COLBY – Life at the top on the road can often be tough for a basketball team.
That is where the Barton men’s basketball team found itself. Sitting alone on top of the Jayhawk Conference, the Cougars made the long trek to Colby.
The now No. 11 ranked Cougars after moving up 10 spots this week.
But there would be no worries for Coach Craig Fletchall and his Cougars.
Barton took care of business early, handing Colby an 83-56 loss at the Community Building to stay alone on top of the Jayhawk.
“That was a good win for our team,” Coach Craig Fletchall said. “The Community Building is not an easy place to travel to and get a win. Especially in the middle of the week. From start to finish, it was one of our better games this year.”
Barton is now 12-2 in the Jayhawk and 16-2 overall. The Cougars have won five straight. Colby, losing for just the second time at home this season, is 8-6 and 12-6.
Hutchinson, ranked No. 13, stayed one game back at 11-3 after beating Seward County, 83-60, in the Sports Arena in Hutch. Coffeyville stayed two back at 10-4 while Cowley lost at Neosho to fall to 9-5 along with Garden City.
Barton showed no signs of being weary on the road from the opening tip. The Cougars got back-to-back 3-pointers from Noah Webster and Kawanise ‘Squeaky’ Wilkins to start the game as the Cougars jumped to a 6-4 lead.
That would just be the beginning. Following a Keshon Montague penetrating layup it was 12-4 just three minutes in.
When Elijah Ford hit a reverse layup and was fouled, Colby Coach Rusty Grafel had seen enough, spending a timeout. Ford would hit the free throw to cap a 12-0 run and give Barton a 15-4 lead, still not even four minutes into the game.
The lead reached 24-11 on a Marvin Cannon baseline jumper with 13:17 to play in the half, forcing Colby to use its second timeout.
That didn’t stop the Cougars. Montague added a trey to push the lead to 16 points as Barton threatened to blow Colby out early.
Cannon had a personal 7-0 run to make it 34-15 with 8:14 to play. The lead hit 20 points when Akeem White scored with 6:22 left in the half to make it 38-17 in front of a very quiet crowd in Colby.
A Montague runner in the lane made it 42-17 with five minutes left in the half to cap another Barton run, this time 8-0.
“We were really aggressive in the first half,” Coach Fletchall said. “I thought our ball movement was really good. We had some really good looks at the basket.”
The Cougars took a 46-22 lead to halftime as Cannon poured in 15 first half points.
The Cougars spent most of the second half leading by 30 points on the way to the unusually easy win at the Community Building. Cannon, fresh off a career-high 30 points on Saturday, led Barton with 27. The freshman hit 10-of-14 from the field and grabbed nine rebounds.
Three more reached figures with Ford adding 15 points. Webster added 14 and Montague 13.
Barton returns home Saturday to take on Garden City. The Cougars pulled out a close win earlier in the year at Garden City. The Broncbusters are sitting fourth in the Jayhawk after a 69-65 win over Butler Wednesday. Tip is set for 7:30 pm.

Barton 83, Colby 56
Barton 46 37 – 83
Colby 22 34 – 56
Barton (12-2, 16-2) 83
Wilkins 2-7 1-2 6, Ford 5-6 5-6, 15, Cannon 10-14 5-5 27, Montague 5-16 2-2 13, Webster 3-7 5-6 14, Andrews 0-1 0-0 0, White 2-4 1-2 5, Dalyrimple 0-1 0-0 0, Broomfield 1-6 0-0 2, Haist 0-0 1-2 1, Haris 0-1 0-0 0, Thomas 0-0 0-0 0. Totals – 28-63 20-25 83.
Colby (8-6, 12-6) 56
Smith 2-11 0-1 4, Hall 1-7 0-0 2, Beaudion 4-9 2-2 11, Carmichael 5-11 3-4 13, Dalton 4-13 1-4 10, Eagle 0-2 0-4 0, Niyongira 0-1 0-2 0, Emmanuel 1-1 0-1 2, Gyamfi 5-6 4-8 14, Somerville 0-2 0-0 0, Bol 0-1 0-0 0. Totals –- 22-64 10-26 56.
3-pointers – Barton 7-22 (Webster 3-5, Cannon 2-4, Wilkins 1-3, Montague 1-7, Andrews 0-1, Harris 0-1, Dalyrimple 0-1); Colby 2-20 (Beaudion 1-5, Dalton 1-6, Niyongira 0-1, Somerville 0-1, Hall 0-2, Smith 0-5).
Rebounds – Barton 44 (Wilkins 12), Colby 43 (Gyamfi 12). Assists – Barton 10 (Montague 6), Colby 7 (Hall 2, Dalton 2). Steals – Barton 6 (Cannon 2), Colby 2 (Smith, Carmichael). Blocks – Barton 4 (Cannon 3), Colby 2 (Eagle, Gyamfi).
Turnovers – Barton 13, Colby 15. Fouled Out – Wilkins, Barton. Technicals – Emmanuel, Colby; Wilkins, Barton.