Men’s Basketball Falls on the Road at Benedictine

ATCHISON, Kan. - Coming off consecutive blowout wins at home, Baker men's basketball got tripped up on the road at Benedictine on Wednesday night, falling to the Ravens, 87-70, in BU's first road game of the second half of the season.

A nine-point halftime deficit for the Wildcats was too much for them to overcome after struggling offensively in the second half, where they scored just 30 points.

Both teams shot around 60 percent in the first 20 minutes, with Benedictine (18-for-30) finishing with a slight edge over BU (16-for-28). Despite nearly matching a can't-miss start from the Ravens in the first half, Baker couldn't hold serve in the second half, making just eight shots from the floor while Benedictine continued to shoot above 50 percent.

Alex Gunnels and Myles Tucker led BU in scoring with 11 points apiece, while Cam Jones (10) and Carter Trumbore (10) each reached double figures as well. Jones pulled down eight rebounds and Gunnels chipped in four assists and four boards.

The Ravens came out with a perfect start offensively, making all 11 of their first shots of the night, including three free throws, while also tallying eight of their 11 3-pointers of the game in the first half.

Baker tried to withstand the early onslaught with Gunnels knocking down a trey, but the Wildcats weren't able to string together a rally until late in the first half.

Trailing 40-23 with just over six minutes left in the half, Baker used back-to-back threes from Trumbore and Lucas Lyons to make its push. Gunnels splashed in a couple more from deep just a little bit later to slice Benedictine's 20-point lead to single digits.

A basket from Luke McDonald capped the busy first half with the Wildcats going into the locker room trailing, 49-40.

After both teams traded a few buckets early on, Baker ran into a brutal cold stretch, going with just one field goal through a six-minute stretch while Benedictine worked its lead back out to near 20-point territory.

Threes from Trumbore and Jimmy Dorsey helped snap the drought and Trumbore sank all three free throws after being fouled from behind the arc to make it an 11-point game.

The momentum would stop there for the Wildcats, though, as more offensive struggles allowed the Ravens to run away with things late. Eithan Viets and Tucker Armstrong fired in the final 3-pointers for BU as Benedictine finished off its double-digit conference win.

Baker returns to friendly confines this weekend, hosting a marquee matchup against No. 20 Graceland, which fell for the first time in conference play on Wednesday, on Saturday, Jan. 17 at 4 p.m. in the Collins Center.

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