BY JIM MISUNAS
jmisunas@gbtribune.com
HUTCHINSON — Barton Cougar Hall of Famers DeMarcus Minor and Lamont Roland and Alek Radojevic can rest easy.
Twenty-five years after Barton Community College lost the NJCAA championship to Indian Hills, Iowa, the No. 1 ranked Cougars extracted a measure of revenge, albeit 25 years later.
The Cougars left their third NJCAA opponent humbled with a dominating 93-78 victory over the Warriors, who showed their frustration with a pair of technical fouls before declining to shake hands after the game.
The Cougars (35-1) ride a 26-game winning streak against Triton, Ill. in Saturday's 1 p.m. NJCAA championship, airing on ESPN-U.
Lajae Jones dominated at both ends with 25 points and his usual high-flying slam dunks. The left-handed Myles Thompson, averaging 18 points, scored a team high 21 points with his versatile mix of shots around the rim. Supersub No. 1 Brent Moss scored 13 points and supersub No. 2 Keandre Kindell added 10 points.
Barton built a 54-34 lead with 15 minutes left with efficient play at both ends. The Warriors outscored the Cougars 44-39 with wild one-on-ones drives to the basket and occasional 3-pointers.
Cougar mastermind Jeremy Coombs left another opponent in the dust with an effective mix of man-to-man, zone and pressure schemes. The Warriors converted 27 of 68 field goals (40%), 10 of 30 from 3-point range (33%).
"We mixed it up again. It kept them off balance," Coombs said. "Defensively, we were dialed in, held them under their scoring average and won the glass. We've got a mature bunch of players who show great leadership. Indian Hills is a good basketball team and we knew it'd be a dogfight. We responded well."
Lajae Jones was a defensive wizard, limiting Warrior standout Trevion LaBeaux to nine points. LaBeaux showed frustration with a technical foul that Indian Hills coach Josh Sash matched.
"LaJae Jones got down and guarded LaBeaux, a Player of the Year, a guy who scores on all three levels," Coombs said.
Indian Hills' Davonte Hall and Braden Sparks each scored 17 points and T.J. Morris added 12 points.
Cougar point guard Mozae Downing-Rivers passed out seven of 21 assists as the Cougars consistently dished for a better shot. That translated to dunks by standout Jones, Ring Malith and Thompson.
"When Mozae is playing, he's running the show and orchestrating everything out there," Coombs said. "He gets our guys in the right spot. This team doesn't panic. They know our defense will keep us in the ballgame. Keandre Kindell does a great job, but he's still learning."
Lefthander Thompson surprised another athletic and quick team with his patient hooks and floating shots in the lane.
"That's my game," he said. "I use my strength and shooting touch from different angles inside. It's harder to guard lefties because they're not used to seeing that."
Thompson liked the teamwork and unselfish play that translated to 21 assists.
"This is the way we wanted to play basketball at the tournament. It's a great team effort. It can be anybody's night. We've got unselfish guys who want to win basketball games. It's all about the team."
The Cougars converted 33 of 70 field goals and 19 of 26 free throws.
Indian Hills 27 51 — 78
Barton 40 53 — 93
INDIAN HILLS (29-6)—Hall 6-12 0-0 17, Sparks 6-17 2-2 17, Morris 4-14 4-6 12, LaBreaux 4-8 1-1 9, Briggs 3-8 1-1 8, Mpaka 1-2 2-2 4, Buegre-Kassi 1-5 2-2 4, Nimmers 1-1 0-0 3, Totals 27-68 14-16 78.
BARTON (35-1)—Jones 7-13 9-10 25, Thompson 10-19 1-3 21, Moss 5-9 3-3 13, Kindell 3-6 2-2 10, Jackson 3-7 1-1 9, Malith 2-8 2-4 7, Downing-Rivers 3-8 1-3 8, Totals 33-70 19-26 93.
3-pointers—IH 10-30 (Hall 5-10, Sparks 3-9, Nimmers 1-1, Briggs 1-5, LaBreux 0-1, Beugre-Kassi 0-1, Morris 0-3); BC 8-22 (Kindell 2-3, Jackson 2-3, Jones 2-5, Downing-Rivers 1-2, Malith 1-6, Moss 0-1, Thompson 0-2). Rebounds—IH 38 (Mpaka 10), BC 40 (Jones 9). Assists—IH 11 (Morris 4), BC 21 (Downing-Rivers 7). Steals—IH 11 (Sparks 2), BC 13 (Downing-Rivers 5). TO—IH 16, BC 12.
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
