The No. 17 Barton Community College men’s basketball team wrapped up its annual Best Western Angus Inn/Cougar Booster Club Classic with a 65-60 victory over national receiving votes Northern Oklahoma College-Tonkawa Saturday evening at the Fleske Fieldhouse.
Capping a perfect weekend, the Cougars conclude non-conference play at 5-1 on the season while the Mavericks drop to 4-2 overall. Barton will now set its sights on Jayhawk Conference action, kicking off the rugged 24-game slate Wednesday evening hosting Dodge City Community College in a 7:30 p.m. tip-off before hitting the road Saturday at Cloud County Community College.
Full results and box scores of the Best Western Angus Inn/Cougar Boost Club Classic can be found at: Classic Page
Falling into a 9-0 hole to open the contest, the Cougars steadied themselves behind a strong lift from the bench, outscoring Tonkawa 32-20 the remainder of the half to take a 32-29 advantage into the break.
The second half saw Barton push the margin to as large as seven on two occasions, but the Mavericks stayed within two-possessions for the majority of the second half.
Tied 58 with under three minutes to play, Barton responded behind back-to-back finishes from Pavel Ivanov and Mikey Williams to build a four-point cushion. Tonkawa drew within two at the line moments later, but Noah Williams converted two at the charity stripe with 21 seconds left, and Sebastian Muchitsch‘s 1-of-2 trip in the waning seconds capped the pivotal 7-2 stretch.
Barton’s advantage came on the glass, dominating the rebounding margin 46-28 including 18 offensive boards that led to 18 second chance points. The Cougar bench also provided a critical boost, outscoring the Mavericks 30-6.
Four Cougars reached double-figure scoring, led by Aris Rodriguez‘s 12 points on 5-of-8 shooting. N. Williams and Muchitsch followed with 11 points each, with Williams adding a game-high eight rebounds and two steals while Muchitsch contributed seven boards. Ivanov rounded out the performances with 10 points and five rebounds off the bench.
The Mavericks shot just 36.7% from the field and finished with three players in dobuel figures, paced by MJ Miller’s 16 points. Caison Cole chipped in 13, while Ebi Bortey added 12 in the loss.
