Breckon Sports Center was packed on Wednesday night for a Heart of America Athletic Conference men's basketball matchup between the No.8 Baker University Wildcats.
Park moves to 11-9 on the season at 10-6 and remain in the mix in the Heart standings at No. 4, while Baker tops the conference at 19-1 on the season and a perfect 16-0 Heart record.
Jaden Robinson got the scoring started in the game with a strong cut on the opening bucket. It was a back and forth affair in the early going with baskets being traded by Noah Rigatuso and Robinson who had nine points in the opening four minutes of the game. The pace was high on both sides and Abubakar Kromah had a putback finish that drew a foul, and he finished off a three-point play to give the Pirates a 13-10 lead heading into the first media timeout.
Out of the break, Baker responded with two straight baskets by Keynan Russell to retake the lead. This tide would be stemmed when Gagi Gvalia finished a bucket strong in the paint against the Wildcat defense. The Pirates would follow it up with some defense as well when Shawndale Ross and Kromah teamed up on a block along the right side of the key.
The even battle continued into the ten minute timeout with both teams tied at twenty apiece. This stalemate was quickly broken by Korey Jones before Jasigah Barnes answered with a shot from behind the arc. Later on Kromah stuffed a Wildcat shooter on his way up for a layup and this provided Kromah with the chance to hit from deep to tie the game at 32-32. With a couple minutes left in the first half, the Pirates were down 44-42, but Park closed out the half with a couple of free throws from Gvalia and a three-pointer from Tristan McRoberts to go up 47-44.
The shooting splits at the half reflected the close score of the game. Park shot 51.6% from the field compared to 48.6% from Baker. Neither side was shooting well from behind the arc at that point with both teams only making three of ten plus attempts from that distance, but both sides did shoot over 80% from the free throw line in the first.
The second half started in Baker's favor when an offensive rebound gave Rigatuso a chance to tie the game at forty-nine each with a corner three. Barnes would score on the next possession to give the lead back to the Pirates. The Wildcats started to take control after this with a 7-0 run that gave them their largest lead of the game at that point 56-52. The Pirates would once again fight back and retook the lead 57-56 after another three from Barnes. While this trend continued, another Pirate player crossed the milestone of 1,000 career points in their collegiate career. Jaden Robinson, the senior from New Orleans, Louisiana accomplished this feat with a left-handed layup with nine minutes left to play to tie the game at sixty-six. Another highlight reel down the stretch followed when Kromah had a sick three-sixty spinning assist to Gvalia who finished the basket off with a flush.
The game would slowly separate down the stretch. Baker would go on a run that was capped off by a three-pointer by Rigatuso with McRobert's hand in his face to stretch the lead to 84-74. This margin would hold and the Wildcats kept their undefeated conference season alive with a 86-76 victory.
Robinson and Kromah led the scoring effort with 23 and 21 point performances. Robinson hauled in a double-double with 11 rebounds, while Kromah tried to reach a double-double with assists with eight for the night.
Gvalia and Barnes were next in line in scoring at 10 and nine points, respectively. Gvalia's defense has been on display this month with three more blocks on Wednesday.
Christian Bradford was near double-figure rebounding numbers with seven boards on the night.
The Pirates are back in Breckon Sports Center on Saturday, January 25 against Peru State College at 4pm. A Season Ticket Holder reception will be held on Saturday. Watch Here
Box Score
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