ARKANSAS CITY — It figures.
It seemed only fitting that the Barton Community College men’s basketball team’s opening-round game of the National Junior College Athletics Association Region VI basketball tournament with No. 2 seed Cowley on Tuesday night went into overtime.
After all, Barton had already played in six previous overtime games this season, so it didn’t come as any surprise when OT came calling again.
And, for the sixth time in seven extra sessions, the Cougars didn’t close the deal.
Cowley guard Tyrus McGee poured in 23 points — including 15 after halftime — and scored a tiebreaking putback with 1:25 left in OT for a 65-63 win.
“It was par for the course,” Barton head coach Craig Fletchall said. “Nothing against our guys that have taken last-second shots, but in all of those overtime (losses), we had the ball last and that’s frustrating because we had four, five, six opportunities for game-winners, and that was a tough one tonight.”
Sophomore Colin Beatty had a shot that bounded off the backboard, bounced on the rim and fell off, enabling Cowley to escape with the win and advance to the second round, where it will meet Allen County.
BCC closes its season at 19-12, and what makes it even more numbing is the fact that half of those losses came in OT.
“That was very symbolic,” Fletchall said. “The ball hung on the rim and that’s a different locker room if it falls in.”
Barton was led by Cougars forward Dwayne Brunson, who had a monster game with a career-high 26 points, coupled with 13 rebounds, for a double-double. Storm Sanders finished with 12 points and Adam Young scored 11.
The difference was McGee, a 6-foot-2 guard and an Iowa State signee.
“He hit some big shots in the second half and showed why he’s the best player on the floor,” Fletchall said. “He’s the best player in the region, and we just lost some focus (guarding McGee) in the second half.
“I’m disappointed for our guys in the locker room. We came and competed, and there’s so many things in that overtime game that was symbolic of our losses before. I love our guys, but we’ve got no one to blame but ourselves.”
With the game tied at 63, the Tigers called a full timeout with 1:38 left in overtime. After the ball was inbounded, McGee was able to slip under the basket and score his putback, giving the Tigers their two-point lead.
After a BCC miss, Romel Kemp of Cowley missed a 3-pointer from the left corner with 18 seconds left. The ball bounded off the rim and off the top of the backboard and out of bounds.
But the Cougars were amiss on their final possession.
At the outset of overtime, Cowley led 61-59 and 63-61 before Young scored game-tying baskets on both possessions, the second hoop tying the game at 63 with 2:14 left in the first OT.
That score stood until McGee’s putback.
In the final seconds of regulation, Cowley was able to stop the game clock while preventing Barton from getting off a shot late as McGee alertly fouled with 2.4 seconds left, forcing the Cougars to take the ball out of bounds at the time line.
Then, Cowley’s Ashton Patton stole the inbounds pass and threw up a half-court shot at the buzzer that fell short, sending the game into overtime. Patton had missed a wide-open 3-pointer from the right wing with 14.1 seconds left in regulation and the score deadlocked at 59.
And, Barton called a timeout with 11.2 seconds remaining to set up an inbounds play.
The tempo and the first half belonged to the Cougars, who broke a 13-all deadlock and went on an 11-0 run for a 24-13 lead with 6:32 remaining in the first half after Brunson’s jumper.
Barton increased the margin to 33-27 at halftime.
The Cougars knocked down 13 of 26 field goals (50 percent) while limiting Cowley to 38.7 percent in the first half (12 for 31). Brunson was a dominant force that he has been all season in establishing himself as a favorite to capture Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference Newcomer of the Year honors.
Brunson hit 7 of 10 field goals and both of his free throws for 16 first-half points. He also had seven rebounds by the break. Young and Sanders each had seven opening-half points.
McGee, who entered the game shooting 51 percent on 3-pointers on the season (104 for 206), led the Tigers with eight first-half points, although he was only 2-for-7 from long range, including making a desperation heave to end the first half and make it a six-point game.
Trailing 13-11, Young started Barton’s surge with a basket and then hit another for a 15-13 BCC lead with 10:12 remaining in the first half. It was a lead the Cougars stretched to 11 points after Sanders hit a 3-pointer and 1 of 2 free throws, Young completed a three-point play and Brunson scored in the lane.
Brunson kick-started the Cougars with three straight baskets during the opening two minutes, seven seconds for a 6-0 lead.

JUNIOR COLLEGE BASKETBALL
National Junior College
Athletics Association
Region VI Basketball
Tournament
Opening round
At Arkansas City
W.S. Scott Auditorium
Tuesday
Cowley Community College 65,
Barton Community College 63, OT
BARTON (19-12)
     Adam Young 5-11 1-1 11, Jalen Boyd 0-5 1-2 1, Storm Sanders 3-9 3-4 12, Colin Beatty 2-10 0-0 4, Kevin Barber 2-4 0-0 4, DeVonte Grant 1-2 0-0 3, Dwayne Brunson 12-17 2-2 26, Carl Wallace 0-1 0-0 0, Darius Hill 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 26-60 7-9 63.
COWLEY (24-7)
     Ashton Patton 1-8 0-0 2, Dominick Cornelius 2-5 0-0 4, James Watson 5-11 2-2 12, Bryton Hobbs 1-2 0-0 2, Tyrus McGee 8-22 2-2 23, Kamren Belin 5-11 4-5 14, Romel Kemp 2-7 2-2 6, Gavin Brown 0-0 2-2 2. Totals 24-66 12-13 65.
     Halftime — Barton 33, Cowley 27. End of regulation — Barton 59, Cowley 59. Three-point goals — Cowley 5-27 (McGee 5-18, Patton 0-4, Cornelius 0-2, Kemp 0-2, Hobbs 0-1); Barton 4-16 (Sanders 3-8, Grant 1-2, Barber 0-2, Boyd 0-2, Beatty 0-1, Wallace 0-1). Rebounds — Cowley 39 (Belin 9); Barton 39 (Brunson 13). Assists — Cowley 11 (Cornelius 5); Barton (Sanders 6).

NJCAA Region VI
Basketball Tournament
Tuesday
MEN
Cowley 65, Barton 63, OT
Coffeyville 86, Colby 65
Hutchinson 51, Fort Scott 39
Seward Conuty 99, Labette 63
Allen County 77, Cloud County 68
Kansas City, Kan. 80, Dodge City 71
Independence 67, Butler 64
Garden City 86, Neosho County 62
WOMEN
Barton 84, Labette 47
Independence 74, Colby 64
Butler 57, Kansas City, Kan. 45
Cloud County 77, Allen County 36
Coffeyville 67, Garden City 45
Seward County 64, Fort Scott 41
Cowley 56, Pratt 37