Johnson leads Barton to improbable comeback to remain unbeaten
The Barton County Community College men's basketball team looked like its perfect season would come to an end Saturday night on more than one occasion. But Omar Johnson would not let it happen. Johnson put the finishes touches on an improbable comeback, draining a 3-pointer with 0.6 seconds to play, giving Barton a 95-92 overtime win over Brown Mackie on the final night of the Pepsi Classic. Friday night, Barton had no trouble at all with the Sterling JV, rolling to a 122-61 win over the Warriors. Barton is now 6-0 on the season while Brown Mackie, ranked No. 3 in NJCAA Division II, fell to 6-2 with the loss. Next up for the Cougars will be the Cougar Booster Club Classic in Great Bend next weekend. Barton will take on Simmons College (Ky) and New Mexico Junior College.

Highlights
Johnson capped the rally with the 25-footer in overtime, but the journey to the tie game was a tough one. Barton trailed 84-78 with less than one minute to play in regulation when Wagner Bueno scored in the point to make it 84-80. After a Lion miss, the Cougars cut the margin to 84-83 when Johnson knocked down a 3-pointer with 23 seconds to play. Barton evened the game at 85-all on a Thiago Cordiero layup with 12 seconds to play after Brown Mackie hit 1-of-2 free throws. Both teams had a chance to win in regulation but neither could get it done.

Barton again look to be finished in overtime as the Lions once again built a lead. Brown Mackie led 92-87 with one minute to play before Johnson and Cougars again stormed back – this time to score 8 points in the final minute. Ivan Evans scored on a layup and was fouled with 52 seconds to play to make it 92-90. After a pair of missed free throws by the Lions, Evans found an open Cordiero in the lane for a dunk and a tie game with 34 seconds to play. Barton got it chance to win the game after a missed shot by Brown Mackie with 24 seconds to play. The Cougars called timeout with 14 seconds to play and the ball at halfcourt. The inbounds pass came to Johnson, who dribble the clock down, got a pick from Evans and drained the long jumper for the win.

Barton trailed by as many as 12 points early in the 2nd half before putting together a rally. Barton eventually evened the score at 60-all on a layup by Antoiwne Lamb with just more than 10 minutes to play. The Cougars had 2 chances to take the lead but a missed dunk and layup by Barton kept them from the lead. Brown Mackie quickly pushed the lead back to at 76-66 with 6:02 to play before the Cougars made their last push.

Johnson ended with a career-high 29 points to pace Barton. He was joined in double figures by Evans, Cordiero and Danhue Lawrence. Evans had 12 points and a career-high 15 rebounds while Cordiero ended with 12 points, 14 rebounds, and 8 blocks.  Earnest Noel had 27 for Brown Mackie.

Friday, Barton jumped to a 25-0 lead on the Sterling JV and cruised to the easy win. All 14 Cougars scored in the contest with 4 reaching double figures. Omar Johnson led the way with 19, followed by Ivan Evans and Jason Schneider with 15 each. Danhue Lawrence added 10 for the Cougars. The game was the 1st action of the season for Blaine Clark, who missed the 1st 4 games of the year with an illness. Clark, a freshman from Lyons, scored 7 in his debut.

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

Next
Fri, Nov 18 – v Simmons College (Ky), 8 pm (Booster Club Classic at the Barton Gym)
Sat, Nov 19 – v New Mexico JC, 8 pm (Booster Club Classic at the Barton Gym)

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