The No. 14-ranked Barton Community College Cougars were in fast-break mode against No. 19 Hutchinson on Wednesday night during a Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference Western Division clash.
Unleashing a feverish pace that had the Blue Dragons trying to catch their breath by halftime, the Cougars pushed the issue whenever they could, building a big early lead and throttling Hutch 91-73 at Kirkman Activity Center.
Freshman playmaking guard Algie Key scored 21 points, including 11 for 15 on free throws, and sophomore swingman Carl Wallace had 18 points and a team-high nine assists for Barton, 17-2 overall, 3-2 Jayhawk West.
The Cougars won their third straight conference game after dropping a notch in the NJCAA Division-I rankings that were released earlier in the day.
“We’ve definitely played more aggressive since the losses,” said Barton head coach Craig Fletchall of his team opening league play with two straight setbacks. “We wanted to use our athleticism.
“Carl Wallace and Algie really helped push the pace.”
Hutchinson, which plunged from No. 12 to No. 19 in the poll, dropped to 14-4, 1-3. Leading Hutch was Alex Davis’ 17 points. He was one of four Hutch players scoring in double figures.
“Hutchinson is a good program and there’s a reason why they’re picked second (behind Seward) in the preseason,” Fletchall said. “I think each win in the conference is big. We have three straight wins, our team has shown some growth.”
Barton sophomore power forward Dwayne Brunson was reinstated to the team after missing the previous two games because of suspensions. He came off the bench and finished with 14 points and a game-high 10 rebounds.
Freshman point guard Turon Parker added l3 points, hitting all four of his field goals and 4 of 5 free throws.
As Barton built a 44-30 halftime lead, Wallace had 10 points and six assists in the first half and Key had nine points, coming on an assortment of drives to the hoop.
Barton shot 52.9 percent from the floor in the first half, hitting 18 of 34 shots, including 3-for-4 on 3-pointers. Hutch, meanwhile, was 10 for 19 from the floor during the same stretch and committed 14 turnovers compared to seven for Barton.
Forward Andell Cumberbatch scored all seven of his points off the bench in the first half for the Cougars, who had six steals and 10 assists in the opening 20 minutes.
At the outset, the Cougars broke a 10-10 deadlock at 15:04 mark on a Wallace basket from underneath, starting an early 8-3 run for an 18-13 lead, capped by Julian Rose’s jumper.
Michael Spease answered with a 3 at the 10:20 mark to pull Hutch with 18-16, but Parker answered with a trey on the opposite end, the start of a 20-5 flourish as the Cougars were clicking on all cylinders.
Wallace followed up Parker’s 3 by hitting a basket off a driving layup and then made a baseline drive for a dunk, followed by a Jonathan Pittman bucket and a Key layup.
Hutch point guard Jack Pyle scored seven straight points during the final 2:22 of the half, including a deep 3 from the right wing, as the Dragons still had a double-digit deficit at intermission.

JUNIOR COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Kansas Jayhawk Community
College Conference
Western Division

At Great Bend
Kirkman Activity Center

Wednesday

No. 14 Barton 93,
No. 19 Hutchinson 71
HUTCHINSON (14-4, 1-3)
     Alex Davis 7-9 3-8 17, Mark Braden 5-9 3-6 14, Michael Spease 4-7 0-0 11, Jack Pyle 2-4 6-9 11, Anthony Thomas 3-8 1-2 7, Rozell Nunn 3-4 0-1 6, AJ Spencer 1-3 1-2 3, Ryan Schultz 0-4 2-2 2, Henry Buckley 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 25-48 16-30 71.
BARTON (17-2, 3-2)
     Algie Key 5-10 11-15 21, Carl Wallace 8-13 2-4 18, Dwayne Brunson 6-11 2-2 14, Turon Parker 4-4 4-5 13, Kurt Walker 2-2 2-2 8, Andell Cumberbatch 3-9 0-0 7, Julian Rose 2-4 0-0 4, Darius Hill 2-2 0-0 4, Jonathan Pittman 1-3 0-0 2, DaVonte Grant 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 34-59 21-28 93.
     Halftime — Barton 44, Hutchinson 30. Three-point goals—Hutchinson 5-17 (Spease 3-4; Braden 1-3; Jack Pyle 1-3, AJ Spencer 0-1, Schultz 0-2, Nunn 0-1, Anthony Thomas 0-3); Barton 4-7 (Walker 2-2, Cumberbatch 1-2, Parker 1-1, Rose 0-1, Wallace 0-1). Fouled out — Hutchinson (Thomas). Rebounds — Hutchinson 27 (Davis 6, Braden 6), Barton 36 (Brunson 10). Assists — Hutchinson 11 (Spencer 3), Barton 20 (Wallace 9). Total fouls -— Hutchinson 21, Barton 25. A — 1,378