6th ranked Cougars lead wire-to-wire in bounce back victory, hold on for 65-61 win at 9th ranked Butler #GoBarton
6th ranked Cougars lead wire-to-wire in bounce back victory, hold on for 65-61 win at 9th ranked Butler.
Still seething from taking its lone loss the last time on the court, the 6th ranked Barton Community College men's basketball team led throughout Saturday afternoon for a 65-61 victory at 9th ranked Butler Community College.
Barton scored the contest's first six points, stretching its lead to twelve three times before going to the halftime break with a six point 30-24 advantage.
A 10-2 spurt beginning around the eight minute mark pushed the margin to fourteen with five to play and again thirty seconds later with 4:20 left in the contest. From there things got interesting as Barton committed three straight turnovers while Butler canned three straight triples as a 15-2 spurt left the Cougars clinging to a one point lead with twenty-four seconds remaining.
Brent Moss provided Barton with clutch plays down the stretch, making 2-of-2 free throws before securing a big defensive rebound on a missed Butler free throw resulting in another trip to the line for 1-of-2 positive results. Amiri Ndayisaba put the final touches on the victory with a pair of charity tosses snapping Barton's three-game slide on the Grizzlies home court.
The victory improves Barton to 4-1 in league play and 10-1 overall while Butler's seven game win streak ends in dropping to 3-1 in league and 8-2 overall.
The Cougars have a pair of games left on the schedule before the holiday break beginning Wednesday hosting Northwest Kansas Technical College in a 7:30 p.m. tip before traveling to Liberal on Saturday for a 4:00 p.m. contest at Seward County Community College.
Getting timely contributions throughout the lineup, the Cougars were led by Lajae Jones' 14 points and 10 rebounds for his 3rd double-double of the year with Myles Thompson also adding 14 points and 7 rebounds as the lone players in double figures.
Combining for six steals, Ring Malith and Cooper Jackson also added 8 points each with Jackson leading the thefts with four.
Kalem Washington led Butler with 17 points, Anthony "AJ" Williams adding 14 points, and Jason "Deuce" Drake contributing 11 points and a game high 5 assists.
Both teams shot a similar 41% from the field, Barton going just 1-of-8 behind the arc with Butler having the plus-18 point advantage in knocking down 7-of-22.
Barton led the rebounding by seven including a plus-5 on the offensive glass as the Cougars were also better at the free throw line on 20-of-28 tosses while Butler was 16-of-28.
SERIES NOTES
- Barton snapped three game losing streak at the Power Plant
- Teams are 5-5 in last ten meetings
- Barton leads the series 27-25 in El Dorado
- Barton leads the overall series 60-47
Record Book Watch
Cooper Jackson
- 140 career steals *4th most – 7 behind Jason Carter (2000-02)