As Barton Community College’s Al Key inches his way up the career scoring list, the Cougars throttled Allen 93-61 on Saturday afternoon at Kirkman Activity Center.
Key scored 12 of Barton’s first 25 points in the opening-round National Junior College Athletic Association Region VI basketball tournament game. He spent the rest of the game distributing, dishing out a team-high seven assists while scoring 14 points. He needs only 24 points to pass Jackie Jones for No. 4 on the list.
“We missed a lot of shots in the first half,” Barton head coach Craig Fletchall said. “(Key) was on 10-assist pace again and defensively, he was the best player on the floor.”
After Barton (26-5) built a 31-11 lead during the opening 12 minutes, complacency set in for the Cougars against the lowly Red Devils (6-25), who finished in last place in the Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference Eastern Division with a 2-16 mark.
But the Cougars, who led 42-25 at intermission, kicked it in high gear in the second half, scoring 51 points while shooting 51.4 percent from the field.
“It was a workmanlike effort,” Fletchall said. “It was a little sloppy, but that’s one of the rewards of getting a home playoff game. You get to play at home and you can’t take anything for granted.
“I thought we defended their 3-point shooting real well in the first half (2 for 11). They made more 3s than anyone in our region, averaging eight. Our defense was good and only got better in the second half. We contested their shots, and when we needed to get stops, we got them.”
Barton travels to Arkansas City on Tuesday for quarterfinal action with Cowley, which eliminated Pratt on Saturday night.
Cougars freshman center Raheem Johnson scored 14 of his game-high 20 points in the first half. By halftime, Johnson had made six of his first seven shots from the floor. He finished with a double-double, adding a team-most 14 rebounds.
Sophomore swingman Andell Cumberbatch had a double-double with 18 points and 13 boards, and sophomore point guard Turon Parker finished with 12 points and four assists.
Leading 42-25 at halftime, Barton went on an 11-1 run during the opening three minutes of the second half for a 53-26 lead, highlighted by Key’s breakaway dunk and capped by Turon Parker’s 3-pointer.
Parker finished 4 for 5 from distance.
The Cougars converted 19 of 23 free throws, shot 6 for 20 on 3s and finished 45.9 percent for the game from the field (34 for 74).
JUCO BASKETBALL
National Junior College
Athletic Association
Region VI Basketball Tournament
MEN
Saturday
At Great Bend
Kirkman Activity Center
LT & Sheila Fleske Court
Opening round
Barton Community College 93, Allen 61
ALLEN COUNTY (6-25)
DeAndrae Barnette 3-8 2-2 11, Diallo Wesley 3-7 1-1 9, Andrew Rountree 2-4 4-6 8, Cameron Blue 3-11 0-0 7, Ben Uno 1-5 2-2 4, Bryce Schippers 2-5 0-0 4, Ce’Zanne Burnes 2-4 0-0 4, Mitchell Walter 2-2 0-0 4, Ricky Roberts 1-4 1-2 4, Seth Walden 0-2 2-2 2, Alex Keiswetter 0-2 2-2 2, Tray Fountain 1-2 0-0 2, Paul Stockebrand 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 20-56 14-17 61.
ALLEN COUNTY (26-5)
Raheem Johnson 8-13 4-4 20, Andell Cumberbatch 7-14 4-4 18, Algie Key 4-11 6-6 14, Turon Parker 4-5 0-0 12, Rapheal Stephens 3-8 1-5 7, Trey Unrau 2-6 0-0 6, Kevin Kuteyi 3-10 0-0 6, Andy Wiechman 1-3 4-4 6, Shaka Thomas 1-3 0-0 2, John Goodson 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 34-74 19-23 93.
Halftime — Barton 42. Allen 25. Three-point goals — Allen 7-27 (Barnette 3-6, Wesley 2-5, Roberts 1-3, Blue 1-6, Walden 0-2, Schippers 0-3, Uno 0-1, Rountree 0-1); Barton 6-20 (Parker 4-5, Unrau 2-6, Kuteyi 0-4, Wiechman 0-2, Thomas 0-2, Cumberbatch 0-1). Rebounds — Allen 30 (Blue 5, Rountree 5); Barton 50 (Johnson 14). Assists — Barton 13 (Key 7); Allen 8 (Burnes 2). Turnovers — Allen 16, Barton 11. Total fouls — Allen County 16, Barton 13. Fouled out — Allen (Rountree); Barton (None). Technical foul — Barton (Goodson).
