Box Score by Kevin Buczek
WILSON, N.C.-Juniors Gerald Boston and Keith Manley scored season-highs of 25 and 16 points, respectively, to lead host Barton College to a 90-70 non-conference men's basketball victory over Fayetteville State University on Friday night in the Dog House.
The Bulldogs – ranked third nationally in turnover margin – forced the Broncos into 28 turnovers that featured 15 steals as Barton headed into the winter break with an 8-2 overall record. FSU departed Wilson with a 2-5 overall ledger.
Boston swished his game-high 25 points on 8-of-12 shooting and a perfect 9-of-9 from the free throw line. The 5-foot-10 guard from Burlington, N.C., distributed the ball well with eight assists (ties season best mark) and sparked Barton's defense with a game-high five steals.
Barton shot 47.7% (31-65) from the floor and 82.8% (24-29) from the charity stripe. Junior Jon Hart flirted with his fifth double-double scoring eight points and yanking down a game-high nine boards as the Bulldogs dominated the backboards 38-28.
Senior guard Jaren Haley nailed a three-pointer on Barton's opening possession and the Bulldogs took off for the wire-to-wire victory. Barton made nine of its first 11 shots to jump out to a 22-8 advantage and led by as many as 16 in the first half. A Boston layup with 18 seconds left in the period provided Barton with a 47-36 halftime cushion.
Boston stole the Fayetteville State inbounds pass to start the second half and immediately scored a fastbreak layup as the Bulldogs pulled away from the onset of the second stanza. Barton maintained a double digit advantage throughout the final 20 minutes and increased its lead to 25 before rolling into the New Year with the 20-point win.
Manley, a 6-foot-6 junior forward from Greensboro, N.C., scored a season-high 16 points on 7-of-10 precision. Haley followed with 14 points, five helpers and four thefts.
Freshman Anthony Shelton led the Broncos with 15 points. Senior Tim Plummer added 14 points and team-highs of seven rebounds and three steals.
FSU shot well at 44.4% but took 11 less shots than the Bulldogs due to its 28 turnovers.
BC had 19 mistakes to finish the contest with a +11 turnover margin.
Ten Bulldogs registered points as Barton's two highest scoring games this season have come at the expense of Fayetteville State.
Barton will start Conference Carolinas play in the New Year beginning with a showdown at Queens University of Charlotte on Tuesday, Jan. 3 at 7:30 p.m.
