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Cougars build big lead then hold off Dodge City for West second seed
Cougars build big lead then hold off Dodge City for West second seed
Desean Munson plays through a foul.
Desean Munson plays through a foul to convert the basket against Dodge City Wednesday night. Munson had a huge game with 18 points and 16 rebounds as Barton beat Dodge City, 100-92, for the No. 2 seed in from the West.

Make no mistake, there was a lot riding on the outcome of the Jayhawk West regular season finale Wednesday night at the Barton Gym.

Not only at stake was the second place finish in the Jayhawk West, but a possible second home game in the post.

The winner of the Barton and Dodge City contest would be the second seed.

That would be the Barton Cougars, who came out on fire, built a huge lead then held on for dear life to secure that spot. Barton won the West finale, 100-92.

With that, the Cougars are now 13-8 in the West. Dodge is 12-8. Hutchinson, 15-5, won the West.

Post season gets started Monday when Cloud County pays a visit to the Barton Gym for a 7:30 pm tip in the first round of Region VI. The Thunderbirds were 4-16 in the East, finishing in 7th place.

The final pairings will not be released until after Cowley and Neosho County play Friday. If Cowley wins that game, the Tigers will be the top seed from the East and Coffeyville the No. 2 seed.

It looked like it just might be a walk in the park for the Cougars Wednesday night.

Barton shot out to an 8-0 lead after a Joe Jones trey in the first 1:30 of the game. That lead grew to 21-8 six minutes in and 26-10 moments later on a Shawn Warrior 3-pointer.

It hit 33-12 on Jaheim Holden layup will still 11:30 to play in the first half. A Desean Munson dunk made it 38-15 and when Asanti Price knocked down a 3-pointer with four minutes left in the half, Barton led 49-24.

Another Price 3-pointer gave the Cougars a 60-39 halftime lead.

In that opening half, Barton hit 12-of-22 treys and shot 57 percent from the field.

Things weren’t so smooth in the second half.

The Cougars would score just two points over a four minute stretch early in the half, allowing Dodge to cut it to 69-54 with 13:51 to play. The lead got to 10, 78-68, with 8:30 left.

The Conquistadors got the lead under double digits at 85-76 with five minutes still to go. A pair of free throws trimmed it to 87-81 with 2:37 left then 88-83 at the 1:51 mark.

That would be as close as Dodge would get until a Dhieu Deing 3-pointer to make it 96-92 with just 15 ticks to play.

Barton would go 4-for-4 at the free throw line to close out the win.

Justin Harmon scored 23 to lead the Cougars and Holden added 21. Munson had a double-double and it wasn’t just barely so. The sophomore had a huge game with 18 points and 16 rebounds. Holden added eight assists.


Barton 100, Dodge 92

Dodge      39  53 – 92

Barton     60  40 – 100

Dodge (13-8, 12-8) 92

Deing 8-19 11-11 32, Napper 9-19 6-9 24, Stallworth 1-5 2-2 4, Koureissi 3-6 1-1 7, Gilmore 4-6 0-0 8, Reynolds 2-4 1-2 6, McFarlane 2-4 1-1 5, Thomas 2-5 0-0 6, Jones 0-3 0-0 0, Warren 0-0 0-0 0. Totals – 31-71 22-26 92.

Barton (14-8, 13-8) 100

Harmon 6-12 9-10 23, Munson 6-9 6-7 18, Holden 7-17 2-2 21, Jones 1-2 2-2 5, Koehler 3-4 0-0 7, Warrior 2-6 2-2 7, Price 4-11 0-0 12, Brooks-Harris 0-2 0-0 0, Kipruto 2-4 2-4 7. Totals – 31-67 23-27 100.

3-pointers – Dodge 8-28 (Deing 5-14, Thomas 2-4, Reynolds 1-1, Koureissi 0-1, Stallworth 0-2, Jones 0-2), Barton 15-38 (Holden 5-13, Price 4-10, Harmon 2-6, Koehler 1-1, Kipruto 1-1, Jones 1-2, Warrior 1-3, Brooks-Harris 0-2).

Rebounds – Dodge 35 (Gilmore 9), Barton 45 (Munson 16). Assists – Dodge 13 (Napper 6), Barton 21 (Holden 8). Steals – Dodge 8 (Deing 3), Barton 11 (Munson 3). Blocks – Dodge 0, Barton 5 (Kipruto 3).

Turnovers – Dodge 18, Barton 22. Fouled Out – Gilmore, Dodge. Technicals – None.