Wildcats' Historic Season Comes to an End in NAIA National Tournament First Round with Overtime Loss to Ottawa (Ariz.)

PARK CITY, Kan. – The Baker men's basketball team ended their season on Tuesday evening, falling to Ottawa (Ariz.) in overtime by a score of 80-78, capping off a historic season for the Wildcats.

Baker reached the NAIA National Tournament for just the fifth time in school history and the third time since 1941. Other Baker men's basketball appearances in the National Tournament occurred in 1937, 1941, 1996 and 2012.

The Wildcats finish the season with a record of 22-9, collecting the most wins by a Baker team since at least 2004, which is when the NAIA started using DakStats. Baker was 16-6 in Heart of America play and joined four other teams in the NAIA National Tournament including, William Penn, Peru State, Evangel and MidAmerica Nazarene.

Jalen Patterson was able to lead the Wildcats in scoring on Tuesday afternoon, going 7-for-17 from the field to score 23 points, while Quentin Harvey added 14 points and a team-high eight rebounds. Both Braden Wiggs and Korey Jones also reached double figures in the game, scoring 13 and 11 respectively.

The Wildcats were able to come out hot to start the game, jumping out to a quick 15-7 lead in the first seven minutes as the Spirit were forced to call their first timeout of the game. Baker then went scoreless for almost three minutes as the Spirit tied the game at 15 before a layup by Cason Richardson gave the lead back to Baker, 17-15.

With 5:21 left in the first half, Ottawa was able to take their first lead of the game at 25-24, but Korey Jones hit back-to-back layups as Baker led 28-25 2ith 2:08 left. Ottawa then finished the half on a short run as the Spirit took a 32-31 lead into halftime.

Baker came out of the locker room hot once again and scored the first five points of the half to lead 36-32. Ottawa then worked their way back once again and with 15:23 left, Baker and Ottawa were tied at 42.

The lead was traded back and forth for the next few minutes and a big three from Joshua Kelly gave Baker a 53-50 lead with 10:37 left in regulation and forced Ottawa to take another timeout. With Baker leading 60-59, Kelly then converted a three-point play as Baker held a strong 63-59 lead, but Ottaway quickly regained the lead at 64-63.

Jalen Patterson stepped up and drilled a big three with 44 seconds to give the Wildcats a three-point lead and after a free throw from Justin Batts II, Baker lead by four, 68-64 with 26 seconds left.

After two free throws and a layup from Ottawa, a three from Baker came up just short and the game went to overtime, tied at 68.

The lead changed hands just two times in the overtime period, but with Baker trailing by one, Jalen Patterson dug deep and hit a baseline jumper to give the Wildcats the lead with 2.7 seconds left, 78-77.

Ottawa then threw a baseball pass on the inbounds and after dumping it off to their leading scorer, banked in a buzzer-beating three to win the game and give Baker the loss, 80-78.

Baker finishes the season with a record of 22-9. Thank you to the men's basketball seniors including Brock Hollingsworth, Braden Wiggs, Joshua Kelly, Jalen Patterson and Justin Batts II for their dedication to the program.

#BakerBuildsChampions