Wildcats Come Out on Top of Second Straight Road Thriller, Defeat Spartans, 69-68

ST. LOUIS, Mo. - For the second straight time, Baker men's basketball had a road contest decided in the final seconds as Myles Tucker hit a pair of game-winning free throws to push the Wildcats past Missouri Baptist, 69-68, on Saturday evening in St. Louis.

A technical foul was issued to the Spartans immediately after they hit a go-ahead 3-pointer with less than a second left, allowing Tucker to knock down the ensuing foul shots to give Baker its second dramatic road victory in as many games.

The contest remained tight throughout, producing 15 ties and 22 lead changes, with neither side separating by more than five points over the full 40 minutes. Baker held a slight edge from the field and from beyond the arc, making two more threes than MBU, while the Spartans earned a significant advantage in free-throw attempts (33-19). Neither team was able to capitalize on their opportunities, as BU went 12-for-19 at the line compared to MBU's 19-for-33.

Tucker led the Wildcats in scoring with 19 points, but it was a key second-half surge from Cam Jones that helped BU keep pace with the Spartans down the stretch. Jones tallied 12 of his 16 points in the second half, including the final six points for BU until Tucker's free throws, and finished a rebound shy of a double-double (9).

It was a sluggish start for both sides offensively as baskets from Tucker and Jones served as Baker's only scoring through the first eight minutes until Ethan Viets drained a three to make it 11-9 in favor of MBU.

Tucker quickly caught fire, splashing in three 3-pointers over the course of 90 seconds to give the Wildcats their first lead of the game. Things would go quiet again, though, until a set of threes by Jimmy Dorsey and Alex Gunnels helped BU close the half on a 10-6 run. Luke McDonald's layup in the final minute brought the back-and-forth first half to a halftime stalemate, 30-30.

In the second half, Tucker connected on his fourth trey and Viets found Jones on a nice cut through the lane for a two-handed jam to push Baker out in front early in the half. McDonald followed with another layup to give the Wildcats a five-point lead with 15 minutes left.

The offense hit another cool stretch for BU as the Spartans worked to tie the game and eventually retake the lead at 44-43. Baskets by Dorsey and Eli Obaseki swung the advantage back to Baker, but a scoring flurry a few minutes later saw the score settle back in favor of MBU at 56-54 with 6:27 remaining in the game.

After being in a deadlock for a stretch, a missed free throw from the Spartans allowed Tucker to break the tie with a jumper and make it a 61-60 lead for BU. With just over a minute left, Jones got a go-ahead layup to fall on a tough drive to the hoop and then tied the game with a free throw a little bit later at 64-64.

The Spartans reclaimed the lead on a 1-for-2 trip to the line, but the missed free throw opportunities would come back to haunt them. Jones came back with another huge layup on BU's ensuing possession, with his shot being ruled good on a goaltending call to give the Wildcats a 66-65 lead with 12 seconds left to play.

With Baker leading by two, Missouri Baptist made what looked to be the game-winning three, but a technical issued on the post-play celebration allowed Tucker to play the part of hero and sink the game-winning free throws.

After snapping their five-game skid on Wednesday, the Wildcats have posted back-to-back wins to close out their three-game road swing. BU now has as many wins on the road (4) as it does at home.

Baker will begin a four-game stretch in the Collins Center, starting with a matchup against Benedictine on Wednesday, Feb. 11, at 7:30 p.m. in Baldwin City.

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