The Barton Community College men’s basketball team held a 20-point lead as time ran out in the first half against Seward County on Wednesday night.
The Cougars still didn’t have the game wrapped up until only seconds remained in regulation, winning 72-66 at Kirkman Activity Center.
Barton improves to 14-6 overall, 2-2 in the Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference Western Division race.
Things started poorly for Barton. The Cougars trailed 11-4 before things started going their way.
Trey Unrau dropped in a pair of long-range 3-pointers, followed by a trey from Travell Robinson, closing the gap in a hurry.
After some defensive stops, Barton took control of the game. Then it started running away with it.
The Cougars led 39-21 at halftime.
The first-half bubble wasn’t enough for Barton as Seward County had closed within 59-57 with 7:16 remaining in the game.
A 3-pointer from Niem Stevenson had the Saints ahead 60-59, but Barton reclaimed the lead on a pair of free throws from Darius Gibson.
The game went back-and-forth until a 6-0 run, including a free throw from Tyler Corley and Gibson, as well as a layup from Corley and a jumper from DJ Johnson, boosted Barton ahead 70-64 with 34 seconds on the clock.
Corley, who finished with 18 points, hit a pair of free throws down the stretch, and the Barton defense took care of the rest.
Gibson led the Cougars with 19 points.
JUNIOR COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference
Western Division
MEN
Wednesday
At Great Bend
Kirkman Activity Center
Barton 72, Seward County 66
SEWARD COUNTY (13-7, 3-1)
Niem Stevenson 7-21 9-10 25, Malcolm Hill-Bey 4-11 2-6 12, Secean Johnson 3-9 4-8 11, Tyreke Sharp 3-8 0-0 7, Quentin Purtue 2-4 2-2 6, Evan Allen 1-2 0-0 2, Brian Bridgeforth 1-1 0-2 2, Raoul Mentor 0-0 1-2 1, Frank Johnston 0-1 0-2 0, Verdell Mays 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 21-57 18-32 66.
BARTON (14-6, 2-2)
Darius Gibson 4-10 11-16 19, Tyler Corley 6-13 4-7 18, Deriece Parks 3-6 1-2 9, Trey Unrau 3-5 0-0 9, DJ Johnson 3-6 0-0 6, Isaac Williams 1-2 0-0 3, Travell Robinson 1-1 0-0 3, Christian Smith 0-2 2-3 2, Raheem Johnson 1-4 0-0 2, Rashawn Walker 0-0 1-2 1, Montrell McKenzie 0-0 0-0 0, Tyler Chambers 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 22-49 19-30 72.
Halftime — Barton 39, Seward County 21. Three-point goals—Seward County 6-18 (Hill-Bey 2-3, Stevenson 2-7, Sharp 1-3, Johnson 1-3, Purtue 0-2); Barton 9-18 (Unrau 3-5, Parks 2-5, Corley 2-4, Robinson 1-1, Williams 1-1, Smith 0-2). Fouled out—Seward County (None); Barton (R. Johnson). Rebounds—Seward County 39 (Stevenson 9); Barton 36 (DJ Johnson 7). Assists—Seward County 6 (Purtue 2); Barton 11 (Gibson 5). Total fouls—Seward County 24; Barton 20. Turnovers—Seward County 13; Barton 12.
