LIBERAL – Two games down and two wins under its belt for the Barton men's basketball team.

The Cougars traveled to Liberal to take part in the Pepsi Classic this weekend at Seward County, winning both afternoon contests.

Barton opened with an 85-66 win over Lamar on Friday, then closed out the weekend with a 99-69 win over Northern Oklahoma-Enid.

"It was good to get some games under our belt," Coach Craig Fletchall said. "It let us see where we are and what we need to improve on.

"Like always, there were some good things and some things not so good. But to get two wins is a nice way to get the season started."

In the season opener Friday, Barton jumped to a 48-25 halftime lead and coasted to the win.

The Cougars got off to a 15-2 start, capped by a jumper from freshman Martin Vogts. A 9-0 later in the half gave Barton a 31-11 lead following a jumper from John Williams. The game was not in single digits again.

Barton forced 34 turnovers in the win and committed just 14 in the opener.

Elijah Ford led Barton with 21 points followed by Williams with 19 and Leondre Washington with 14. Washington also had six assists while Ford and Vogts had four and three steals each.

Ford just missed double digit rebounds, finishing the game with 9.

Aaris Bonds led all scorers with 23 points for Lamar.

Saturday, Barton used a big second half to pull away from the Enid Jets. The Cougars led just 48-40 at half but outscored the Jets by a 51-29 margin in the second 20 minutes.

The Cougar defense held Enid to just 10 second half field goals.

Barton put five players in double figures, led by Williams with 20 points. Vogts had a big game for the Cougars as the freshman scored 19 on 7-of-10 shooting, including 5-of-8 on 3-pointers.

Washington added 15 points and a game-high nine assists. Akeem White had a double-double off the bench with 12 points and 11 rebounds. Mavrick Gildyard scored 12 as well.

Barton is at home this weekend for the Best Western/Booster Club Classic. The Cougars will take on Redlands (Okla) Friday at 7:30 pm then host Spring Creek Adademy out of Texas on Saturday.

Barton 85, Lamar 66

Barton 48 37 – 85

Lamar  25 41 – 66

Barton (1-0) 85

Gildyard 2-6 3-3 7, Vogts 3-4 0-0 6, Washington 4-9 4-6 14, Ford 8-13 5-8 21, Williams 6-9 4-5 19, Andrews 1-3 0-0 2, Johnson 0-1 0-1 0, Hunt 1-2 0-0 2, Bryson 1-2 0-1 3, Caldwell 2-4 0-0 4, Enneking 0-1 1-2 1, White 3-8 0-0 6, Amandio 0-0 0-0 0. Totals – 31-62 16-25 85.

Lamar (0-1) 66

Belo 2-4 9-11 13, Barfield 4-7 1-2 10, Brimble 1-4 0-1 3, Williams 2-8 1-2 5, Bonds 10-20 2-3 23, Henry 0-1 0-0 0, Davis 1-3 0-0 2, Fitzgerald 1-3 0-0 2, Kalonji 1-2 2-2 4, Ramsey 0-0 1-4 1, Heartl 0-0 0-0 0, Maldonado 1-1 0-1 0. Totals – 23-53 16-26 66.

3-pointers – Barton 7-20 (Williams 3-6, Washington 2-4, Bryson 1-2, Gildyard 1-2, Vogts 0-1, Ford 0-1, Andrews 0-1, Caldwell 0-1, White 0-1); Lamar 4-16 (Barfield 1-2, Brimble 1-2, Davis 1-2, Bonds 1-7, Williams 0-1, Fitzgerald 0-2).

Rebounds – Barton 29 (Ford 9), Lamar 45 (Barfield 9). Assists – Barton 13 (Washington 6), Lamar 16 (Bonds 5). Steals – Barton 13 (Ford 4), Lamar 3 (3 with 1). Blocks – Barton 1 (Vogts), Lamar 2 (2 with 1).

Turnovers – Barton 14, Lamar 34. Fouled Out – None. Technicals – None.