The No. 17 Barton Community College men's basketball team rode a late 8-0 run Wednesday evening to open Jayhawk Conference play, holding off Dodge City Community College for an 85-78 victory inside the Fleske Fieldhouse.
The win pushes the Cougars to 6-1 overall while the Conquistadors drop to 4-3 on the season. Barton continues league play Saturday with a 4:00 p.m. road trip to Cloud County Community College before returning home Tuesday to host Colby Community College.
Dodge City controlled the early minutes, using second-chance opportunities to build an 11-4 lead before Barton settled in out of the first media timeout. The Cougars answered with a steady 16-8 surge, getting buckets from Jayden Ramirez and Noah Williams before back-to-back treys by Aris Rodriguez pulled Barton within one. A layup from Pavel Ivanov made it a one-point game, and a Jon Byrd jumper at the 10:50 mark gifted the Cougars their first lead at 20-19.
The Cougars continued to build separation, using a balanced burst ignited by a Ramierez trey, Sebastian Muchitsch consecutive buckets inside, and back-to-back Ivanov baskets as Barton pushed the margin to double-digits. A layup from Lazare Mbala followed by a corner ringing stretched the lead to its largest of 45-27 with 2:44 left in the first half before carrying a 47-36 advantage into the break.
Barton maintained its double-digit lead coming out of halftime, opening with a 6-0 run with a Majok Chuol layup and Ramirez jumper pushing the margin to 52-36. Dodge City responded with a 13-5 run over the next four minutes, trimming the deficit to 57-49 at the 12:45 mark, but the Cougars continued to maintain a two-possession lead passing the midway point.
Dodge City closed to 74-73 with just over three minutes remaining, but Barton answered with the decisive 8-0 run. Ramirez scoring on consecutive trips to restore separation, and Rodriguez adding two strong drives to stretch the lead to 82-73. The Cougars maintained control the rest of the way to secure the 85-78 victory.
Barton concluded the night shooting 45.2-percent from the field, 31.6 percent from beyond the arc, and 73.3 percent at the free throw line, while the Conquistadors concluded at 35.2-percent overall, 34.5 percent from deeper, and 85.7 percent at the stripe. The Cougars also held a plus-14 advantage on the glass, helping offset Dodge City's 10 made three and 17 forced turnovers.
Ramirez led all scorers with a career high 22 points, finishing 6-for-11 from the floor and 9-of-10 at the line. Rodriguez added 19 points and three rebounds, while N. Williams recorded his first double-double of the season, with 13 points and a career high 17-rebounds. Ivanov concluded the double-digit scoring contributed with 12 off the bench.
Dodge City placed five in double figures, led by Rickey Loftin II's 17 points, followed by Derrick Rivers' 13-point performance that included five assists and five rebounds. Brad Johnson added 11, while Jordan Russell and Wesly Rosa each scored 10, with Russell also securing a team-high eight rebounds.