(Peru, Neb.) – Playing on their home court, the Baker University (BU) Wildcat men's basketball team muscled their way to a win 91-71 over the visiting Peru State College (PSC) Bobcat men's basketball team.
In their post-game talks on the radio, both player Jacob Schaben
(Defiance, Iowa) and Bobcat head coach Troy Katen noted that Baker pushed and muscled their way into rebounds and forced PSC to change some things as the Bobcats did not handled the pressure.
Baker improved to 16-8 overall and 9-4 in the Heart of America Athletic Conference (HAAC). Their 9-4 mark puts them third in the conference race. The Bobcats fall to 2-23 and 1-12 in the HAAC.
Game Action
After Patrick Riley
(Kansas City, Mo.) made one of two free throws for the Bobcats to start the game, Baker went on an 11-0 run to grab an 11-1 lead with just under 16 minutes to play in the first half.
Kevin Tighe
(North Platte) nailed a trey to cut into the lead on an assist from Derrick Williams
(St. Joseph, Mo.) making it a ten-point deficit. However, Baker countered with eight straight points to go up 19-4 before Eric Donald
(Omaha) made three free throws cutting it to a 19-7 Baker lead.
Another five points by the Wildcats made it 24-7 before Peter Knudsen
(Vanloese, Denmark) hit a two-pointer which was followed by a three-pointer by Brady Kreitzer
(Kansas City, Mo.). At that point, PSC trailed 24-12.
Baker extended their lead to 37-17 with another 13-5 run and maintained a twenty-point lead at 40-20 with 3:42 left in the half. The Bobcats finished the first stanza with a 10-2 run and trailed Baker at the break, 42-30.
The Wildcats opened the second half with a 20-8 run going up 62-38 with 12:10 to go in the game. Baker led by as many as 29 on a couple of different occasions late in the half before PSC closed the deficit to 20 by the end of the game.
Team Statistics
The Wildcats shot an impressive 59.6% from the floor making 31 of 52. Baker was hot from three-point range making nine of 19 for 47.4%. They shot equally as well from the free throw line making 20 of 26 for 76.9%.
PSC made 17 of 50 field goals for 34% that included going five of 14 treys for 35.7%. The Bobcats had one of their better nights at the charity strip making 32 of 39 for 82.1%.
Points in the paint were a key to the game as Baker doubled PSC's total by scoring 40 in the lane compared to PSC's 20. Another key turning aspect of the game was rebounding as the Wildcats muscled their way to 36 boards while PSC mustered 21.
Peru State did commit fewer turnovers than BU as the 'Cats had 20 while the Wildcats had 25.
GAME BOX SCORE
Individual Statistics
Williams was the only Bobcat finishing in double figures with 21. This included Williams going 11 of 12 from the free throw line. In addition, Williams was the team's leading rebounder with five.
Schaben finished with nine points, two steals, and one rebound. Also scoring nine was Kreitzer who had two boards, one blocked shot, and one steal.
KNCY Player of the Game Comments – Jacob Schaben
For his efforts in the first half where he scored the majority of his points, Schaben was named the KNCY Player of the Game. When discussing the game, Schaben said, “They jumped out on us early and it made it tough on us to do what we wanted. We were a little out of control. I think we thought we were getting pushed around quite a bit and we did not know how to handle it as well as we should have.” In conclusion, Schaben said, “We will get back to work tomorrow and get ready to play Mo Valley on Saturday.”
Bobcat Head Coach Comments
“They had our number right away,” stated Bobcat head coach Troy Katen who was obviously disappointed in his team's loss. “We didn't expect them to play as hard at the beginning and they had us down early. They owned us on the boards and they got 40 points in the paint as their bigs just dominated us tonight.”
Continuing Katen added, “After falling behind early, we made a little run in the first half. We told the guys at halftime that we have been in this situation many times before. But, we did not come out in the second half and execute and we did not have the intensity that we needed on defense. We got a little selfish in the second half offensively and did not execute the sets we had wanted to run against Baker.”
In conclusion, Katen noted, “We have to have a quick turnaround to take care of things at home on Saturday. We will also have to take care of the next four games to get into the tournament, but we have to win one at a time to get into the eighth spot.”
Upcoming Games
Peru State is back in action on Saturday as they host the Missouri Valley College Vikings at approximately 4 p.m. in the Al Wheeler Activity Center (AWAC). The Vikings are 9-15 overall and 4-8 in the HAAC following their loss on Thursday.
Next Thursday, Feb. 16, the 'Cats will be back in the AWAC as they host the Ravens from Benedictine College. Game time is scheduled for approximately 7:30 p.m.
Then, on Saturday, Feb. 18, PSC will be travelling to Kansas City, Mo., to play the Avila University Eagles with the game scheduled to begin at approximately 4 p.m.
