Clutch performances down the stretch lead 2nd ranked Cougars to victory over Southwestern; Home opener is Tuesday evening #GoBarton

The 2nd ranked Barton Community College men's basketball team held off an early season upset bid Saturday in Hutchinson surviving for a 78-73 victory over Southwestern Christian College capping its two-game, season opening perfect weekend at the BSN Sports Tipoff Classic.

Both teams owned eight-point advantages, SWC's coming late in the first half while Barton's came late in the contest. Missed shots and turnovers kept things interesting in the last four minutes with the lead shrinking to just two with 1:25 left however the Cougars' connected on 7-of-7 free throws and received timely shots from Brent Moss and Fontaine Williams preserving the victory.

Concluding its 8-game undefeated "homestand" at the Sports Arena stretching across last season's march through the Region 6 Tournament and on to the 2024 NJCAA title, Barton will now enjoy four straight at their own Barton Gym beginning Tuesday in a 7:30 p.m. tip versus North Platte Community College. The Knights come to Great Bend 2-3 on the season owning a victory at Dodge City on Friday and narrow losses to both Colby and Garden City.

Southwestern, who threatened host and 15th ranked Hutchinson Community College in an overtime loss Friday, drops to 1-4 on the year with each defeat coming by single digits.

This weekend both the men and women's teams will be in action hosting the Best Western/Booster Club Classic. The Barton women play both the 5:30 p.m. contests, on Friday taking on Redlands Community College followed by Saturday's game against Kansas Wesleyan University junior varsity. Following the conclusion of each, the Cougar men take the floor in the 7:30 p.m. tips beginning Friday against Northern Oklahoma College-Enid with Harry S. Truman College the opponent on Saturday.

In the earlier contests, Hutchinson fills both the women's and men's side as the defending national champion and top ranked women's team plays the 1:00 p.m. games with the 15th ranked Blue Dragon men competing in the 3:00 p.m. tip-offs.

Moss would lead the Cougars by posting his first double-double of the season piling up 19 points on 8-of-12 shooting and hauling down 11 rebounds and two blocks helping Barton to a plus-7 advantage on the boards and a 22-point differential in the paint.

Keandre Kindell posted his second straight 18-point outing to begin the year, shooting 50% from the field Saturday and a near perfect 8-of-9 from the stripe while recording 3 steals and dishing out a team high 3 assists. Modibo Sanogo surpassed his season opener by a tally in scoring 14 points and grabbing six of his 8 rebounds from the offensive glass.

Williams' three-point play with 34 seconds pushed Barton's cushion to seven points before draining another four free throw attempts helping seal the victory in finishing with 15 points, 7-of-9 from the line, coming off the bench.

The Cougars' 12 steals helped offset a cold 1-of-12 night from beyond the arc for another plus-8 point differential, Aris Rodriguez leading with 5 as James Parlow, Jr. created 3 coming off the bench.

Four Owls reached double-figures led by a pair of 18-point performances, Carson Brown's 12-of-13 living from the charity stripe accounting for a bulk of his and D Thomas' 4-of-8 three point shooting off the bench in additionally leading the squad with 6 rebounds. Kainan Thomas added 14 points, sinking 8-of-9 free throw tosses, with Dylon Richardson sinking 6-of-7 tosses leading to a 10-point afternoon.

Combining for 71 free throws on the afternoon, Barton made 23-of-35 (65.7%) as SWC was a solid 77.8% on 28-of-36 shooting.