Wildcats Come From Behind to Defeat Peru State in Overtime, 75-73 to Move to 4-0 In Heart of America Play

PERU, Neb. – Keeping a perfect record in conference play, the Baker men's basketball team worked hard for a tough 75-73 overtime win over Peru State on Saturday afternoon.

Both Noah Rigatuso and Jalen Patterson dropped a team-high 18 points in the game as Rigatuso went 6-for-9 from the field, while Patterson was 2-for-5 from three. Braden Wiggs and Quentin Harvey also reached double figures in scoring as Wiggs had 13 and Harvey had 11, while Harvey also held the team lead with nine rebounds.

Despite shooting 36.1 percent from the field, the Wildcats hit 19-of-23 free throws in the game, while only giving up 11 points at the free throw line. Baker also dished out nine assists as a team, while turning it over just 10 times in 45 minutes.

Baker was forced to call a timeout in the first five minutes of the game, while Peru State came out firing and took an 11-4 lead. With 9:14 left in the first half, the Bobcats held a 21-12 lead, but Baker held Peru State scoreless for the next four minutes cutting the lead to 23-17.

Baker was able to cut the lead to just three multiple times late in the first half, but Peru State would stretch their lead back to six by the end of the first half, 33-27.

Baker could not quite break through early in the second half and Peru State held their lead at nine with 11:13 to go in regulation. With the Bobcats looking to try to put the game away, Baker would not let it happen ad with Peru State leading 56-48, Baker went on a quick 10-2 run to tie the game at 58 on a couple free throws from Harvey with 3:54 left in the second half.

Peru State then pulled the lead back to four, but two buckets from Patterson in the final two minutes tied the game at 64 and sent the game to overtime.

On the very first possession of the overtime period, Patterson was able pick up right where he left off and hit a three to give Baker their first lead since leading 4-2 with 17:06 left in the first half.

Baker's largest lead in overtime got to five points, but Peru State did not just lay down, tying the game at 69 with 2:26 left. Two late buckets from Rigatuso put the game away and Baker went on to defeat Peru State, 75-73.

With the big win, Baker is now 9-1 on the season and is a perfect 4-0 in Heart of America play. They will be back in action on Wednesday, Dec. 14, when they host No. 22 Evangel at 7:30 p.m., inside the Collins Center.

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