LAURINBURG, N.C.-Junior guard Jaren Haley made four 3-pointers en route to a game-high 19 points to lead the Barton College men's basketball team to an 81-68 Conference Carolinas victory over a hot St. Andrews Presbyterian College squad on Wednesday night in Harris Court.
The Bulldogs held the highest scoring team in the league to under 70 points for the first time in 2011 to prevail in a match-up of two teams that were tied for fourth place in the conference standings.
Barton snapped a two-game skid, improving to 10-7 overall and 5-4 in the league. The setback slipped St. Andrews under .500 at 8-9 and 4-5. BC next travels to the mountains for a Conference Carolinas showdown at Lees-McRae College on Saturday. Bulldog fans should note the new start time of 4 p.m. (originally scheduled for 7:30).
Haley swished four of the Bulldogs seven made three-pointers and made a game-high three steals. Senior L.J. Dunn (Raleigh, N.C.) continues his strong play with another double-double. Dunn was a perfect 8-for-8 from the free throw line to account for half of his 15 points while snatching up a game-high 14 rebounds. Freshman point guard Ethan Maske (Jacksonville, Ala.) followed with a season-best 14 points on 7-of-10 accuracy and dished out a team-high three assists.
St. Andrews scored on its opening possession when senior Marvin Jackson (Gloucester, Va.) drove the lane for an easy layup, but it proved to be the only lead for the hosts. Fifteen seconds later sophomore Jarrett Jernigan (Virginia Beach, Va.) drilled a three-pointer from the left wing to put Barton ahead for the rest of the contest.
The Bulldogs had a hot hand from long distance in the first half making 5-of-8 (62.5%) treys to build up a 47-35 advantage at the midway break. The 6-foot-1 Haley (Woodbridge, Va.) scored 12 of his 19 points in the first 20 minutes.
SAPC – a winner of four of its last five games heading into Wednesday's battle – kept fighting throughout the second half behind a supportive home crowd. The Knights inched to within five, 63-58, heading into the final seven minutes but Barton was clutch from the charity stripe converting on 11-of-15 freebees down the stretch to earn the 13-point win.
Freshman Evan Shelton (Charlotte, N.C.) provided the Bulldogs with a big spark off the bench scoring six points, grabbing six boards, and swatting away a team-high four block. Senior Greg Mammel (San Antonio, Texas) led Barton's reserves with nine points in just 17 minutes of action.
The Knights had three players reach double figures with Jackson placing the trio with 15 points. Juniors Keith Davis (Orlando, Fla.) and Antonio Moffitt (Raleigh, N.C.) both notched 12.
Six-foot-11 center Marcus Connor (Charlotte, N.C.), who ranks third nationally in block shots, was a defensive force for SAPC with nine rebounds (eight defensive) and seven rejections.
Barton was on target 46.7-percent (28-of-60) of the time including 43.8% (7-of-16) from behind the arc compared to 34.3% (24-of-70) from the floor and 29.4% (5-of-17) from deep by St. Andrews. The Bulldogs squeaked out a 41-37 rebounding edge.
