Dominant first half sends 14th ranked Cougars into third straight Region title game, Barton knocks off Coffeyville 89-74 in semifinals #GoBarton
Cougars ride 24-1 stretch advancing to title game.
The 14th ranked Barton Community College men's basketball team executed a dominant half of basketball Friday night to throttle 21st ranked Coffeyville Community College 89-74 in the semifinal round of the Region 6/Plains District Tournament.
Seeded third for the tournament, Barton improves to 25-7 on the season while the 2nd seeded Red Ravens, who split the regular season series with the Cougars, drop to 23-9.
Barton returns to Fort Hays State University's Gross Memorial Coliseum for Saturday's 5:00 p.m. title game against top seeded and 5th ranked Cowley College as the Tigers survived in the other semifinal 58-54 over 5th seeded Butler Community College.
Saturday's Championship game marks the third straight title appearance for the Cougars as Cowley will be making their first since 2021.
In the season's meetings, Cowley knocked off the then-No. 1 ranked Cougars 74-71 at the Barton Gym ending Barton's 35-game win streak and then on February 1st held the Cougars to season low performances in a dominating 95-67 victory sweeping the series.
Radio coverage of the Championship game can be heard on local radio 104.3FM or streaming online at GreatBendPost.com. Pre-game show begins at 4:45 p.m. with Cole Reif on the play-by-play. Live stats, video links, and tournament information can be found at BartonSports.com or at kjccc.org.
Trailing early 7-2, Barton found its stride putting together a 24-1 stretch and never cooled down in doubling up the Red Ravens 42-21 at the halftime break. Guards Keandre Kindell and Fontaine Williams sparked the action with Kindell getting inside penetration for 15 first half points as Williams was doing damage from the outside knocking down 4-of-4 beyond the arc for 18 points.
The Cougars stretched their lead to 27 points with just under thirteen minutes to play before going into cruise control as Coffeyville's Brian Griffiths did damage to the margin draining 7 second half three-pointers including three in a 40 second span in the waning 90 seconds.
Kindell and Williams each finished with 25 points, combining for 6 assists and 3 steals.
Eltramon Smith, Jr. scored all but two of his 15 points in catching second half fire and grabbed 5 rebounds. Saddled with foul problems, Brent Moss finished with 9 points and a team high 7 rebounds, Sebastian Muchitsch contributed 6 points including a ferocious baseline dunk, and Pavel Ivanov added two points on an acrobatic horizontal shot.
Coffeyville's Griffith's led all players with 28 points in part to 7-of-19 shooting behind the arc. Justin Tayor and Daniel Ntambwe each added 13 points with Abdul Kuta' 10 rebounds helping the Red Ravens to a plus-8 advantage on the glass.