Cougars wrap up home playoff tilt with 3 OT win over Dodge

Cougars wrap up home playoff tilt with 3 OT win over Dodge
The Barton County Community College men's basketball team hooked up in a battle with Dodge City Saturday night that appeared as if it might not ever end. The two teams needed 3 overtimes at the Barton County Gym to determine a winner in a game that had a lot riding on the outcome. The Cougars secured the No. 3 seed in the West with a 91-85 triple OT thriller over the Conquistadors. Barton finished the season tied with Dodge and Colby at 10-6 in the West but captured the 3 seed in the West for the upcoming Region VI Tournament thanks to holding the tiebreaker with the other two teams. A loss would have sent Barton on the road for a 1st round contest. The Cougars completed their regular season with a 22-8 mark. Dodge City ended at 18-11. The Cougars will host KCK, the 6th seed in the East, Wednesday night at 7 pm in the Barton County Gym.

Highlights
The opening half featured 7 ties and 13 lead changes with Barton's biggest lead being 6 points and Dodge City's 3. During the 2nd half of action, Dodge City overtook the Cougars around the 13 minute mark and held the lead most of the 2nd half. The Cougars ovetook Dodge with 2:37 to play when Justin Rose hit a jumper for a 63-62 lead. Barton pushed the lead to 65-62 before Dodge scored 5 unanswered to lead 67-65 in the final minute. Josh Rose tied the game with 11 seconds to play with a jumper in the paint that crawled over the rim and the game went to the 1st overtime.

Despite playing with Gary Ware fouled out of the contest, Dodge City took the lead early in the 1st overtime and kept it nearly throughout. The Conquistadors led by 3 with 1:18 to play in the 1st OT following a tip-in by Troy Okeson. Barton's JP Batista, who had another monster game, trimmed Dodge's lead to 74-73 with just more than 1 minute to play. Barton took its only lead of the overtime on a Rone Smith basket, but the Conquistadors Corey Lewis hit 1-of-2 free throws with 28 seconds left to even the score at 75-all. Barton did not get a good look at a game winner and the contest went to a 2nd OT.

The 2nd overtime saw Barton lead nearly the entire way. The Cougars took a quick 77-75 lead on a basket by Batista just 12 second into the 2nd OT and that is where the game stayed until Barton pushed the lead to 79-75 on another Batista layup with 2:40 to play. After the two teams traded baskets, Dodge scored 4 straight to tie the game. The Cougars were dealt a blow with 33 seconds left in the 2nd OT when Batista was whistled for a charging foul, sending him to the bench with five fouls. He took with him 31 points and 13 rebounds. Dodge went for one last shot to win the game but Lewis' jumper missed and the game went to a 3rd OT tied at 81-all.

Early in the 3rd overtime Rone Smith took charge for Barton, scoring the first 4 points of the 3rd OT for an 85-81 lead. Then Smith joined Batista on the Barton bench fouled out. Dodge was already playing without Ware and Kiquan Sullivan on the inside. The defense of the Cougars proved too much in the third OT after the quick 4-0 start. Dodge City scored just 1 point the first 4 minutes of the 3rd OT as Barton built an 87-82 lead. Dodge put one final scare in the Cougars when Lewis knocked down a 3-pointer from the top of the key with 41 seconds left to make it 87-85. Barton eventually won the game at the free throw line but not without some anxious moments. Joel Hannagan missed a pair of free throws with 21 seconds to play but got his own rebounds and was fouled again. This time the sophomore knocked down both charity shots with 19 seconds to play for an 89-85 lead. After a Dodge miss, Justin Rose was fouled with just 1 second to play and hit both free throws for the final margin of 91-85.

By game's end the contest featured 18 ties and 27 lead changes. Batista paced the Cougars with his 7th straight double-double followed by Justin Rose with 17 and Smith with 16. Aubrey Bruner struggled to just 1-for-10 shooting but the freshman point guard handed out a career-high 12 assists and did not turn the ball over once. Lewis led four Dodge players in double figures with 21.

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

Next
March 3 – v KCK (Region VI contest at the Barton County Gym)

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Check out Barton County Men's Basketball Online at www.bartonccc.edu/sports