No. 3 ranked Barton Community College edged Cloud County 71-65 in Wednesday's basketball game to set up a nationally ranked showdown Saturday at No. 10 Cowley College (19-2, 14-1). Cowley upset the Cougars 80-70 in their first meeting.

The Cougars (20-1, 14-1 Jayhawk) won their 11th consecutive Jayhawk game, the longest streak since 1998-1999.

Wednesday's game featured 45 fouls, 55 free throws and countless stoppages in play.  Cloud shot 40% (20-50) and 30% on 3-pointers (8-27) with 17 turnovers. 

"I'm proud of the guys. Cloud is a great defensive team. We knew it'd be a battle," said  Barton coach Jeremy Coombs. "It was a good hard-fought battle that will make us better. Our focus was good near the end. We made less mistakes."

Barton showed off excellent balance with Lajae Jones (19), Ring Malith (13), Mozae Downing-Rivers (11) and Myles Thompson (11) in double figures. Downing-Rivers dished out six assists, Brent Moss grabbed nine rebounds. Thompson had eight boards for a plus-7 rebounding advantage.

Jones scored 17 second half points including a 3-point play as the Cougars started a 5-0 run after halftime. After a 45-45 tie, Malith converted two free throws and Jones' capped a 7-0 run with a trey in front of the Barton student section.

Jones and Malith each converted 3-pointers after the T-Birds closed within three points. Thompson and Downing-Rivers delivered key baskets in the final two minutes.

Ja'Ron Briggs scored 19 points for Cloud (15-6, 10-5). Abdoulaye Fall contributing 10 points. Barton's bench was outscored 30-8 with Ian Lavalaye scoring 13.

 The T-Birds outshot Barton 40% to 33% including making three additional three-pointers with the Cougars earning a 5-point edge at the free throw line sinking 22 to Cloud County's 17 made tosses.

NOTES—Barton has won the last three meetings and 9-of-the-last-10 at the Barton Gym. Barton leads the series 38-6 at the Barton Gym and 68-23 overall.

Cloud 29 36—65

Barton 28 43—71

CLOUD (15-6, 10-5)—Briggs 5-12 7-8 19, Lavalaye 5-8 2-2 13, Fall 3-8 2-2 10, Manyuon 3-7 1-2 8, Sy 3-6 1-2 9, Sow 1-8 4-7 6, McElroy 0-1 0-0 0, Totals 20-50 17-23 65. 

BARTON (20-1, 14-1)—Jones 7-11 3-3 19, Malith 4-11 3-4 13, Downing-Rivers 4-6 3-4 11, Thompson 2-9 7-12 11, Jackson 3-7 2-3 9, Kindell 1-5 4-6 6, Moss 1-8 0-0 2, Ndayisaba 0-1 0-0 0, Totals 22-58 22-32 71

3-pointers—C 8-27 (Sy 2-4, Fall 2-4, Briggs 2-7, Lavalaye 1-2, Manyuon 1-4, Sow 0-6); BC 5-16 (Jones 2-3, Malith 2-5, Jackson 1-3, Thompson 0-1, Kindell 0-1, Ndayisaba 0-1, Moss 0-2). Rebounds—C 33 (Briggs 6); BC 40 (Moss 9). Assists—C 12 (Manyuon 5); BC 11 (Downing Rivers 6). Steals—C 4 (Sow 2); BC 8 (Jackson 3). TO—C 17; BC 11.

JAYHAWK MEN

Barton 14-1 20-1

Cowley 14-1 19-2

Hutchinson 12-2 17-3

Butler 11-3 16-4

Cloud 10-5 15-6

Garden City 10-5 14-7

Dodge City 6-9 8-13

Coffeyville 5-10 9-12

Pratt 4-11 6-14

Seward 4-10 6-14  

NW Tech 3-11 7-13

Colby 3-11 7-14

Independence 0-15 1-20

1-31—Barton 71, Cloud 65; Hutchinson 77, Colby 56; Dodge City 94, Independence 80; Butler 73, Seward 60; Cowley 80, Coffeyville 58; Garden City 98, Pratt 76

2-3—Barton at Cowley, 3; Cloud at Garden City; Coffeyville at Butler; Independence at Hutchinson; Pratt at Dodge City; Seward at NW Tech