The first half had its moments, both good and bad. The second half was pretty much all good.
In the end, it was an easy win for the Barton men’s basketball team. The Cougars opened up the 2017-18 season with a 102-57 win over the McPherson JV.
“It wasn’t pretty at times in the first half,” Coach Craig Fletchall said. “Chemistry is big. We are still trying to figures some things and that second half we had much better chemistry.”
The Cougars blew open a relatively close contest at halftime with a huge second half. Barton turned a 12-point halftime lead into the 45-point rout thanks to a 51-18 second half.
It was pretty at the outset, as Barton knocked down four quick field goals – two treys by sophomore transfer Sam Lorenzen – on the way to 10-0 lead out of the gates.
Then came a lull as the Bulldogs cut the lead to 18-13 near the midway point of the opening half.
That is how the first half played out. By halftime the Cougars had built a 12-point lead on the strength of a 14-8 run over the final five minutes.
The second half was all Barton, starting with 12-0 run to open the final 20 minutes. The lead reached 20 during that spurt when Keshon Montague knocked down a trey to make it 61-39 just more than two minutes in.
It reached 30 on a Tyrell Andrews jumper at the midway point, giving Barton a 76-45 lead. It hit 40 on an Elijah Ford jumper with five minutes left to put Barton up 94-54.
The Cougars eclipsed the 100-point mark when Andrews put in a layup with 1:05 to play.
Several Cougars found double figures in the route. Six in all, led by Andrews with 17 and Montague with 16. Lorenzen and Kian Dalyrimple both scored 15.
Cannon finished with 10 points and a game-high eight rebounds along with Elijah Ford. Ford also had four steals.
“I was pleased with a lot of our players,” Coach Fletchall said. “Keshon did really well at the point. We haven’t had a true point guard for a few years and I think he look really good at times.”
Jace Shepherd scored 14 to lead the Bulldogs.
Barton is at home this weekend for the Best Western/Booster Club Classic. The Cougars will face Highlands Friday and Redlands (Okla) Saturday. Tip is set for 7:30 p.m.

Barton 102, McPherson JV 57
McPherson JV 39 18 – 57
Barton 51 51 – 102

McPherson JV 57
Calleros 4-9 1-1 9, Weber 1-5 1-2 3, Barrett 0-3 0-0 0, Watkins 4-9 2-5 10, Krsmanovic 0-1 0-0 0, Shepherd 5-10 0-0 14, Schroeder 0-3 0-0 0, Fowles 0-0 0-0 0, Barideaux 2-9 2-2 7, Wilftfong 4-7 0-0 11, Vasquez 0-0 0-4 0, Rassette 1-4 0-0 3, Clifford 0-1 0-2 0, Hall 0-2 0-0 0. Totals – 21-63 6-14 57.
Barton (1-0) 102
Wilkins 2-4 0-0 5, Montague 7-12 0-0 16, Lorenzen 4-7 3-3 15, Ford 4-6 1-1 9, Cannon 5-8 0-0 10, Andrews 8-12 1-2 17, Seydi 0-1 1-2 1, Haist 0-1 0-0 0, Harris 0-3 1-2 1, Thomas1-1 0-0 2 , White 5-5 0-2 11, Dalyrimple 5-10 2-2 15. Totals – 41-70 9-14 102.
3-pointers – Mac JV 9-34 (Shepherd 4-7, Wiltfong 3-6, Rassette 1-3, Barideaux 1-7, Watkins 0-1, Calleros 0-2, Weber 0-2, Schroeder 0-3, Barrett 0-3); Barton 11-26 (Lorenzen 4-6, Dalyrimple 3-6, Montague 2-5, Wilkins 1-1, White 1-1, Seydi 0-1, Cannon 0-2, Andrews 0-2, Harris 0-2).
Rebounds – Mac JV 26 (Barideaux 5); Barton 51 (Ford 8, Cannon 8). Assists – Mac JV 10 (Calleros 4); Barton 19 (Montague 4). Steals – Mac JV 2 (Shepherd, Wiltfong); Barton 12 (Ford 4). Blocks – Mac JV 0. Barton 3 (Ford, Cannon, White)
Turnovers – Mac JV 20, Barton 19. Fouled Out – Fowles, Mac JV. Technicals – None.