The Pioneers traveled to Baldwin City and split two basketball games with Baker on Thursday.
In the women's game, the first half was tight until the 12-minute mark when the Pioneers turned a 1-point deficit into an 11-point lead with a 17-5 run. They took an 8-point lead into halftime by shooting 50% from the field and by holding Baker to 35%.
The second half was all MNU. The Pioneers maintained a double-digit lead throughout and cruised to their 5th conference victory.
Rachel Boan had a game-high 15 points and 3 steals. Kiley Herold had 14 points and 4 rebounds. Sophia Stockton came off the bench to score 11 points. CJ Wesemann added 9 points, 6 rebounds, and 2 steals off the bench. And Kristie Tiegreen had 4 points, a game-high 8 rebounds, and 4 assists.
The Pioneers are 7-12 (5-4 HAAC). The next game is at home vs. Culver-Stockton (1-14, 0-7) at 2:00.
In the men's game, the Pioneers struggled from the field in the first half, but managed to take a 1-point lead into the locker room. Baker finally took control of the game late in the second half, building a 7-point lead with 3 minutes remaining. The Pioneers could not climb out of the hole and saw their conference record fall to 3-6.
Rustin Dowd had a game-high 29 points and 2 steals. Keith McCullough added 13 points and 7 rebounds. Conner Langrehr had 11 points, 5 rebounds, and 2 assists. And Luke Thomas contributed 5 points, 10 rebounds, and 3 assists off the bench.
The Pioneers are 8-11 (3-6 HAAC). The next game is Saturday at home vs. Culver-Stockton (1-15, 1-6) at 4:00.
