(Peru, Neb.) – The Baker (Kan.) Wildcats will move on to face second-ranked William Penn (Iowa) Thursday night after they defeated the visiting Peru State Bobcats 95-77 in Baldwin City, Kan. Baker and Peru State played a play-in game in the first round of the Heart of America Athletic Conference (Heart) post-season tournament.
 
The loss ends the Bobcats 2016-17 season with a 13-18 record. Baker improved to 17-14 with the win.
 
First Half Action
 
A trey by Baker was followed by a three-pointer by Rashad Brackeen (Oakland, Calif.) to tie the game early at the 19:10 mark. Baker would hit another trey and then the teams would trade points until Matej Delinac (Brampton, Ontario, Canada) hit a trey to tie it at 10-10 with 15:42 remaining in the first half.

 
The Wildcats would hit three consecutive three-pointers to go up 19-10 before Brackeen would hit a pair of free throws to make it 19-12 at the 12:32 mark.
 
Baker would lead by as many as 11 at 25-14 and later 34-23 with 6:14 left in the first half. The Bobcats would go on a 9-1 run to pull within three at 35-32 after Marley Biyendolo (Melbourne, Australia) would hit a pair of free throws.
 
The teams would trade buckets again with Baker leading by seven at 44-37 late in the half before Allias Roberts-Burnett (Joliet, Ill.) hit a three-pointer with little time on the clock to cut the deficit to just four at halftime.
 
Second Half Action
 
A bucket by Brackeen started the second half to pull Peru State within two at 44-42 at the 19:25 mark. Later, Roberts-Burnett got the 'Cats back within two at 48-46 with a bucket in the paint with 18:06 left in the game. Unfortunately for the Bobcats, that would be as close as they would be during the rest of the contest.
 
After Baker built their lead to 11 at 64-53 with 12:27 left in the game, Peru State would eventually pull back within five after Brandon Reed (Omaha) stole the ball and took it to the hoop to make it 66-61 with just over ten minutes left in the game.
 
The Wildcats would go on to build its lead to 20 on several different occasions. A bucket by Biyendolo with 33 seconds left would make the final score 95-77.

BAKER GAME BOOK
 
Team Statistics
 
The Wildcats were hot on their home court as they made 31 of 60 field goals for 51.7% including hitting 14 of 26 three-point attempts for 53.8%. At the free throw line, Baker made 16 of 26 for 73.1%. Peru State shot a respectable 39.7% for field goals as they made 25 of 63 attempts which included only 8 of 27 from long range for 29.6%. The Bobcats were perfect at the free throw for the first time all year as they went 19 of 19.

 
Baker had a big rebounding edge as they grabbed 43 boards compared to 28 for the Bobcats. The Wildcats dished out twice as many assists as they had 16 while Peru State finished with eight.
 
The Bobcats took care of the ball a little better than Baker as they committed eight turnovers while the Wildcats had 13 miscues. Both teams blocked two shots. The Wildcats finished with one more steal than Peru State with six.
 
Individual Statistics
 
Two Bobcats finished in double figures and were led by a game-high 28 by Brackeen who finished 8 of 15 shooting, including making 5 of 10 from downtown, and hitting all seven free throw attempts. Biyendolo added 16 with Roberts-Burnett just one shy of double figures.
 
Noah Vasa (Nebraska City) and Biyendolo each finished with six rebounds while Paulius Sakinis (Klaipeda, Lithuania) added four.
 
Biyendolo dished out three assists with Brackeen handing out two. Vasa and B.J. Day (Lincoln) each blocked one shot. Brackeen and Delinac each were credited with two steals.
 
Final Game for Brackeen and Delinac
 
Brackeen and Delinac played their final game in a Bobcat uniform in the loss to Baker.