On the verge of a blowout conference road win Saturday, the Barton Community College men's basketball team ended up battling from behind late in the contest before closing strong down the stretch for a triumphant 89-83 victory over Independence Community College.
Barton improves to 2-1 in the early conference season and 10-2 overall while the nationally receiving votes Pirates fall to 2-2 in the Jayhawk East and 10-3 on the year.
The Cougars wrap up the pre-Christmas portion of the schedule on Wednesday in hosting Neosho County Community College in a 7:30 p.m. tip.
Independence claimed early scoreboard bragging rights behind eight straight for a two point lead before the Cougars began to roll. Capped by a pair of Anthony Atkinson-Enneking jumpers, Barton gained separation on a 9-0 spurt with Justin Harmon's three-ball two minutes later stretching the gap to thirteen into the 9:54 first half media timeout.
Pushing the margin to sixteen on a Keandre Bowles three-pointer, Barton saw the lead sliced in half during the next three minutes as Independence put together an 11-2 spurt. Holding off the attack and maintaining a five point lead, Barton closed out the half with its own nine point hogging of the tallies in gaining a 51-36 edge to intermission.
Exchanging blows for the first four minutes of the second frame, Barton appeared headed for a blowout victory behind six straight as all cylinders were clicking for a 65-44 lead with fourteen to play.
Independence had other plans for the night, stringing seven points together on the top side of a 13:05 timeout before adding eight more out of the coaches' chat as the 15-0 combined run closed the gap to six. Diovonte Caldwell's jumper halted the spurt giving Barton a 67-59 edge at the 9:56 media breather but the advantage would disappear within the next five minutes.
Outscoring Barton 20-10, Independence grabbed its first lead since the game's sixteen minute mark with 3:40 to play before putting the Cougars on the brink of total collapse riding a 83-79 advantage with under two minutes on the clock.
The Cougars seemed unphased by the deficit, working for good shots while the Pirates' excitement generated missed possessions. Getting a pair of perfect trips to the stripe from Desean Munson and Jaheim Holden, Barton tied it up at 83 with 1:22 left. A subsequent pivotal steal and transition layup from Holden on the Pirates' next possession put the Cougars ahead for good as a combination of stout defense and four more charity tosses from Munson and Holden sealed the deal in completing Barton's ten unanswered for the victory.
Six Cougars dotted double-digits as the Cougars put eight in the scoring column. Bowles led the attack with fifteen off the bench in dropping 2-of-4 behind the arc followed by Enneking's fourteen. A trio of Cougars were next in line as Munson, Holden, and Caldwell each contributing twelve with Mavrick Gildyard bringing another big spark off the bench in scoring ten. Caldwell's four assists led the squad's dimes with Martin Vogts dishing out three to go along with an off-shooting five point night. Harmon helped lead the Cougars' six board edge in pulling down eight rebounds while adding seven points.
Sam'i Roe led all players with twenty-seven points, to go along with, four assists and four steals while Demetric Horton buried four from long distance on the way to an eighteen point performance. Zahir Porter completed the double figure scoring with twelve off the bench.