Championship game bound, No. 24 Cougars knock off Jayhawk West champs
The No. 24 Barton Community College men’s basketball team’s eleven point run late in the semifinal contest was the difference in knocking out the defending Region VI Champion Seward County Community College 70-64 Friday at Park City’s Hartman Arena. Trailing by five with five minutes remaining the Cougars held the Saints scoreless the next four minutes to build a six-point lead and hold on to the victory. The win puts the 28-5 Cougars into the championship game of Region VI for the first time since 2007 while ending the Jayhawk West Champion Seward’s season at 25-8. Barton will play in the 7:00 p.m. title game against No. 9 Hutchinson Community College as the 30-3 Blue Dragons easily dispatched No. 2 Coffeyville Community College 85-62 to reach its first region final since 1997.
Scoring twenty-two points to lead the Cougars, sophomore Algie Key moved into fourth place all-time in the Barton record books with 1199 points surpassing former University of Oklahoma standout Jackie Jones' 1189 mark set from the 1987-89 seasons. Key's team leading five assists gives him 305 for his career moving into the fourth slot leaping over Cliff Moss' 304 assist mark from the 1980-82 seasons.
Freshman Kevin Kuteyi came off the bench to score fifteen including 3-of-6 behind the arc while sophomore Andell Cumberbatch scored ten. Sophomore Raphael Stephens and freshman Raheem Johnson led a 42-35 Barton rebounding edge with twelve and ten boards respectively. Sophomore Turon Parker led the Cougars in steals with three while dishing out four assists to go along with eight points.
Sophomore Kaheem Ransom led the Saints with fourteen points and three assists. Sophomore Jabari Peters and freshman Malcolm Hill-Bey scored eleven points each.