GARDEN CITY — It has been a great start to the semester for the Barton men’s basketball team. The Cougars reeled off five straight wins and stood alone in second place in the Jayhawk Conference.
All that came to an end Sunday in Garden City. Well, not all. The Cougars were hammered by the Broncbusters, 103-82 to end that 5-game winning streak. But despite the loss, Barton is still alone in second place in the Jayhawk.
“We were just never really in the game,” Coach Craig Fletchall said. “Garden came out and took it to us and we didn’t respond very well. It is just one of those game you forget about and move on.”
Barton is now 11-4 in the conference and 15-4 overall. That keeps them one game ahead of third place Dodge City at 10-5. Hutchinson, ranked No. 2 in the nation, is 15-0 and running away with the regular season title.
Garden City is now 9-6 in the conference and 12-6 overall. That puts the Broncbusters tied for fifth with Cloud County.
It just wasn’t to be at the Perryman Center Sunday night. Garden City went on a 16-2 run midway through the first half to take a 33-16 lead. That lead grew to 44-22. The Buster led at half, 51-31.
Barton never challenged in the final 20 minutes as Garden City rolled to the easy win.
Garden City shot a sizzling 59 percent from the field, hitting 35-of-59 shots. Barton turned the ball over 23 times – nine more than its season average.
The Cougars were led by Anthony Smith with 25 points and Malik Rhodes with 21.
Josh Fleming scored 24 to pace four Broncbusters in double figures. Victor Dukes scored 18 and led Garden with nine rebounds Fleming also dished out six assists.
Now the Cougars must avoid the same fate as the last time a winning streak was broken – back-to-back losses. In fact, the Cougars started the year with a 10-0 record before their first loss. That loss was just the first of three straight.
That makes Wednesday night at the Barton Gym a big contest for the Cougars. Barton will host Butler in a 7:30 pm tip. Butler is 9-5 in the Jayhawk, sitting in fourth place but just one game back of Barton in the loss column.
“It’s a big game for us,” Coach Fletchall said. “We just need to put this game behind us and move forward. It’s just one game. We still are in control of that second spot in the conference. We can’t let one loss turn into two and the three like last time.”
Garden City 103, Barton 82
Barton 31 51 82
Garden 51 52 103
Barton (15-4, 11-4)
Norman 3-10 0-0 7, Rhodes 6-13 6-9 21, Rawley 6-10 0-2 13, Toppin 2-7 0-0 4, Smith 9-9 7-9 25, Webster 1-4 1-2 3, Palmer 1-2 1-2 3, Charles 1-9 2-4 4, Haist 1-1 0-0 2, Poole 0-1 0-0 0. Totals – 30-66 17-28 82.
Garden (13-6, 9-6)
James 3-5 1-2 7, Fleming 8-16 5-6 24, Dukes 7-9 4-6 18, Ray 5-5 2-3 14, Howze 3-7 5-8 11, Gilbert 2-3 3-4 9, Anei 2-5 1-1 5, Kelly 2-3 1-2 7, Budu 3-3 2-4 8, Stancil 0-3 0-0 0. Totals – 35-59 24-36 103.
3-pointers –Barton 5-17 (Rhodes 3-7, Norman 1-3, Rawley 1-2, Webster 0-2, Charles 0-2, Poole 0-1). Garden 9-19 (Fleming 3-7, Ray 2-2, Gilbert 2-3, Kelly 2-3, James 0-1, Howze 0-1, Anei 0-1, Stancil 0-1).
Rebounds – Barton 31 (Smith 6), Garden 39 (James, Dukes 9). Assists –Barton 10 (Rawley 5). Garden 24 (Fleming 6). Steals – Barton na. Garden 9 (4 with 2). Blocks – Barton na, Garden 1 (Howze).
Turnovers – Barton 23, Garden 18. Fouled out – James, Ray, Garden City. Technicals – Charles, Barton.