Barton moves into quarterfinals with win over KCK to open Region VI play
The Barton County Community College men's basketball team earned a trip to Salina and the quarterfinals of the Region VI Men's Basketball Tournament with a 90-74 win over Kansas City Kansas Wednesday night at the Barton County Gym. The win was the 3rd time in 4 years the Cougars have defeated the Blue Devils in the opening round of the Region VI Tournament in Great Bend. Barton is now 23-8 and will face Cowley County (23-8) in the quarterfinals Sunday at 5 pm at the Bicentennial Center in Salina. KCK ends its season at 15-16.

Highlights
Barton got off to a sluggish start in the contest, falling behind by as many as 7 points early in the game on a couple of occasions including 18-11 with just less than 12 minutes to play in the opening half. The Cougars didn't retake the lead until a 3-point play from Justin Rose gave Barton a 35-34 lead. Rose also gave the Cougars their biggest lead of the opening half with a steal and layup to end the 1st half with Barton on top 39-36.

The Blue Devils quickly tied the game to start the 2nd half with 3-pointer, but Barton took over from there. The Cougars went on a 15-2 run following the opening trey by KCK, giving Barton a 54-41 lead with 15 minutes to play. That run stretched to 23-4 by the 12-minute mark for a 62-43 lead following a Rone Smith 3-pointer. The lead grew to as many as 24 points before the Blue Devils whittled it back down to 82-72 with 1:41 to play. But Barton hit its free throws down the stretch and pulled away for the 16-point win.

Four Cougars found double figures, led by JP Batista. Batista's string of 7 consecutive double-doubles came to an end, but he did score 24 points on 9-of-10 shooting from the floor and grabbed 6 rebounds. Smith scored 19 off the Cougar bench while Rose and Aubrey Bruner tossed in 15 and 12 for Barton. Rose also handed out 7 assists and grabbed a team-high 8 rebounds. Bruner led Barton with 8 assists. Greg Wells paced 4 Blue Devils in double figures with 22.

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

Next
March 8 – v Cowley County, 5 pm (Region VI quarterfinals at the Bicentennial Center in Salina)

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