The Barton Community College men's basketball team turned Saturday afternoon into a track meet on hardwood, erupting for 66 first-half points and riding the offensive surge to a 124-108 victory at Garden City Community College.
In a game with seven ties and eight lead changes, the first half was a blur of baskets before Barton grabbed control with a 13-0 run capped by Blake Rucker and Jayden Ramirez three-pointers. Aris Rodriguez later supplied the exclamation point, picking off a pass and finishing a steal-and-dunk to give Barton its first 19-point cushion with 3:31 left in the half.
The Cougars carried a 66-53 advantage into the locker room and stretched the lead back to as many as 19 in the second half. Garden City trimmed the deficit to eight late, but Barton closed the final two minutes on an 8-0 burst to secure the 124-108 win and avenge the Broncbusters' 16-point victory prior to the holiday break.
The sixth straight victory moves Barton to 13-7 in Jayhawk Conference play, sitting alone in second place at 18-8 overall. Garden City drops to 11-8 in league action and 17-9 on the season. The Cougars now turn their attention to Wednesday's 7:30 p.m. road trip to El Dorado to face frontrunner and 17th-ranked Butler Community College (14-5, 18-7).
Season and career bests dotted the stat sheet, highlighted by Barton's program second-best 41 made free throws on 50 attempts.
Rodriguez delivered a career performance, pouring in a personal-best 39 points on 14-of-25 shooting while going 10-of-13 at the line and swiping a career-high six steals.
Noah Williams was nearly automatic at the stripe, finishing 12-of-13 and tallying 24 points with seven rebounds. Ramirez matched his collegiate high with 22 points, converting 13-of-15 free throws while handing out five assists. Brian Sullivan, Jr. also equaled his career best with 14 points and added four rebounds.
Majok Chuol recorded his first collegiate double-double, posting career highs with 13 points and 10 rebounds, eight of those coming on the offensive glass.
Garden City placed six in double-figures, led by the bench production from Nico Doume's 22 points and Xaiver Johnson's 17 points, Jamir Westry chipped in another 12 from the reserves, while Michael Solaja knocked down his first four three-pointers en route to 16 points. Dasean Lewis and Zaire Lott rounded out the Broncbusters' balanced scoring effort with 11 and 10 points, respectively.