BY JIM MISUNAS
HUTCHINSON – Barton Cougar Myles Thompson enjoyed a happy Homecoming. The Hutchinson native scored 24 points to spark No. 1 Barton Community College past No. 16 Hutchinson 74-57 to capture Saturday's Region 6 basketball championship.
Thompson watched Blue Dragon games as a youngster, but signed with Barton after Hutchinson coach Steve Eck left junior college coaching.
"It's motivating to play against Hutch, and fun to play in front of people I know," Thompson said. "I like playing here. When I grew up, I was a huge fun of Hutch."
Barton's Lajae Jones scored 14 points with nine boards. Ring Malith scored 10 points and Mozae Downing-Rivers added nine points with five assists and four steals. Cooper Jackson added a perfect finishing touch with a late-game slam dunk.
"It's gratifying to accomplish a goal," Thompson said. "We've built a culture where everyone does their job. It's a team effort."
The Cougars have swept a record six consecutive games over the Blue Dragons (27-6). It marked Barton’s first Region 6 title since 2001. When the teams last met for the Region 6 title, Hutchinson won an identical 74-57 score in 2013.
Barton has swept five games at the Sports Arena, a huge advantage heading to the NJCAA Tournament that starts March 24. Runner-up Hutchinson and No. 11 Cowley (27-5) must wait for an at-large invitation Sunday.
The top-ranked Cougars will earn the No. 1 seed at the 2024 NJCAA Tournament when the bracket is released at 6 p.m. Sunday. The Cougars (32-1) extend their winning streak to 23 games. The Cougars match the 1999-2000 Cougars who started 32-1 en route to the NJCAA Tournament.
Barton built a 29-point lead (59-30) and played patiently in the final 15 minutes.
"We worked hard to get to this point," said Barton coach Jeremy Coombs. "We came out fast and played like we wanted to. We played good basketball for a good stretch."
The Blue Dragons (27-6) shot 10% from 3-point range with 3 of 29 shots and made 22 of 60 field goals (37%) against effective Cougar defense. Valentino Simon (13) , Kamryn Thomas (13) and Kernan Bundy (11) scored in double figures.
"The guys were focused," Coombs said. "We talked on our defensive switches and did a lot of good things."
The Cougars led 40-23 at halftime fueled by 11-0 and 10-2 scoring bursts.
After building the 29-point lead behind a 15-0 run, the Cougars were outscored 25-6 that sliced the lead to 65-55 . The Cougars drew several shot-clock violations with five turnovers and four missed 3-pointers in in the late going. The Cougars converted 10 of 18 free throw and 4 of 18 on 3-pointers.
"They took us out of stuff and we didn't handle it," Coombs said. "Hutch is a tough team."
NOTES Barton owns record six straight victories. It was Hutchinson’s lowest score since 2005 (48).Hutchinson leads overall 81-45.
Barton 40 34 — 74
Hutchinson 23 34 — 57
BARTON (32-1)—Thompson 10-16 3-7 24, Jones 6-9 0-0 14, Downing-Rivers 4-7 1-2 9, Malith 2-7 5-8 10, Jackson 2-7 0-0 4, Kindell 3-5 0-0 6, Moss 2-8 1-1 5, Spray 1-1 0-0 2, Bowen-Webb 0-3 0-0 0, Totals 30-63 10-18 74.
HUTCHINSON (27-6)—Simon 5-10 2-2 13, Thomas 4-10 4-8 13, Bundy 4-9 3-4 11, Ricks 3-9 0-2 7, Whitney 2-4 1-2 5, Smith 3-7 0-0 6, Wagler 1-7 0-0 2, Weathers 0-1 0-0 0, Branch 0-3 0-0 0, Totals 22-60 10-20 57.
3-pointers—BC 4-18 (Jones 2-4, Thompson 1-2, Malith 1-5, Downing-Rivers 0-2, Jackson 0-2, Bowen-Webb 0-3); HCC 3-29 (Simon 1-3, Thomas 1-4, Ricks 1-7, Whitney 0-1, Weathers 0-1, Branch 0-3, Bundy 0-3). Rebounds—BC 44 (Jones 9, Thompson 9); HCC 35 (Simon 11). Assists—BC 12 (Downing-Rivers 4); HCC 9 (Smith 2, Whitney 2). Steals—Barton 9 (Downing-Rivers 4); HCC 5 (Bundy 2). TO—BC 12, HCC 15.
MEN'S REGION 6 TOURNAMENT
CHAMPIONSHIP—Barton 74, Hutchinson 57
SEMIFINALS—Barton 79, Butler 76; Hutchinson 89, Cowley 83
SECOND ROUND—Barton 83, Coffeyville 72; Butler 77, Cloud 69; Cowley 87, NW Tech 69; Hutchinson 88, Garden City 87 (OT)
FIRST ROUND—Coffeyville 88, Pratt 77; Cloud 79, Colby 54; NW Tech 85, Dodge City 74; Garden City 78, Seward 65
NJCAA REGIONAL WINNERS
APPALACHIAN—No. 21 Walters, State, Tenn. 28-2; Walters State 83, Chattanooga State 79
ATLANTIC—South Carolina Salkehatchie 20-13; Salkehatchie 69, No. 22 Caldwell Tech, N.C. 59
CENTRAL—No. 4 Vincennes, Ind. 30-3; Vincennes 73, Wabash Valley, Ill 67
EAST—Allegany, Md. 26-7; Allegany 62, Harford, Md. 58 (OT)
GULF—Jones, Miss. 27-6; Jones 83, Mississippi Gulf Coast 81
MIDWEST—No. 7 Triton, Ill. 28-2; Triton 84, No. 19 Moberly, Mo. 81
MID SOUTH—No. 17 Trinity Valley, Texas 27-7; Trinity Valley 87, No. 5 Lee, Texas 72
NORTH CENTRAL—No. 10 Indian Hills, Iowa 28-5; Indian Hills 90, No. 20 N.D. State 74
NORTHWEST—Trinidad State, Colo. 25-7; Trinidad State 81, Western Nebraska 56
PLAINS—No. 1 Barton CC 32-1; Barton 74, No. 16 Hutchinson CC 57
SOUTH—Wallace State, Ala. 25-8; Wallace State 85, Bishop State, Ala 81 (OT)
SOUTH ATLANTIC— No. 12 Chipola, Fla. 29-4; Chipola, Fla. 50, No. 9 NW Florida 48
SOUTH CENTRAL—Connors State, Okla. 31-2; Connors State 73, No. 18 NE Oklahoma 71
SOUTHEAST—Georgia Highlands 19-14; Georgia Highlands 56, Albany Tech 53
SOUTHWEST—No. 2 South Plains 31-2; South Plains 100, Clarendon, Texas 98
WEST—No. 3 Salt Lake, Utah 30-3; Salt Lake 66, Eastern Arizona 59
OTHER TOP 25—Moberly, Mo. 75, No. 6 Mineral Area, Mo. 71; Tallahassee, Fla 113, No. 8 Daytona, Fla. 112 (OT); Hutchinson 89, No. 11 Cowley 83; NW Florida 71, No. 13 Eastern Florida State 62; South Plains 63, No. 15 Odessa, Texas 53; Barton 79, No. 24 Butler 76
