The Barton Community College men's basketball team looked unbeatable in the first half of Friday's night matchup with the Neosho County Community College in the Best Western Angus Inn/Cougar Booster Club Thanksgiving Classic. Unfortunately for Barton, the Cougars ran across an equally looking unbeatable Panther team in the second half as Barton lost the 108-102 shootout. Barton shot 68.6% from the field in the first half but Neosho answered with a 68.8% effort from behind the arc to outscore the Cougars by twelve from long range to get the victory. Barton drops to 8-4 on the season while Neosho improves to 8-1. The Cougars will wrap up play in the Classic on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. against Independence Community College while Neosho will play Brown Mackie College in the 3:00 p.m.
The Cougars had four players reaching double-figures with two posting double-doubles. Isaac Williams led the Cougars for the second straight game with a thirty-one point eleven rebound effort. Raheem Johnson recorded his fourth double-double of the season with twelve points and ten rebounds while also blocking three shots. Darius Gibson had his normal all-around game for the Cougars scoring sixteen points and grabbing seven rebounds, a team high six assists, and leading the team with three steals. Coming off the bench, freshman Deriece Parks scored twelve.
Jamie Batish led five Panthers in double-figures twenty-eight points, twenty coming in the second half in part to 5-of-7 shooting from long range. Brett Franz came off the bench to score twenty-three, nineteen coming in the second half on 4-of-6 shooting from behind the arc and 5-of-6 from the free throw line. BJ Jenkins scored fourteen with seven assists while Kyler Steadman scored fourteen and grabbed eleven rebounds. Joseph Acuil added eleven points and seven rebounds coming off the bench.
In the earlier game of the Classic, Brown Mackie College held off an Independence Community College second half charge to escape with a 79-77 victory. The NJCAA Division II No. 5 ranked Lions got a twenty-three point performance from Rico Spikes to improve to 7-2 on the season while dropping Independence to 3-6. Joining Spikes in double figures were Ahasuerus McDonald and DeMarien Smith who each scored fourteen coming off the bench. Independence was led by Jerry Melton's eighteen while Jimmie Duplessis and JR Owens scored seventeen and sixteen respectively.