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Barton men score much-needed win over Cloud County
Willie Lapoole v Cloud.jpg
Willie Lapoole knocks down one of his 6 3-pointers Saturday afternoon at the Barton Gym as the Cougars rolled to an easy win over Cloud County. Barton snapped a 3-game losing skid with a 93-60 drubbing of the Thunderbirds.

Special to the Tribune

Must win games in February are common. A must-win game in late February in the Covid era isn’t quite as common. Or as must.
But the Barton men’s basketball team was at a minimum on the verge of must-win, riding a 3-game losing streak and just 1-4 in the Jayhawk Conference.
Must-win accomplished.
The Cougars picked up not only a win but an easy win as the Cougars rolled by Cloud County Saturday afternoon at the Barton Gym, winning the conference battle, 93-60.
“We needed this,” Coach Craig Fletchall said. “We haven’t been playing very well and we needed to change that. We came out a little more focused today and it showed.”
Of course, shooting 70 percent on 3-pointers, 89 percent from the line and over 50 percent from the field doesn’t hurt things.
Barton is now 2-4 in the Jayhawk and 3-4 overall. Cloud is 2-4 and 4-4.
The Cougars made a staggering 14-of-20 3-pointers, 15-of-17 free throws and made 32-of-61 from the floor.
“It amazing how much better you look when you make shots,” Coach Fletchall said.
The Cougars took control of the game early, putting together a 12-0 run just more than five minutes into the first half capped by an Asanti Price 3-pointer for a 12-2 lead.
Cloud would hang around for a while but another big run in the first half put some distance between the Cougars and Thunderbirds.
Barton turned a 16-10 lead into a 33-18 lead over a span of seven minutes. Back-to-back 3-pointers by Thomas King and Willie Lapoole gave the Cougars the 15-point lead with 4:21 left in the half.
By half, Barton had a 44-26 lead.
If there was any doubt left as to the outcome, Barton took that away.
The lead hit 20, 55-33, less than four minutes in. It was 30, 68-37, at the 12:40 mark.
Lapoole had a huge game, hitting 10-of-14 from the field, including 6-of-7 on 3s for 29 points.
Jahiem Holden came off the bench and didn’t miss a shot. The sophomore guard made all four field goals, both 3-pointers and a perfect 6-of-6 from the free throw line for 16 points.
Asanti Price added 15, Justin Harmon 12 and Desean Munson 10.
Next up for the Cougars will be trip to Liberal Monday to take on Seward County.

Barton 93, Cloud 60
Cloud 26 34 – 60
Barton 44 49 – 93
Cloud (4-4, 2-4) 60
Smith 1-4 1-2 3, Reed 1-9 3-4 6, Frierson 3-10 4-4 10, Athian 4-6 0-2 9, Acosta 2-4 1-3 5, Edwards 2-5 1-2 5, Valentin 0-1 2-2 2, Beetch 3-8 2-3 9, Drame 3-5 3-5 10, Moose 0-4 1-2 1. Totals – 19-56 18-29 60.
Barton (3-4, 2-4) 93
Harmon 5-8 0-0 12, Munson 4-13 2-2 10, Jones 0-2 0-0 0, Price 6-12 0-0 15, Lapoole 10-14 3-5 29, Holden 4-4 6-6 16, Warrior 0-3 2-2 2, Koehler 0-1 0-0 0, King 2-2 0-0 5, Brooks-Harris 1-2 2-2 4. Totals – 32-61 15-17 93.
3-pointers – Cloud 4-14 (Athian 1-2, Drame 1-2, Reed 1-4, Beetch 1-4), Barton 14-20 (Lapoole 6-7, Price 3-4, Holden 2-2, Harmon 2-4, King 1-1, Warrior 0-1, Koehler 0-1).
Rebounds – Cloud 30 (Acosta 8), Barton 35 (Kipruto 8). Assists – Cloud 9 (Smith 5), Barton 22 (Holden 7). Steals – Cloud 7 (Edwards 3), Barton 10 (3 with 2). Blocks – Cloud 2 (Acosta 2), Barton 4 (Munson 2).

Turnovers – Cloud 19, Barton 14. Fouled Out – None. Technicals – Cloud Bench, Brooks-Harris, Barton.