get within single digits with just over seven minutes left to play.

Following a free throw make from Peru State, Tucker delivered the highlight moment of the night, splitting between two defenders in transition and throwing down a ferocious one-handed jam to send the home crowd into a frenzy.

Cam Jones converted a three-point play to keep Baker in front by 12 heading into the final five minutes of action. Tucker and Gunnels provided most of the scoring from there, taking care of business at the charity stripe to close out an 80-70 victory for BU.

With the win, the Wildcats have came out on top of three of their last four matchups, with a victory over Hannibal-LaGrange in the final game of Columbia's Thanksgiving Classic last weekend as well as a huge conference win on the road at (RV) MidAmerica Nazarene (Nov. 25) before the holiday break.

Up next, Baker will look to carry its momentum on the road in Oskaloosa, Iowa, where BU will face William Penn for a Heart matchup on Dec. 13, with tipoff set for 4 p.m.

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