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Barton upset bid comes at up short at No. 10 Hutchinson
Barton Basketball

HUTCHINSON - To the final minute and even into the final seconds Wednesday night at the Sports Arena, there was hope for an upset to take place.

The Barton men’s basketball team led for much of its battle with No. 10 ranked Hutchinson and even as late in the final minutes.

But the Blue Dragons were able to hold off the challenge from Barton to move to the top of the Jayhawk Conference. Hutch defeated the Cougars, 95-89.

The loss drops Barton to 5-9 in the Jayhawk and 11-9 overall. At 5-9, Barton is tied for 11th in the 13-team conference. Barton and Cloud County are both 5-9, two games clear of last place Northwest Tech, 3-11.

But the Cougars are just 1/2 game out of eighth place, occupied by a 6-9 Seward County team.

Hutch is tied for the top spot along with No. 6 Dodge City as 12-3. Dodge City had a 1-game lead on the Blue Dragons heading into Wednesday night but lost on the road at Seward to fall back into a tie.

For Dodge it was the second loss in three games sandwiched around an overtime win over Coffeyville in Dodge City.

Barton led at halftime by four, 47-43. The Cougars made a lot of hay at the free throw line, knocking down 19-of-24 in the opening half.

The second half saw Barton lead most of the way. The biggest lead of the game came with 14:25 to play when Evans Kipruto scored to give Barton a 63-54 lead.

The Cougars kept the lead around that number over the next several minutes. When Trey Bates hit a jumper with 9:25 left, Barton still had a 9-point cushion, 80-71.

But over those final nine minutes, Barton would score just nine points.

The Cougars went over three minutes without a hoop as Hutch scored 10 unanswered to take an 81-80 lead.

Barton retook the lead at 82-81 until a 3-point play by Hutch’s Kobe Campbell gave the Blue Dragons an 84-82 lead with 4:07 left.

Barton would not lead again but had its chances until the very end.

Barton trailed 87-85 with a chance to tie on a Bates jumper with 2:05 left. It was still that same score the next possession when a Cougar Downing 3-pointer missed with 1:04 to play.

Barton got two offensive rebounds after the missed Downing jumper but shots by Bates and Hannes Saar failed to go in the basket and the Blue Dragons eventually snagged a rebound.

Barton would not have the ball and a chance to tie or take the lead again, but the Cougars kept the pressure on. Barton trailed 91-89 after Saar layup with 11 seconds to play.

But the ensuing foul by Trey Rolfs was whistled as intentional, all but ending Barton’s hopes. A pair of free throws and a dunk by Hutch provided the final score.

Downing scored 23 to lead the Cougars while Saar and Bates each added 13. Evans Kipruto scored 15 off the Barton bench and led them in rebounding with 7. Bates had five assists.

Next up for Barton will be Independence. The Pirates visit the Barton Gym Saturday for a 4 pm tip. Indy is in a virtual tie with the Cougars at 6-10 in the Jayhawk.


Hutch 95, Barton 89

Barton 47  42 - 89

Hutch 43  52 - 95

Barton 11-9, 5-9 (89)

Downing 8-17 6-8 23, Saar 3-10 6-6 13, Bates 4-8 5-6 13, Locandro 0-2 0-0 0, Thompson 2-4 3-4 7, Rolfs 0-0 0-0 0, Robinson 0-0 0-0 0, Kipruto 7-11 1-3 15, Jordan 2-5 5-6 9, Sanogo 3-5 3-5 9. Totals - 29-62 29-38 89.

Hutch 18-3, 12-3 (95)

Yow 5-109 8-11 19, Goodlow 2-7 0-2 5, Stuart 6-18 4-4 20, Lenox 4-10 2-5 10, Harris 4-11 1-2 9, McClendon 1-2 0-0 3, Hall 4-7 0-0 11, Robins 0-2 0-0 0, Campbell 5-11 3-3 14, Morse 1-2 0-0 2, McClure 0-0 0-0 0, Lee 1-5 0-0 2, Garrison 0-1 0-0 0. Totals - 33-86 18-27 95.

3-pointers --  Barton 2-10 (Saar 1-3, Downing 1-5, Bates 0-1, Thompson 0-1), Hutch 11-41 (Stuart 4-12, Hall 3-5, McClendon 1-2, Campbell 1-3, Yow 1-4, Goodlow 1-4, Garrison 0-1, Robins 0-2, Lennox 0-5).

Rebounds - Barton 47 (Kipruto 7, Sanogo 7), Hutch 48 (Harris 9). Assists - Barton 10 (Bates 5), Hutch 19 (Goodlow 5). Steals - Barton 6 (Saar 2, Bates 2, Kipruto 2), Hutch 11 (Lennox 3). Blocks - Barton 4 (Kipruto 3), Hutch 6 (6 with 1).

Turnovers - Barton 21, Hutch 9. Fouled out - None. Technicals - Barton bench.