Cougars drop 1st game of season in Nebraska; finish 1-1 at Thanksgiving Classic

Cougars drop 1st game of season in Nebraska; finish 1-1 at Thanksgiving Classic
The Barton County Community College men's basketball team lost for the 1st time this season, splitting games at the Thanksgiving Classic in Norfolk, Neb. this past weekend. The Cougars lost Friday night to the host Northeast Nebraska, 84-71 then bounced back for a convincing 96-72 win over Central Nebraska. Barton is now 7-1 on the season and will be in action this weekend at the Jayhawk Shoot-Out in Coffeyville. The highlight of the event will be a Barton-Coffeyville rematch of the 2007 Region VI Championship Friday night at 7 pm.

Highlights
Barton led most of the opening half against Northeast Nebraska Friday night but a late 6-0 gave the Hawks a 3-point lead before the Cougars cut the margin to 37-36 at half. Barton would lead just once in the 2nd half, however, that coming at 44-43 wit 14:42 to play. Northeast followed with a 10-2 run to grab a 52-45 lead and hold that lead throughout.

Barton was down just 66-63 with 4:52 left in the game but over the next 3-plus minutes, Barton would score just 1 point while the Hawks shot to an 80-64 lead. During that stretch Barton missed 7 shots and went 1-of-2 at the free throw line while Northeast scored on 8 of 9 possessions.

Javon Parris led Barton with 19 points followed by Qa'rrann Calhoun with 11. Antowine Lamb added 10 points and Matt Simmons grabbed 11 rebounds for Barton. The Cougars struggled shooting from the perimeter the entire evening, hitting just 3-of-20 3-pointers. Barton connected on just 12-of-22 free throws as well. Northeast, meanwhile, hit 9-of-33 treys and converted on 25-of-32 free throws.

Barton got off to a slow start Saturday as well, falling behind 7-0 out of the gates. The Cougars gathered themselves and dominated the rest of the game. The Cougars took their 1st lead at 16-15 and used a 9-0 run to grab a 28-20 lead they would not relinquish. Barton closed the half on a 15-0 run to take a 53-34 halftime lead.

The Cougars lead reached 30 points in the 2nd half, the latest at 89-59. The closest Central College got was 17 in the final 20 minutes. Chris Jackson scored a career-high 26 off the bench to lead Barton, hitting 5-of-9 3-pointers. Qa'rraan Calhoun added 22 points and Chip Steven 15 – also hitting 5 treys on the night. Simmons again led Barton in rebounds with 10 while Parris handed out 8 assists and Steven 6.

Barton will be at the Jayhawk Shoot-Out this weekend, taking on Labette Friday at 9 am in the 1st game of the Shoot-Out. The Cougars will be in the feature game Saturday, playing host Coffeyville at 7 pm in a rematch of the Region VI Championship game this past spring in Wichita, which saw Coffeyville win and go on to the NJCAA Tournament.

Stats
Stats can be found at www.bartonccc.edu/sports

Next 
Fri Nov 30 – v Labette, 9 am (Jayhawk Shoot-Out at Coffeyville) 
Sat Dec 1 – v Coffeyville, 7 pm (Jayhawk Shoot-Out at Coffeyville)

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Check out Barton Basketball Online at www.bartonccc.edu/sports