(RV) Wildcats Stay Hot on the Road with 74-70 Victory Over Mustangs

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa – The (RV) Baker men's basketball earned its sixth straight road win with a 74-70 victory over Mount Mercy in a Heart of America Conference battle on Saturday.

The Wildcats had four players reach double-digit scoring with Jalen Patterson leading the way with 19 points. Korey Jones and Braden Wiggs scored 17 points apiece and each missed only three shots in the game with Jones going 8-for-11 from the field and sinking his lone free throw while Wiggs went 7-for-9 from the field and 3-for-4 from the free throw line. Justin Batts II chipped in 10 points as well and made all six of his shots from three-point distance (2-for-2) and from the charity stripe (4-for-4).

Jones and Wiggs got Baker off on the right foot to start the game as the pair scored the first seven points for the Wildcats. Wiggs delivered a three-point play the hard way with a tough bucket underneath that earned him a trip to the free throw line as well.

After the Mustangs drew their lead out to 14-9, BU rattled off a nice 10-2 run that stretched over five minutes to regain the advantage.

Then, with five minutes left in the half¬, Wiggs went to work again and scored six straight points for Baker to make it 30-24 in the Wildcats' favor.

But Baker would hit a bit of a cold stretch from there as the Mustangs grinded their way back to tie things at 30-all. Batts drained a much-needed triple with 40 seconds left, but Mount Mercy countered with a last-second layup to make it 33-32, Baker at halftime.

The second half began in similar fashion as the first half with Jones coming out of the gate hot and tallying three straight layups. Batts added his second three of the game to put BU ahead 42-38.

Leading by seven at the 14-minute mark, it was Patterson's turn to go on a heater. He scored on consecutive possessions before going on to nail a three-pointer and another jumper to give the Wildcats their largest lead of the game at 56-45.

Mount Mercy responded with a 10-2 scoring stretch with a pair of threes highlighting its run. Joshua Kelly helped to squelch the momentum with a couple of baskets to keep Baker in front.

After Noah Rigatuso's layup pushed BU ahead 68-61, the Mustangs' Cole Hrubes hit two straight threes to make it a two-point game heading into the final two minutes of play.

With the score 70-68, Wiggs knocked down a couple of free throws to push the Wildcats' lead back out to four. Mount Mercy would make it a one-possession game again, but Batts' free throws with six seconds left sealed the 74-70 victory for BU.

Baker improves to 11-3 on the season – including an impressive 6-1 in road contests – and moves to 6-2 in Heart play. The Wildcats return for a midweek home game as they face Missouri Valley on Wednesday, Jan. 11 at 7:30 p.m.

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