In a Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference Western Divison battle for what turned out to be third place in the standings, Cloud County guard Richard Carter was the difference.
Carter, the Jayhawk West Freshman of the Year last season and a signee at Drake University, was scoreless as Barton and Cloud were tied at 33 at halftime. But Carter scored all 24 of his points after the break, including a 3-pointer, a three-point play and 1 of 2 free throws during the final two minutes of overtime to lift the Thunderbirds to a 91-89 victory.
Cloud County (23-7, 11-5) captures third place in the West outright after Hutchinson nailed down second place by itself after beating first-place Seward on Saturday night.
Barton (24-6, 10-6), like the aforementioned teams, will be a host for the NJCAA Region VI tournament, which starts on Wednesday. The Cougars finished fourth in the West.
Cloud hit the Cougars in the mouth with a 7-0 run during the opening one minute, eight seconds of the second half for a 40-33 lead, and BCC never did fully recover.
Barton got a lift from sophomore Julian Rose off the bench. He nailed a trio of second-half 3-pointers and finished with 11 points. Rose’s third 3, coming with 22.8 seconds left in regulation, knotted the score at 78 and sent it into overtime.
Barton’s Turon Parker gave the Cougars their only lead after halftime when he hit a baseline jumper and a 3-pointer for 80-78 and 83-80 leads.
But Cloud’s Devon Branch, who scored a game-high 29 points, put in a basket and then Carter took over from there.
Algie Key led Barton with 22 points, Carl Wallace added 15 and Dwayne Brunson and Parker scored 12 apiece. Brunson also had 11 rebounds to record his sixth double-double in the last seven games.
Barton knocked down 9 of 18 3-pointers, but converted only 14 of 25 free throws.
JUCO BASKETBALL
Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference
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Saturday
Cloud County 91, Barton 89, OT
CLOUD COUNTY (23-7, 11-5)
Devon Branch 10-13 8-10 29, Richard Carter 7-18 8-9 24, Onzie Branch 4-9 4-5 12, Conner McDaniel 2-6 3-4 7, Gerrae Williams 3-9 1-2 7, Kyle Haverkamp 2-4 0-0 6, Derek Cooke 2-4 0-0 4, Rodrick Robinson 1-1 0-0 2, Alex Williams 0-0 0-0 0, Alioune Mbdoup 0-0 0-0 0, Mark Mock 0-0 0-0 0, Tre’Vell Luarks 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 31-64 24-30 91.
BARTON (24-6, 10-6)
Algie Key 7-18 7-11 22, Carl Wallace 5-12 5-8 15, Dwayne Brunson 5-15 2-4 12, Turon Parker 5-7 0-0 12, Julian Rose 4-8 0-0 11, Andell Cumberbatch 2-4 0-0 6, Kurt Walker 2-4 0-0 5, Jonathan Pittman 2-6 0-0 4, Darius Hill 1-3 0-2 2, DaVonte Grant 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 33-78 14-25 89.
Halftime — Tied at 33. End of regulation — Tied at 45. Three-point goals — Cloud County 5-20 (Haverkamp 2-3, Carter 2-8, Branch 1-1, Williams 0-2, McDaniel 0-3, Branch 0-3); Barton 9-18 (Rose 3-6, Cumberbatch 2-2, Parker 2-3, Key 1-3, Walker 1-1, Grant 0-1, Brunson 0-1, Wallace 0-1). Rebounds — Cloud County 44 (Branch 13), Barton 43 (Brunson 11). Assists — Cloud County 17 (Branch 8), Barton 18 (Wallace 4, Key 4). Fouled out — Cloud County (Haverkamp); Barton (Parker). Total fouls — Cloud County 17, Barton 22.
