It wasn’t pretty at times. But it was a win.
The Barton men’s basketball team was sloppy for stretches Saturday night against Butler at the Barton Gym. But in the end made enough plays to escape with a 91-82 win in Jayhawk Conference action.
The win moved Barton to 7-0 overall and 3-0 in the Jayhawk. Butler is now 4-2 and 1-2. Barton is one of three teams at 3-0 in the Jayhawk, along with No. 14 Coffeyville and Cowley.
“We are 3-0 in the conference,” Barton Coach Craig Fletchall said. “But we easily could have lost all three of those games.”
Hutchinson, ranked No. 1 in the nation, fell from the ranks of the unbeaten Wednesday with a loss at Cloud County.
Barton was out-rebounded by eight and missed 20 free throws. But were able to overcome those issues for the win against Butler.
The first nine minutes of the contest with the Grizzlies were marked by turnovers and missed shots as the two teams were tied at 14-all.
Leading 19-15, Barton went on an 11-0 run to take a 30-15 lead following a layup by Kawanise ‘Squeaky’ Wilkins, the reigning conference Player-of-the-Week, with 5:31 left in the half.
Then the sloppy play returned for Barton. Over those final five minutes, Butler outscored Barton 22-9. Barton went to intermission up 39-37. At half, Barton had committed 10 turnovers.
It didn’t take Barton long to seize control of the game again in the second half. The Cougars came out of the locker room with a little more pep in their step, bolting to a 50-41 lead just five minutes into the half after a jumper by Keshon Montague.
But, like the opening half, the Cougars couldn’t keep their play at a quality level. Butler tied the game at 55-all with just less than 12 minutes left.
Butler would take its first lead since early in the game when Ketarrious Bouchum hit a 3-pointer with just less than eight minutes to play for a 65-52 lead.
Noah Webster would give Barton the lead back on a trey with 6:30 to play at 67-65.
Barton gained control of the contest for good during a brief one minute stretch late in the game. Wilkins scored on a runner in the lane and Webster knocked down another trey to take a 79-72 lead with 2:30 to play.
Montague would add two free throws the next time down to give Barton an 81-72 with 1:49 left to cap a 7-0 run. That would finally put the nail in the coffin of Butler.
Barton made 33-of-53 free throws and forced 24 Butler turnovers to key the win.
Webster scored a game-high 20 off the bench in the win. The sophomore made 5-of-9 3-pointers.
“Noah (Webster) had a big game,” Coach Fletchall said. “He accepts his role off the bench well. He is a sophomore leader for us and showed that tonight.”
Marvin Cannon and Montague added 18 each while Elijah Ford and Wilkins both scored 14 as five Cougars reached double figures.
Ford and Wilkins both had nine rebounds and Montague led Barton with six assists and four steals.
Jared Armstrong led Butler with 18.
The Cougars be back at home Tuesday when Seward County visits the Barton Gym. The Saints are 1-2 in the Jayhawk after beating that same Cloud team that knocked off Hutchinson. Seward won in Concordia, 56-39. The Saints are 5-2 overall.

Barton 91, Butler 82
Butler   37  45 – 82
Barton  39  52 – 91
Butler (4-2, 1-2) 82
Armstrong 6-10 2-2 18, Bouchum 5-14 2-2 14, Moore 0-3 0-0 0, Smith 4-9 1-1 9, Adams 0-2 2-2 2, Criddle 3-6 2-2 10, Ards 6-14 1-1 15, Berry 2-4 0-0 5, Bratton 3-5 4-5 13, Ofodile 0-1 1-2 1. Totals – 29-68 15-17 82.
Barton (7-0, 3-0) 91
Wilkins 6-13 6-9 14, Lorenzen 1-4 0-0 2, Ford 3-5 8-10 14, Cannon 6-8 6-13 18, Montague 4-6 9-12 18, Andrews 0-0 1-3 1, Harris 0-0 0-0 0, White 0-1 0-2 0, Webster 6-13 3-4 20, Dalyrimple 0-0 0-0 0. Totals – 26-50 33-53 91.
3-pointers – Butler 9-25 (Armstrong 4-8, Criddle 2-4, Bouchum 2-6, Berry 1-2, Moore 0-1, Smith 0-1, Ards 0-3); Barton 6-16 (Webster 5-9, Montague 1-2, Wilkins 0-2, Lorenzen 0-3).
Rebounds – Butler 41 (Smith 8); Barton 33 (Wilkins 9, Ford 9). Assists – Butler 17 (Criddle 5); Barton 13 (Montague 6). Steals – Butler 2 (Bouchum 2); Barton 11 (Montague 4). Blocks – Butler 2 (Bratton 2). Barton 2 (Cannon 2)
Turnovers – Butler 24, Barton 13. Fouled Out – None. Technicals – None.