Independence Community College tried to keep up with Barton’s open-court, fast-breaking style of play Friday night.
It turned out to be a big mistake for the Pirates, who were decked 75-66 by an unbeaten Barton team wearing its road blue uniforms in the nightcap of a quadrupleheader at Kirkman Activity Center, site of the Highland Hotel-Booster Club Basketball Classic.
Do-everything guard Algie Key’s feverish pace kick-started an up-tempo flow that ultimately caught up with leg-weary Indy in the second half. Key, a 6-foot-3 freshman, slashed his way to 21 of his game-high 28 points in the first half and added 10 rebounds to finish with a double-double.
“He’s definitely got a motor that most people don’t have,” Barton head coach Craig Fletchall said of Key, a Decatur, Ga., native, who entered the game averaging not far from a triple-double — 13.2 points, 8.3 rebounds and a team-leading 7.1 assists. “We didn’t really want him to play 39 minutes out there, but he had such a dominant first half and did a good job.
“I thought Indy did a better job on him in the second half, obviously limiting him to seven, but I thought we were able to swing the ball around the perimeter and get more guys involved.”
Julian Rose, a 6-1 sophomore wide-body, came off the bench to help energize the Cougars. He scored 13 of his 15 points after halftime, coupled with 10 rebounds — nine on the defensive end — as he also finished with a double-double.
“He’s just a great lesson for all of our guys who get second chances,” Fletchall said of Rose, a Junction City native, who returned for a second season this fall after initially playing for the Cougars in the fall of 2002. “He played 12 games here and was ineligible.”
Fast forward to 2011.     
“He’s mature,” Fletchall added of Rose, who is married and has a daughter. “He’s taking care of business in the classroom. He just wants to get a degree, and he was huge for us (against Indy).”
The double dose of double-doubles offset chilly 31.7 percent first-half shooting by the Cougars (13 for 41). Besides Key making 7 of 14 first-half field goals, his teammates collectively missed 21 of 27 shots during the opening 20 minutes.
Both teams endured miserable shooting from beyond the arc. Indy was only 5-for-25 on 3-pointers while Barton was 0 for 9.
The Cougars, who extended their season unbeaten streak to seven games, were also playing short-handed. Their leading scorer and rebounder, sophomore power forward Dwayne Brunson, didn’t suit up against the Pirates. Moreover, freshman point guard Turon Parker suffered a knee injury in the first half and didn’t return.
“He’s just got to get more focus on and off the floor,” Fletchall said of the talented Brunson, who entered the classic averaging 20.7 points and 9.8 rebounds. “Our guys had to learn to play without him and I thought (Friday night) would be a good opportunity do that. We all know and understand that we can win or without anyone on our team.
“Turon’s knee doesn’t look good, he’s our point guard. Guys like (DaVonte) Grant might get more minutes with Turon out. I thought our sophomores showed a lot of leadership. I was pleased.”
Key’s breakdown of Indy defenders on his dribble drives included a trio of three-point plays, helping the cold-shooting Cougars mount a 35-32 halftime edge, a lead they would build on in the second half. They warmed up to 48.1 percent from the floor, finishing at 38.2 percent (26 for 68).
“I always feel comfortable going to the hole,” said Key, who also led the team in steals (4) and assists (3).  “I have also been working on my pull-up game because I don’t want to be a one-dimensional player.
“Everybody has to step up and contribute. I have to step up my game a little more and some of the other guards that are going to have to come off the bench will have to step up their game, too.”
During second-half action, Fletchall had a brief courtside confrontation with sophomore Carl Wallace after Wallace came out of the game. Wallace would later return to the floor in the final minutes.
“Carl’s my guy,” Fletchall said. “He plays hard and I love the kid. I want these sophomores to do so well and I want them to have perfect effort.
“We’re going to keep challenging them, even when we’re ahead.”
The Cougars also exacted a measure of revenge, beating an Indy team that downed the Cougars last season in early-season tournament play at home.

Labette’s Adams
beats buzzer,
Frank Phillips

In the 5 p.m. Friday men’s game, Labette southpaw guard Vic Adams drove nearly the length of the floor off an inbounds play, knifed through traffic on the left side and nailed a layup with one second left in regulation in a 77-75 stunner over Frank Phillips.
Wendell Lee scored 25 points, Vincent Cornu added 17 points, Adams finished with 14 points and Dre Connor added 10 for Labette (6-0).
James Boonstoppel scored 18 points, Akeem Johnson finished with 12 points and Ronald Scott added 11 for Frank Phillips (2-3).
Among first-year Labette coach Jonathan Raney’s staff is former Kansas forward Nick Bradford, who played for the Jayhawks from 1997-2000, serving as a backup for Paul Pierce.

JUNIOR COLLEGE BASKETBALL

Highland Hotel-Booster Club
Basketball Classic
At Great Bend
Kirkman Activity Center

Friday

MEN

Barton Community College 75,
Independence 66
INDEPENDENCE (3-3)
     TraVaughn White 6-13 6-9 18, AJ Downing 0-3 1-2 1, Bruce Adams 3-9 3-7 9, Christian Huffman 5-8 3-4 15, Rodney Givens 4-13 0-1 9, Peyton Botts 0-1 0-0 0, Anthony Rule 0-0 2-4 2, John Garrison 1-2 0-1 2, RJ Brown 0-2 0-0 0, Jervon Hooks 2-7 4-6 10. Totals 21-58 19-34 66.
BARTON (6-0)
     Jonathan Pittman 3-7 0-0 6,  Jalen Boyd 1-5 0-0 2,  Turon Parker 1-3 0-0 2, Algie Key 9-20 10-14 28, Darius Hill 1-4 4-4 6, Kurt Walker 0-4 0-1 0, Andel Cumberbatch 4-8 1-2 9, Julian Rose 5-10 5-6 15, DaVonte Grant 0-3 0-0 0, Carl Wallace 2-4 3-6 7. Totals 26-68 23-33 75.
     Halftime — Barton 35, Indy 32. Three-point goals — Indy 5-25 (Huffman 2-3, Hooks 2-7, Givens 1-8, Adams 0-2, Downing 0-2, White 0-1, Botts 0-1, Brown 0-1); Barton 0-9 (Grant 0-2, Walker 0-2, Boyd 0-2, Key 0-1, Cumberbatch 0-1, Rose 0-1). Rebounds — Barton 53 (Key 10, Rose 10, Hill 8); Indy 42 (Adams 8). Assists — Barton 9 (Key 3, Parker 2, Wallace 2); Indy 14 (White 5, Hooks 4, Downing 4). Steals — Barton 10 (Key 4); Indy 8 (Adams 4). Turnovers — Indy 17 (Downing 5); Barton 12 (Key 3). Blocked shots — Barton 6 (Key 4);Indy 5 (Rule 2, White 2)