The Baker University men’s basketball team knocked down 14 3-pointers to defeat Avila University 78-71 Thursday in Collins Center.
Avila stayed in a zone defense in effort to stay out of foul trouble since it only had eight players, but senior Ben Steinlage led the Wildcats’ 3-point attack as he was a perfect 4-4 from behind the arc.
“I felt really good, especially after those first few shots dropped in early in the first half,” Steinlage said. “That zone they were playing was almost kind of soft and I was just kind of picking and popping.”
Baker trailed for most of the first half, but used seven treys to take a 30-29 halftime lead.
BU kept momentum into the second half and pushed its lead to 13 points with less than 10 minutes remaining, but the Eagles would not go down without a fight.
Avila made it a four-point game on two occasions in the final minute, but never could make it a one possession game.
Steinlage led the Wildcats with 28 points and senior Corey Anderson joined him in double figures with 13.
“When Corey has his feet set and he’s on balance, it is almost like a layup for him,” Dooley said.
Anderson and junior Todd Johnston nailed three shots from long distance, while senior Todd Eils and junior Chris Lockhart added two 3-pointers apiece.
“It was a good team win,” Dooley said. “Ben carried us for sure, but we had a lot of guys step up and hit some big shots down the stretch.”
Despite the 14 3-pointers for the Wildcats, they had 20 turnovers, which is a statistic Dooley believes the team will have to fix when it plays Missouri Valley College Saturday in Marshall, Mo.
The ‘Cats defeated the Vikings 74-61 Dec. 1 in Collins Center, but Missouri Valley has won four of its last six games and has a couple of players back who were unable to play in the previous matchup.
“I really think they are one of the hotter teams in the league,” Dooley said. “They are playing good ball.”
The Wildcats’ win against the Eagles is their third victory in four games and allowed them to move into a tie for fifth place in the Heart of America Athletic Conference with Central Methodist University. Baker is 12-8 overall and 5-5 in the HAAC.
