EL DORADO -- The No. 20 ranked Barton Cougars stayed hot at the Power Plant with a statement 102-94 victory over the No. 16 ranked Butler Grizzlies, the Jayhawk Conference leader.
The Cougars (19-8, 14-7 Jayhawk) sweep the 2-game series from the Grizzlies (18-8, 14-6) and own the tiebreaker. The Cougars led by as many as 20 points. Barton plays Independence Saturday at the Fleske Fieldhouse.
Noah Williams led the Cougars with 21 points and nine rebounds. Blake Rucker poured in a career-high 20 points 4-of-6 shooting from beyond the arc. Sebastian Muchitsch recorded 17 points and 13 rebounds for his seventh double-double.
Reigning KJCCC Player of the Week Aris Rodriguez contributed 14 points, four assists, and four steals. Jayden Ramirez had eight free throws and nine rebounds. Jon Byrd had nine points and four assists.
Barton shot 53% from the field and 46% from3-point range while dominating the glass 53-36. The Cougars controlled the paint 46-32 and converted 38-of-48 free throws to offset Butler's 23 second-chance points and 30 points off turnovers.
Butler shot 36.5% and 21.7 percent (10-of-46) from beyond the arc while converting 22-of-31 free throws. The Grizzlies placed six in double figures, led by Tim Walker (17), Jaise Combs (15), Odie Williams (11) and Dominic Pleasants, Xavier Brown, and AJ Pierre-Jerome 10 apiece.
After an early back-and-forth stretch, the Cougars created separation with a 6-0 run midway through the first half before breaking it open shortly thereafter with a decisive 10-0 surge. Back-to-backBlake Rucker three-pointers highlighted the stretch as Barton pushed the margin into double digits and carried a 44-36 lead into the locker room.
The Cougars maintained a double-digit advantage for much of the second half, stretching the lead to as many as 20 at the 14:08 mark.
Butler made a late push, capitalizing on a flurry of Barton turnovers in the final two minutes to trim the deficit into single digits, but the Cougars overcame a season-high 30 turnovers by converting at the free throw line to secure the season sweep.
Barton 44 58 — 102
Butler 36 58 — 94
BARTON (19-8, 14-7)—Noah Williams 7-13 (1-3) 6-7 21; Rucker 5-8 (4-6) 6-6 20; Muchitsch 5-5 7-20 17; Rodriguez 3-14 (1-3) 7-9 14; Byrd 4-7 (0-2) 1-4 9; Ramirez 0-2 8-8 8; Mikey Williams 0-1 3-4 3; Chuol 2-2 0-0 4; Sullivan 2-2 0-0 4; Inanov 1-1 0-0 2; Totals 29-55 (6-13) 38-48 102
BUTLER (18-8, 14-6)—Walker 6-15 (1-8) 4-4 17; Combs 4-10 (2-6) 5-6 15; Williams 5-7 (1-3) 0-0 11; Brown 3-12 (2-8) 2-5 10; Jerome 4-6 (1-1) 1-2 10; Kirkwood 1-10 (0-5) 6-8 8; Jones (0-4) 0-1 0; Riley (1-5) 0-0 3; Kerr 2-8 (0-3) 1-1 5; Hankins 0-3 (0-1) 2-2 2; Pleasants 4-4 (1-1) 0-0 9; Muehler (1-1) 0-0 3; Jones (0-4) 0-1 0; Totals 31-85 (10-46) 22-31 94
Rebounds—Barton 53 (Muchitsch 13); Butler 36 (Williams 7). Assists—Barton 15 (Rodriguez 4); Butler 15 (Kirkwood 4). Steals—Barton 12 (Rodriguez 4); Butler 12. TO—Barton 30, Butler 14
JAYHAWK MEN
Butler 14-6 18-8
Barton 14-7 19-8
Dodge City 13-7 17-9
Coffeyville 12-8 18-8
Cowley 12-8 17-9
Independence 12-8 14-12
Seward 12-9 17-10
Garden City 11-9 16-10
Cloud 10-10 15-11
Hays NW 9-11 13-12
Hutchinson 7-14 12-15
Colby 3-17 5-21
Pratt 3-18 6-20
2-18—Barton 102, Butler 94; Seward 80, Independence 72; Hutchinson 75, Colby 71; Cloud 69, Pratt 67; Dodge City 68, Hays NW 67; Cowley 100, Garden City 76
2-21—Independence at Barton, 4 p.m.; Butler at Cowley; Dodge City at Garden City; Hutchinson at Coffeyville; Hays NW at Cloud; Colby at Pratt
