Baldwin City, Kan. - Despite four Eagles reaching double figures, the Central Methodist men's basketball team dropped a tight contest to Baker University, 77-75, Wednesday night in Baldwin City, Kan. 

With the loss, the Eagles fall to 7-11 and 4-9 in the Heart, while Baker improves to 6-7 and 4-5 in conference play. The Wildcats also complete the regular-season sweep over Central, as Baker claimed the earlier matchup between the two teams, 63-51, back on Dec. 10 in Fayette. 

Trailing by as many as nine points in the final seven minutes of action, the Eagles mounted a furious comeback highlighted by an 11-1 scoring run to take a one-point lead. Both teams exchanged baskets in the closing three minutes and were all knotted at 69-69 with 47 seconds left. A foul by CMU put Baker at the free-throw line where they converted on both attempts to take a two-point lead. 

Central was not able to respond on the following two possessions and was forced to foul, sending BU back to the free-throw line where they knocked down four-straight free throws. Trent Lyles and Jonathan Brown nailed back-to-back threes in the final 10 seconds but fell just short of tying the game, as the Wildcats came away with the two-point victory. 

Chandler Bevans led the offense with 16 points while also adding four rebounds, two assists, two steals, and a block. Brown and Fode Camara each chipped in 12 points, while Camara led the team with nine rebounds, nearly earning a double-double. 

Austin Fisher was the final Eagle to land in double figures, as he added 10 points. Both squads were nearly identical from the floor, as Central shot 46.8-percent from the field compared to 46.3-percent for Baker. The Wildcats won the battle of the boards, grabbing 37 rebounds while Central collected 32. 

The difference for Central came from the charity stripe, as they only made 13 trips compared to 25 for BU. 

CMU will face Grand View University on Saturday, Jan. 23 at 4:00 p.m. in Des Moines, Iowa. 

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