EL DORADO — Point guard Turon Parker, along with backup guard Kurt Walker, give the Barton Community College men’s basketball team an added dimension to the Cougars’ backcourt.
Parker, who played only six games in the pre-Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference Western Division schedule because of a knee injury, seems to be settling into his role nicely. The 6-foot-1 freshman from Canton, Ohio, had 10 points to go along with five rebounds and four assists, leading the 15th-ranked Cougars to a 71-62 victory over Butler at the Power Plant.
“We put so much pressure on Algie (Key) to handle the ball for us and he was in foul trouble,” Barton head coach Craig Fletchall said of his standout freshman guard. “I think Turon and Kurt did a super job, just slowing it down and slowing it down a little bit and were smart with the ball.”
Carl Wallace scored a team-high 14 points and matched Parker’s rebound output with five as the Cougars had four players finish in double figures. Freshman guard Algie Key had 13 points, and Andell Cumberbatch scored 10 points for Barton, which improved to 16-2 overall, 2-2 in conference play and inched themselves back in the conference title chase.
“No question,” Fletchall said. “It’s like hold serve after the Seward loss (to open conference play at home). We have to protect our home turf, and now we’ve come back these last two games and played hard and we’re looking like a pretty good club out there.”
It also helps to have a shooting guard coming off the bench to give the team a boost in that area. Walker hit 2 of 3 3-pointers and made 3 of 4 foul shots for nine points against Butler. Walker was coming off a 12-point game where he made 3 of 4 3s during a home win over Garden City last Wednesday.
“I think both Kurt and Turon are both very good complimentary players to Al. I think they stepped up big, and we hit some free throws down the stretch.”
A 55.7-percent foul shooting team now through 18 games, the Cougars sank 22 of 33 from the line for 67.1 percent, including 7 of 8 from Parker.
Every time Butler tried to make a comeback, the Cougars would squelch it. Leading 59-44, Wallace converted a three-point play to make it 62-44 Barton.
After Julian Rose made one free throw and Key made a pair, Parker’s trey from the top of the circle gave it a 68-53 lead as it won going away.
Butler (7-10, 1-2) was led by Sean Osler with a game-high 16 points.
The Cougars are back in action on Wednesday, playing host to No. 12 Hutchinson at Kirkman Activity Center. The women’s game tips off at 6, followed by the men’s game at 8.

JUNIOR COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Kansas Jayhawk Community
College Conference
Western Division

At El Dorado

Saturday

MEN

Barton 71, Butler 62
BARTON (16-2, 2-2)
     Andell Cumberbatch 4-7 2-3 10, Turon Parker 1-2 7-8 10, Algie Key 4-9 5-8 13, Carl Wallace 6-11 2-6 14, Darius Hill 4-6 1-2 9, Jonathan Pittman 0-1 0-0 0, Kurt Walker 2-4 3-4 9, Julian Rose 2-4 2-2 6, DaVonte Grant 0 -0 0-0 0. Totals 23-44 22-33 71.
BUTLER (7-10, 1-2)
     Ja’ln Williams 4-12 0-1 9, Lane Lindhorst 1-4 0-0 2, Justin Simmons 2-7 0-0 5, Zac Bargen 3-6 3-7 9, Andrew Victoria 0-0 4-4 4, Jake Green 1-1 1-2 3, Cameron Cornelius 3-9 1-2 8, Eric Clark 1-4 0-1 2, Sean Osler 6-10 3-3 16, Eric Watson 1-6 0-2 2. Totals 22-59 12-22 62.
     Halftime — Barton 28, Butler 24. Three-point goals — Butler 6-17 (Osler 1-4, Watson 1-4, Lindhorst 1-3, Simmons 1-3, Williams 1-2, Cornelius 1-1); Barton 3-9 (Walker 2-3, Parker 1-1, Key 0-2, Cumberbatch 0-2, Wallace 0-1). Rebounds — Butler 37 (Bargen 10); Barton 30 (Rose 6, Wallace 5, Parker 5). Assists — Barton 15 (Parker 4); Butler 12 (Bargen 3, Lindhorst 3). Turnovers — Barton 22, Butler 22.