The Barton Community College men’s basketball team took care of the ball and took care of Dodge City on Wednesday night at Kirkman Athletic Center.
The Cougars committed only 10 turnovers during their Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference Western Division home opener, and Dwayne Brunson scored 20 points and Colin Beatty added 17 during a 77-61 win over the Conquistadors.
“The big stat was the turnovers,” Barton head coach Craig Fletchall said of his team inducing Dodge City into 20 miscues. “Any time you turn the ball over only 10 times, I like our chances.”
Brunson finished 8-for-12 from the field and also added eight rebounds, including six on the defensive end. Beatty emerged from a mini-slump to hit 7 of 16 shots from the floor, including 3-for-4 on 3-pointers.
“It was nice to see him knock down a couple 3s,” Fletchall said of Beatty, the team’s only returning starter from last season. “He played well for us.”
Adam Young totaled 12 points, narrowly missing a double-double as he finished with nine rebounds.
“A big strength is Colin and Adam Young showing veteran leadership as sophomores,” Fletchall said.
Beatty’s 3-pointer with 12:52 remaining capped a 15-7 run and gave the Cougars a 55-42 lead. They maintained that advantage the remainder of the game,
Brunson and Young were dominant underneath the backboards during the opening half, combining for 20 of the Cougars’ points in helping build their 40-35 halftime lead.
Brunson, a 6-foot-7 freshman forward from Queens, N.Y., hit five of his first six shots and totaled 12 first-half points. Young, a 6-8 sophomore forward from Las Vegas, Nev., made four of his first eight shots from the floor for eight points and five rebounds by the break.
The Cougars’ Jalen Boyd, a 6-3 guard, was effective attacking the basket early on, scoring seven of his nine points during the game’s opening three minutes as they held a 9-8 advantage.
Dodge City, behind 16 first-half points from forward Tyshon Pickett, led 25-22 before Beatty, an inside-outside threat from dropped in a 3-pointer from the left wing to tie the game with 8:25 remaining in the half.
The two teams traded baskets from that point before Young gave the Cougars leads of 36-33 and 38-33 with back-to-back bucket, the second off a putback.
After the Conquistadors closed to 38-35, Brunson hit a jump hook in the lane with 30 seconds left to make it a five-point game at halftime.
Barton shot 48.6 percent in the first half (17-for-35), while Dodge City was 15-for-24 (62.5 percent), including 6-for-8 from Pickett.
Pickett finished 10-for-14 from the field for 25 points for the Conquistadors (12-5, 1-2). Sophomore point guard Bruce Massey had 15 points, eight rebounds, five blocked shots, four assists and five turnovers.
While Dodge finished 24-for-52 from the floor (46.2 percent), Barton shot 45.6 percent (31 for 68). Both teams struggled shooting 3-pointers, with BCC going only 4 for 17 and Dodge 2 for 12.
Barton’s Chris Cantino, a 6-7 freshman forward, has been dismissed from the team, Fletchall confirmed Wednesday night. Cantino was suspended for five games earlier in the  season.
“We set up some parameters and at the end of the day, I think a lot of Chris and I think he’s got his best basketball before him,” Fletchall said. “From practice, to chemistry and games, we thought it would be best that we move on without him.
“It came down to numbers, and he was the odd-man out.”
Barton (12-5, 1--2), which was led by point guard Storm Sanders’ nine assists, travels to Garden City for another Jayhawk West game on Saturday.