Men’s Basketball Falls on the Road at Missouri Valley

MARSHALL, Mo. - Playing on the road for the fourth time in the last five games, Baker men's basketball fell to Missouri Valley, 95-71, on Saturday night in Marshall, Mo.

The Wildcats couldn't match a hot-shooting Vikings squad and trailed by 14 at the half before the Valley maintained its lead throughout the second half to earn a comfortable conference win.

Baker shot over 40 percent from the floor (25-of-55) and nearly hit that mark from three, going 9-for-23 from deep, but the Vikings countered by shooting 58 percent from the field (37-of-64) and tallying 15 total 3-pointers.

Cam Jones led BU with 21 points and pulled down eight rebounds in a solid all-around effort for the freshman from Kansas City, Mo. Myles Tucker chipped in 12 points while Alex Gunnels and Jimmy Dorsey each had seven points apiece.

Things couldn't have started better for BU in Marshall with a three by Gunnels on the opening possession kicking off an 11-0 start with Jones and Tucker splashing in back-to-back treys to punctuate the early run. A three by Carter Trumbore kept the Wildcats in front, but the Vikings eventually took their first lead at 19-18 at the 12:32 mark.

Threes by Dorsey and Shane Threadgill kept BU close as Valley started to pull away down the stretch of the opening half. The only scoring for the Wildcats in the final three minutes came on a Gunnels layup and three straight free throws from Jones as the visitors found themselves trailing, 51-37 after the first half of play.

Baker carried its offensive struggles into the second half and started off with just two field goals in the first seven minutes until a breakaway jam from Dorsey made it 66-47. The Vikings went on one of their best stretches, reeling off a 17-6 run to take their biggest lead of the night at 82-53 with 8:36 left in the game.

Jones added a string of buckets and Xavier McCord knocked down a jumper, but Missouri Valley rode its 20-point lead the rest of the way to come away with its second straight victory against a Heart opponent.

Up next, Baker wraps up the early-season road swing with a rivalry matchup at MidAmerica Nazarene on Tuesday, Nov. 25, starting at 7:30 p.m. in Olathe, Kan.

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