From timely plays including defensive stops, the Barton Community College men's basketball team received contributions up and down its roster Saturday as the Cougars won its fourth straight in El Dorado rolling to a 97-84 victory over Butler Community College.
The Cougars, receiving votes in the latest national poll, improve to 4-1 in conference play and 12-2 on the year while snapping Butler's three game win streak dropping the Grizzlies to 4-2 and 11-4 overall.
Barton will look to extend its four game win streak on Wednesday in the spring semester's first home game by hosting Cloud County Community College in a 7:30 p.m. tip-off.
Jumping out front with the game's first six points, Barton never looked back as Keandre Bowles' second three-pointer of the opening ten minutes put the Cougars out to a 26-10 lead at the 9:48 media timeout.
A pair of Mavrick Gildyard charity tosses ballooned the lead out to a first half largest of nineteen as Barton would eventually lead by the same margin 53-34 at the half.
Leading the league in shooting, Barton connected on 58.3% of their first half shots including getting late long range triples from Bowles and hometown product's Jarin Koehler first collegiate three-ball giving the Cougars extra cushion to the locker room.
A 10-2 start in the second frame's first 3:14 pushed the margin out to its largest at 63-36 on as Jaheim Holden found Justin Harmon in transition for a thunderous transition dunk.
Outscoring Barton 19-6, Butler began to find its groove creeping back into the game down by fourteen but eight points from Holden mixed in with a Gildyard bucket pushed the margin back to twenty at the 8:19 media timeout.
The Grizzlies wouldn't go down easy, owning the next five minutes to close the gap to single digits at 86-77 for the first time since the 11:36 mark of first half action.
As Barton cooled off in the second half on 50% shooting, the Cougars heated up and converted at the free throw line in the final 2:59 sinking 9-of-11 including Gildyard's big And-1 conversion pushing the lead back out to fourteen with 1:37 left.
Holden, who joined Bowles with a trio of three-pointers, finished with a game high twenty-four points leading all nine Cougars reaching the scoring column. Gildyard erased his personal best in posting a career high twenty-two points to lead a twenty-seven point bench advantage for the Cougars. Bowles finished with fourteen points with Martin Vogts going perfect on six trips to the charity stripe including four in the final forty-nine seconds in finishing with ten points and a game high three steals.
Four Grizzlies also reached double digit scoring with Javaunte Hawkins leading the charge behind four three-pointers in recording twenty-two points. Grehlon Easter's was matched by Payton Dickerson's effort off the bench with Juwan White adding fourteen within the scoring.