Cougars headed to semifinal showdown with Hutch; Batista enters record book

Cougars headed to semifinal showdown with Hutch; Batista enters record book
The Barton County Community College men's basketball team advanced to the Region VI semifinals for the first time in 3 years with a 68-60 win over Cowley County Sunday night at the Bicentennial Center in Salina. The win moved the Cougars into the semifinals where they will meet Jayhawk West champion Hutchinson at 7 pm tonight. Barton, which finished 3rd in the West, will bring a 24-8 record into the contest while Hutch is 29-3. Cowley ended its season at 23-9. During the win over Cowley, Barton sophomore center JP Batista hit 17-of-17 free throws to set a school record for most free throws made in a game without a miss.

Highlights
The opening half saw the two teams trade the lead 12 times with 9 ties. Barton led by as many as 6 points and Cowley by as many as 5 before the Cougars took a 34-33 lead into halftime. It was a half that saw the Cougars take advantage of the Tigers at the free throw line. Barton hit 15-of-18 free throws in the first half, led by Batista's 11-of-11 effort. The Cougars got off just 20 shots from the floor in the opening half.

Cowley County got off to a great start to the 2nd half, putting together an 11-4 run to grab a 44-38 lead 15 minutes to play in the contest. That is when the Cougar defense went into lockdown. Barton limited Cowley County to 2 points over the next 5 minutes as Barton opened up a 51-46 lead on the Tigers. The Cougars would not lose that lead again.
Cowley cut the margin to 55-54 with a pair of free throws at the 6-minute mark. A quick 5-0 run – paced by a 4-for-4 effort from Batista at the free throw line – for a 60-54 advantage with 5 minutes to play. Cowley would get only as close as 3 points the rest of the way. Barton put the game on ice at the free throw line in the final minutes. Justin Rose hit 6-of-6 in the final 3 minutes.

Batista ended the night with 29 points on 6-of-7 shooting form the floor and school record 17-of-17 effort from the free throw line. He also added 8 rebounds. Batista's 17 free throws without a miss broke Jay Heidrick's mark of 12-of-12 free throws without a miss. His 17 makes tied him for 2nd with Ebi Ere for most free throws made in a single game. Tony Hobson hold the mark with 19.

Batista was joined in double figures by Rose with 13 points and Aubrey Bruner with 11. Brandon Kelley led Cowley with 21 points.

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

Next
March 8 – v Hutch, 7 pm (Region VI semifinals at the Bicentennial Center in Salina)

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