PARK CITY — If you are looking for the difference between winning and losing Monday evening, look no further than beyond the 3-point stripe.
In an NJCAA Region VI men’s basketball semifinal at Hartman Arena, Cowley Community College buried 10 of 21 from long distance to send Barton packing, 76-67, one day after the Cougars knocked out No. 5-ranked Coffeyville.
Barton, which ends its season with a 26-7 record, couldn’t match the energy it displayed on Sunday on both sides of the court, where it limited the powerhouse Ravens to just 20-percent shooting from downtown (5 for 25) and answered every run on the offensive end.
“This is a guard-driven league and their guards made big shots,” said Barton head coach Craig Fletchall of the Tigers (24-9), who made 6 of 10 3s in the second half. “Anybody that has seen Cowley or Barton this year, has said, ‘Hey, zone both of them because neither can throw it in the ocean.’
“They did and we didn’t, and that was a big difference. I thought we lost a little bit of composure midway through the half, but give them all of the credit. (The Tigers) stayed together, stepped up and hit some big 3s.”
Cowley guard James Milliken torched the Cougars with 9-for-14 shooting, including 4 of 7 on 3-pointers, for a game-high 28 points in leading the long-range assault.
Freshman guard Algie Key led Barton with 19 points, hitting 8 of 18 field goals and 3 of 5 free throws. He was one of four Cougars to finish in double figures.
Sophomore power forward Dwayne Brunson had 14 points, 13 rebounds and made four steals in his final game, and sophomore swingman Carl Wallace had 12 points and six rebounds. Turon Parker, a freshman guard, totaled 10 points for Barton, which led 35-33 at halftime.
But the Tigers, who outscored the Cougars 43-32 after halftime, got their needed separation with the 3.
“We’re really disappointed,” Fletchall said. “As well as we guarded perimeter jump shots this season, we didn’t find those guys. I’m still at a loss. We’ve seen so many good guards this season and we’ve taken a lot of them out of games.
“We just let them catch and shoot too easily, and that’s my fault for not having them prepared.”
Even after three straight treys by Cowley early in the second half, giving it a 53-47 lead with just over 13 minutes remaining, the Cougars were staying in contention, getting a Key layup off a Tigers turnover, followed by Julian Rose hitting a driving layup.
The two teams continued to exchange baskets before Brunson’s putback closed the gap to 61-55 with five minutes remaining.
That’s where Milliken went to work. He hit a basket and then on the Tigers’ next possession, he made a backdoor cut and took a post pass from Gavin Brown for a momentum-seizing dunk and a 65-55 lead.
“Don’t let people kid you,” Fletchall said. “They’ve got some athletes, but we just thought if we brought our ‘A’ game. It’s bittersweet to lose these sophomores, but we have a good nucleus coming back that we can build on.
“For a team picked No. 7 (in the Jayhawk West) in the preseason and hadn’t been here in this venue for a couple years, they can go out of here holding their heads high.”
Besides Brunson and Wallace, Rose, Jonathan Pittman, Darius Hill and DaVonte Grant have also played their final game at Barton.

Cowley County and Seward County meet at 8 tonight for the championship and a berth in the NJCAA D-I Men’s Basketball Championship at the Hutchinson Sports Arena, which is set for March 20-24.


JUNIOR COLLEGE BASKETBALL
NJCAA Region VI Tournament

 At Park City
Hartman Arena

Monday

MEN

Semifinal

Cowley Community College 76,
Barton 67
COWLEY (24-9)
     James Milliken 9-14 6-10 28, EJ Dobbins 3-8 2-2 10, Gavin Brown 3-5 4-5 10, Zach Nelson 3-5 0-0 8, Adonis Bailey 3-5 0-2 7, Maurice Williams 2-4 2-4 6, Curtis Evans 2-4 0-0 5, Kamren Belin 1-6 0-0 2, Tajh Downs 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 26-51 14-23 76.
BARTON (26-7)
     Algie Key 8-18 3-5 19, Dwayne Brunson 6-12 2-2 14, Carl Wallace 5-13 1-1 12, Turon Parker 3-6 3-5 10, Julian Rose 2-8 2-2 7, Kurt Walker 1-4 0-0 3, Darius Hill 1-3 0-2 2, Andell Cumberbatch 0-0 0-0 0, Jonathan Pittman 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 26-65 11-17 67.
     Halftime — Barton 35, Cowley 33. Three-point goals — Cowley 10-21 (Milliken 4-7, Dobbins 2-5, Nelson 2-4, Bailey 1-1, Evans 1-1, Belin 0-1, Williams 0-1, Brown 0-1); Barton 4-14 (Walker 1-4, Rose 1-2, Parker 1-4, Wallace 1-1, Brunson 0-2, Key 0-1). Rebounds — Cowley 33 (Belin 10); Barton 39 (Brunson 13). Assists — Cowley 18 (Dobbins 4, Brown 4, Belin 4, Milliken 4); Barton 14 (Wallace 4, Key 4). Total fouls — Barton 18, Cowley 13. Turnovers — Cowley 12, Barton 9. Steals — Barton 10 (Brunson); Cowley 6 (Dobbins 3). Blocked shots — Cowley 5 (Bailey 4, Belin). Total fouls — Barton 18, Cowley 13. Fouled out —Barton (Walker).