DODGE CITY — The No. 1 ranked Barton Community College Cougars checked off goal No. 1 by clinching a share of the Jayhawk Conference title for the first time since 2009 with a dominating 111-91 victory over Dodge City Wednesday.
Barton's Lajae Jones contributed 26 points and 12 rebounds for his 11th double/double. Myles Thompson scored 25 points with nine boards. Ring Malith (14), Brent Moss (14), Keandre Kindell (14) and Mozae Downing-Rivers (11) scored in double figures. Downing-Rivers contributed seven assists, five rebounds and two steals.
"We had mismatches and went right at it, especially in the second half," said Barton coach Jeremy Coombs. "Once we did that, things opened up. We wanted to get the basketball inside."
Barton (27-1, 21-1) has won a school record 18 consecutive Jayhawk games. The Cougars' magic number to clinch a berth to the 2024 NJCAA Tournament is a win over No. 15 Hutchinson Saturday or a loss by Cowley College.
"The conference title is one of our goals,' Coombs said. "We don't want to settle for sharing a title."
Dodge City (9-20, 7-16 Jayhawk) was paced by Chevy Emery scored 21 points and Tyler Williams added 20 points.
After trailing 9-0, Jones scored 20 first-half points and highlighted by five dunks with a trio of posturizing rim benders. Barton gained a plus-9 advantage off the bench keyed by Kindell and Moss.
"I love how we responded. The guys handled themselves well," said Coombs. "Our depth is good, and we took advantage. We did a good job playing in transition."
The Cougars converted 44 of 79 shots (56%) and Dodge City shot 51.5%. Barton converted 7-of-21 on 3-pointers while Dodge City made 7-of-10first-half 3-pointers, but finished 10 of 25.
Battling back and forth for the next four minutes, the Cougars erased a two-point deficit with a 10-1 stretch for its largest first half lead of eight to eventually lead 49-44 at the break.
Dodge City closed within 65-61 at the 14-minute mark before Thompson and Malith strung the nine straight pushing the gap back out. The Cougars built a 23-point lead.
Barton leads the series 30-24 in Dodge City and 72-40 overall.
Barton 49 62 —111
Dodge city 44 47— 91
BARTON (27-1, 21-1)—Jones 9-1 6-8 26, Thompson 12-17 1-7 25, Moss 6-10 2-4 14, Kindell 6-10 1-1 14, Downing-Rivers 3-6 4-4 11, Malith 6-11 0-0 14, Jackson 1-3 0-0 2, Spray 0-1 0-0 0, Ndayisaba 1-3 0-0 3, Bol 0-1 000 0, Bowen-Webb 0-4 2-4 2, Totals 44-79 16-28 111.
DODGE CITY (9-20, 7-16)—Emery 7-12 3-5 21, Williams 9-11 1-2 20, Bhullar 4-14 4-6 14, Duncan 4-4 1-2 10, Swartz 1-2 0-0 2, Gamble 2-7 0-0 5, Taylor 1-1 1-2 4, Jackson 1-5 1-3 3, Boatwright 5-10 2-3 12, Totals 34-66 13-23 91.
3-pointers—BC 7-21 (Malith 2-5, Jones 2-5, Downing-Rivers 1-2, Kindell 1-3, Ndayisaba 1-1, Bowen-Webb 0-2, Moss 0-1, Thompson 0-1); DC 10-25 (Emery 4-6, Bhullar 2-9, Duncan 1-1, Williams 1-1, Gamble 1-4, Taylor 1-1, Jackson 0-1 Boatwright 0-2). Rebounds—BC 43 (Jones 12); DC 29 (Jackson 6). Assists—BC 19 (Downing-Rivers 7); DC 13 (Boatwright 4). Steals—BC 8 (Jones 3); DC 2 (Emery 1, Boatwright 1). TO—BC 6; DC 14.
JAYHAWK MEN
Barton 21-1 27-1
Cowley 20-3 24-4
Hutchinson 19-3 24-4
Butler 17-5 22-6
Cloud 14-8 19-9
Garden City 13-9 17-11
NW Tech 10-13 13-15
Dodge City 7-16 9-20
Coffeyville 7-15 11-17
Colby 6-16 9-20
Pratt 6-16 9-19
Seward 5-17 7-21
Independence 0-22 1-27
2-28—Barton 111, Dodge City 91; Cowley 69, Cloud 63; Hutchinson 79, Coffeyville 60; Pratt 94, Butler 89; Colby 69, Seward 63; NW Tech 95, Independence 84
3-1—Hutchinson at Barton; Butler at Cloud; Colby at Coffeyville; NW Tech at Pratt; Dodge City at Garden City; Seward at Independence
