The Barton Community College men's basketball team bounced back from its lone conference loss leading from the opening possession in running away with an 84-65 victory Wednesday night over Garden City Community College in the Barton Gym. The Cougars scored the game's first eight points racing out to a 14-2 lead on the way to an eighteen point halftime lead not allowing the Busters to within seven the rest of the contest. The victory earned Head Coach Craig Fletchall his 100th conference win at Barton and keeps the Cougars atop the Jayhawk standings at 6-1 and 14-4 on the season while Garden City suffers its fourth straight loss falling to 3-5 in conference and 11-8 overall. Barton will be back in action this Saturday in a 3:00 p.m. tip at the Dodge City Civic Center taking on Dodge City Community College fresh off an 85-79 victory at No. 10 Hutchinson Community College.
The Cougars spread the ball throughout the game including Barton's first ten points coming from five different players in building a 14-2 lead. Barton continued to double-up the Busters for most of the first half as Ezekiel Charles scored fourteen in helping give the Cougars a 40-22 locker room advantage.
The Busters made a few second half runs the first coming with a five point streak only to be answered by a Keith Mack trey and converting the front end of a hoop-n-harm situation pushing the lead out to twenty.
A 9-0 Buster run midway through the half was put to bed by a follow-up jam from Dequandre Dentmond but Jabar Ray's three treys had closed the gap to ten at the 10:30 mark.
Ray, who came off the bench and knocked down 5-of-9 from behind arc, struck for his fourth in the midst of five straight Buster long balls drawing to within 59-52 into the 9:00 second half media timeout.
Putting a temporary damper in the Buster hopes, Jordan Windholz buried a trey in front of the Barton bench only to be quickly answered by a Ray slash to the hoop as Barton clung to an eight point lead.
One minute later perhaps the final dagger was put into the Buster spirit as John Barbee knocked down a desperation shot six feet beyond the arc to just beat the shot clock putting the Barton lead back into double digits.
Following another Ray answer for Garden City, Derek Dorn pounded another nail in the coffin converting an old fashioned three-point play growing the lead out to twelve with 5:30 to play. Dorn's back end free throw began a streak of thirteen consecutive made free throws between himself and Dentmond as the Cougars held Garden City to three points in the final 2:41 to get the nineteen point victory.
Recovering from a sub-par two point performance in his last outing, Derek Dorn led three Cougars in double-digit scoring with nineteen points including 8-of-9 from the free throw line and a career high six steals. Recording his fifth double-double of the season, Dentmond was also nails from the line going 11-of-13 reaching double figures for the fourth straight game finishing with seventeen points and led a sixteen rebound edge by the Cougars hauling down fourteen. Charles' 5-of-10 from the field and 5-of-5 from the line contributed sixteen while leading the team with three assists.
Ray was the lone Buster in double figures scoring twenty-three off the bench with 50% shooting from the field to go along with the 5-of-9 from behind the arc while also leading the team with four rebounds.