The Barton Community College men's basketball team returned to the win column Wednesday evening grinding out an 89-83 road victory at Northwest Kansas Technical College.
The Cougars remain in second place of the Jayhawk West improving their mark to 13-5 and 21-6 on the year while dropping Northwest Tech to 2-16 in league play and 4-21 overall. The Cougars will wind up their final road game of the regular season Saturday with an 8:00 p.m. tip at Seward County Community College.
Barton grasped control late in the opening frame, rattling off eight straight taking a 33-25 advantage with 2:20 left following baskets from Anthony Atkinson-Enneking, Diovonte Caldwell, Mavrick Gildyard, and Keandre Bowles. Bowles would finish the half scoring the final six points for the Cougars guiding Barton into the locker rooms ahead 38-31.
Following a Mavericks 7-0 spurt and Cougar 6-0 run in the opening five minutes of the second half, the Mavericks responded again with twelve straight gaining their largest lead of five before a Caldwell dish in transition led to an Enneking two-hand flush. Succeeding a pair of Holden charity tosses and Bowles offensive rebound jumper the Cougars surged back into the driver's seat for good as Bowles tallied six more to his name during a 16-2 run including stretches of 10-0 and 6-0.
Balanced scoring stretched Barton's lead to thirteen a trio of times after a 9-0 run with just under five minutes to play. The Mavericks didn't go down easily, draining three treys in the final thirty seconds trimming the deficit to six but Jaheim Holden's clutch tosses down the stretch would damper the hopes of any Mavericks comeback.
Four Cougars finished in double-digits as Barton put all eight who saw court time in the scoring column. Bowles led the charge with twenty-seven converting 10-of-17 from the field followed by Holden's nineteen point showing sinking 10-of-11 free throw tosses. A pair of Cougars followed as Gildyard notched his third double-double of the season adding thirteen to go along with a team high ten rebounds with Harmon rounding out the Barton double-figure scoring with ten.