Cougars’ balance beats Walters State

BY JIM  MISUNSAS
jmisunas@gbtrribune.com

HUTCHINSON — Barton Community College’s opening NJCAA game featured a technical foul to start the game and two points added after the halftime buzzer.

All-league point guard Mozae Downing-Rivers and defensive standout Cooper Jackson were each limited to 17 minutes because of foul trouble.

Brent Moss led a 24-point effort off the bench in an opening 83-68 NJCAA victory over Walters, State, Tenn. The No. 1 ranked Cougars (34-1) beat 3-time NJCAA champion Northwest Florida State (29-6) 87-73 in Wednesday's noon quarterfinals.

The Cougars played a stable of ballhandlers — Keandre Kindell, Cooper Jackson, Brent Moss and Lajae Jones — replacing Downing-Rivers, who dished out seven assists in 17 minutes.

“It’s always next man up,” said Barton coach Jeremy Coombs. “That’s the depth we have. That’s happened before this season with other guys. Someone always steps up. Lajae stepped in and helped when they started denying guys. We’ve developed this team to beat Hutchinson’s pressure. If we handle pressure, we’re good.”

Hutchinson native Myles Thompson (22), standout Lajae Jones (18), Ring Malith (14) all scored in double figures. Thompson grabbed 10 rebounds.

Jones delivered the knockout punch with back-to-back slam dunks and six points to spark a second-half surge for a 15-point lead.

"The dunks brings the energy up to finish the game," Jones said of his dunks. I was locked in that second half. My teammates picked me up that first half. It's a good team win. We had guys stepping up. It was next man up."

Walters State converted 11 of 37 3-pointers. Romondo Battle (17) and Malachi Hale (15) scored in double figures.

The Cougars and Walters State each were tagged with three technical fouls in the hotly-contested ballgame.

“They remind me of Garden City. They shoot the 3-pointer well and play physical inside,” Coombs said. “You’ve got to hold your ground defensively and not get pushed around. The guys bought into it a little bit. We’ll clean that up. You’ve got to play physical.”

Barton converted 27 of 54 field goals, 23 of 37 free throws and 6 of 19 3-pointers. Barton's defense held the nation's fourth-highest scoring offense 27 points below their season average.

Jackson set the tone early with three steals for a quick 5-0 Cougar lead. The Cougars converted a 12-0 scoring run for a 25-15 lead when Keandre Kindell fed Brent Moss for a dunk. The Cougars led 42-30 at halftime when Malith's tip-in was confirmed on a video replay.

After halftime, Jones scored 14 points with seven rebounds, Jackson dished out four assists, and Downing-Rivers distributed seven assists and a 3-pointer for a 15-point lead. Jones finished with 18 points and 10 rebounds for his 14th double-double.

The 2024 Tournament is Barton's fifth appearance – the first since 2018. Walters State was making their 9th tournament appearance – the first since 2017. Walters' 68 points matched barton's defensive average.

WALTERS STATE (28-3)— Battle 6-11 1-2 17, Hale 4-10 3-3 15, Simpson 1-11 5-8 8, Livingston 2-7 2-4 7, Moore 2-7 1-1 6, Shannon 2-2 2-4 6, Metz 2-3 0-0 4, Jacobs 1-4 2-4 4, Horton 0-1 1-2 1, Wharton 0-1 0-0 0, Ambrose 0-1 0-0 0, Totals 20-58 17-28 68.

BARTON (33-1)— Thompson 7-9 8-14 22, Jones 6-10 3-4 18, Malith 4-7 5-7 14, Moss 5-10 3-3 13, Kindell 2-9 2-4 7, Downing-Rivers 1-2 1-2 4, Jackson 0-4 1-3 1, Ndayisaba 1-1 0-0 2, Bowen-Webb 1-2 0-0 2, Totals 27-54 23-37 83.

3-pointers—WS 11-37 (Battle 4-8, Hale 4-10, Jacobs 0-2, Simpson 1-7, Livingston 1-4, Moore 1-5, Ambrose 0-1); BC 6-19 (Jones 3-4, Downing-Rivers 1-1, Kindell 1-6, Malith 1-4, Bowen-Webb 0-1, Moss 0-1, Jackson 0-2). Rebounds—WS 30 (Livingston 6); BC 28 (Thompson 10). Assists—WS 12 (Jacobs 5); BC 20 (Downing-Rivers 7). Steals—WS 10 (Simpson 3); BC 11 (Jackson 4). TO—WS 14, BC 15. Technical fouls—WS (WS coach, Jacobs, Wharton); BC (Moss, Thompson, Downing-Rivers)

Northwest Florida State, formerly called Okaloosa-Walton, Fla., won the 1995, 2015 and 2022 NJCAA championships and placed runner-up in 2012, 2013 and 2022.

2023—John A. Logan, Ill. 73 NW Florida State 70

2022—NW Florida State 83, Salt Lake, Utah 67

2015—NW Florida State 83, South Plains, Texas 80 (OT)

2013—Central Florida 74, NW Florida State 69

2012—South Plains, Texas 87, NW Florida State 68

1995—Okaloosa Walton 79, Spartanburg Methodist, S.C. 63

2024 NJCAA TOURNAMENT

CHAMPIONSHIP—No. 1 Barton 88,  Triton, Ill. 73

THURSDAY—Barton 93, Indian Hills, Iowa 78; Triton, Ill. 87, Connors State, Okla 84

WEDNESDAY—Barton 87, Northwest Florida State 73; Indian Hills 74, Odessa, Texas 68; Triton, Ill. 88, South Plains 87; Connors State, Okla. 91, Hutchinson 69

TUESDAY—Odessa, Texas 58, Vincennes, Ind. 56; Indian Hills, Iowa 68, Wallace State, Ala. 58; Connors State, Okla. 67, Salt Lake, Utah 61; Hutchinson 78, Chipola, Fla. 71

MONDAY—Connors State, Okla. 86, Moberly, Mo. 77; Hutchinson 96 South Carolina Salkehatchie 82; Barton 83, Walters State, Tenn. 68; NW Florida 85, Cowley College 70; South Plains 80, Panola, Texas 76; Triton, Ill. 105, Trinity Valley, Texas 87

SUNDAY—Walters, State, Tenn. 85, Daytona, Fla. 82; Cowley 87, Allegany, Md. 64; Wallace State, Ala. 76, Lee, Texas 64; Odessa, Texas 81, Trinidad State, Colo. 58; Panola, Texas 84, Jones, Miss. 73; Trinity Valley, Texas 61, Georgia Highlands 54