The Barton Community College Cougars are ranked No. 13 in the latest NJCAA poll, owning a 21-3 record, including 7-3 for sole possession of second place in the Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference Western Division standings.
The Cougars, who have won six of their last seven games, should be living large, right?
Well, as far as seventh-year BCC head coach Craig Fletchall is concerned, the Cougars have been sputtering as they embark on the stretch run of the season. The Cougars travel to Garden City (17-7, 5-5) on Saturday night for a 7:30 tipoff.
“My disappointment over the last two weeks is that we’ve stopped being aggressive,” Fletchall said. “We’re a team that has doesn’t have a lot of dominant size and not great perimeter shooting. If we don’t play with a ton of energy and being aggressive, we’re just an average team.”
But the Cougars won for the second straight Wednesday by standing firm down the stretch. They rallied then held on to beat Cloud County 86-82 on Feb. 1 in Concordia, and they held off a second-half flurry by Dodge City to hold on for an 83-81win after the Conquistadors’ Tyson Pickett missed from point-blank range just before the horn sounded.
In between, the Cougars lost at No. 15 Seward County 77-59 last Saturday night.
“I think that game (against Dodge City) was a game that last year, we would have lost,” Fletchall said. “I take solace in the fact that we lost seven overtime games last year and we’ve found a way to win close games thus far.
“I also have a sense that our guys have hit the wall a little bit with that February drive. We’re trying to decrease practice time and take better care of our bodies. We realize it’s a six-game race to a conference title or a stretch for a home playoff game or maybe not even making the top 5.”
Call it Jayhawk West parity, if you will.
“There’s very little that separates six teams right now in our conference,” Fletchall said. “All of us have a chance to make the playoffs, and all of us have a chance to lay egg.
“That’s just the way it is in this conference.”