Baker Men's 07-08 Hardwood Outlook

 

Seven returning lettermen will compete with a handful of newcomers as the 2007-08 Baker Wildcats prepare for the upcoming season.  6’8 senior Aaron Toren saw heavy duty action inside last season and will be joined by 6’8 senior Ross Thompson and 6’4 senior Matt Mills to give the Cats three returnees with experience at the post.  6’6 Cloud County transfer Bret Shaw is expected to be in the mix as well.

On the perimeter, senior guards Taylor Parker and Andy Hannon started last season while junior Dain Dillingam played major minutes coming off the bench.  Junior Ryan Highfill will play a bigger role this season and newcomer Heath Baird, a 6’5 swingman who played last year at Cloud County will contribute at the wing.  5’10 Kirkwood Community College transfer Nick Iversen and freshmen guards Connor Bechard and Ryan Presley will be competing for playing time on the perimeter.

 

Weaver signs Post Player for '08-'09 Season

Chris Goss, a 6’6” 220 pound forward is the first recruit for Weaver and his wildcats this off-season.  Chris is transferring in from Hill Junior College in Hillsborough, Texas.  He is a 2005 graduate of Midway High School in Hewitt, TX.

 

Seniors lead Baker to fourth consecutive win

The Baker men sent their five seniors out in style Thursday night with an 82-57 victory over the Vikings of Missouri Valley College. The Wildcats came out firing on all cylinders, shooting 60 percent from the field in the first half, while taking a 24 point lead into halftime. The second half would prove to be no different as the Cats' remained hot and shot a staggering 54 percent from the field on the night. Even more impressive was the three point shooting the Cats' displayed on the evening, shooting 52 percent (14/27) from behind the arc. The five Wildcat seniors accounted for 44 of Bakers 82 points and grabbed 28 of a total 37 rebounds. Baker will look to keep their winning streak intact when they travel to Springfield, MO, to face the Crusaders of Evangel University on Saturday afternoon.

Baird's shooting leads Cats to third straight

The Wildcat men’s basketball team reeled off its third straight win Thursday night with a 77-73 overtime victory over visiting Culver-Stockton College. The Wildcats were led by junior Heath Baird, who finished with 20 points. Baird shot 6 of 14 from three-point range, including a big three-pointer with seconds remaining to force the game into overtime. In the extra period Baird would remain hot, tallying 8 of Baker’s 12 points to lead the Wildcats to another victory. The Wildcats shot 85 percent (17 of 20) from the free-throw line. Seniors Aaron Toren and Matt Mills controlled the boards for the Wildcats. Toren grabbed 10 rebounds and added 12 points, while Mills pulled down 11 rebounds. The Wildcats will look to stretch their winning streak to four when they play host to Missouri Valley on February 21.

Second half push deflates Baker

The Wildcats could only handle the pressure for so long. It took a huge second half run by Central Methodist to win convincingly 74-53. Heath Baird (pictured) led the Wildcats in scoring with 17 points in his 26 minutes of play. It was the impressive scoring of Jeff Blauvelt who led Central Methodist to their victory with 29 points in his 31 minutes of play. Thursday night the men lookl to rebound at Graceland. Tip-off is set of 7:30 pm.

Wildcats take one of two in Classic

The Cats took the court last weekend hosting the four team Baker Classic Basketball Tournament. They would tip off in the early game on Friday night against a very strong team from Sterling College. It was a back and forth battle throughout, with BU surviving with a 59-57 victory. Aaron Toren (pictured) lead the way for the Cats putting up 19 points and grabbing six rebounds on the night. Head Coach Rich Weaver had this to say on Friday performance; "It was a game of spurts for both teams and we were able to make a couple key plays late to pull out the win."

Saturday evenings game would pair the Wildcats against local rival Ottawa University. Ottawa would come out on fire shooting near 60% from the field in the contest. The Cats made several late runs in the second half only to be turn back by the Braves tough defense. In the end Ottawa proved to much and BU dropped the contest 85-70. Weaver's thoughts; "we got a slow start against a hot-shooting team in Ottawa and were playing uphill the entire night.   Aaron Toren was our most consistent offensive player over the weekend and he did some good things on the block.”

The Cats will travel to Maryville, Mo. Friday night to face NCAA Div. II Northwest Missouri State. Game time is set for 7:30 p.m.

Wildcat show up big in home opener

The men's basketball team kicked of their opening game of the season Saturday night with a big win over Bethany College. The Cats would hold a slight lead throughout the contest, eventually pulling away down the stretch in the second half. Baker was lead by 6' senior guard Andy Hannon who pored in 17 points, grabbed four boards, and added three assists, and three steals. Another bright spot for the Wildcats was the play in the paint by Aaron Toren. The senior center would end the contest with 13 points, and pulled down 5 rebounds.

The Cats next opponent will be University of St. Mary on Tuesday Nov. 6th, at 7:30 p.m. in the Collins Center on the campus of Baker University.