Box Score by Kevin Buczek
WILSON, N.C.-Barton College made half of its shots and juniors Gerald Boston and Jon Hart scored 17 and 16 points, respectively, as the Bulldogs wrapped up the inaugural Barton 45-Second Classic with a 73-65 victory over Elizabeth City State University Saturday afternoon in the Dog House.
Hart pulled down a game-high 14 rebounds for his fourth straight double-double as Barton (6-2 Overall) bounced back from an overtime loss to Saint Augustine's College late Friday night. Mount Olive College (6-1) rallied from a 12-point halftime deficit to defeat the Saint Aug's (3-3) 62-53 in Saturday's opener. All four teams went 1-1 in the first annual Barton 45-Second Classic that featured four teams with a combined 16-4 (80%) record coming into the competition.
Elizabeth City State (5-2) had won four straight games coming into the classic finale that include a win against Division I Norfolk State University and Friday's victory over a then undefeated Trojans squad. The Vikings shot 54.5% against MOC but was held to just 38.5% against an aggressive Bulldogs defense that included five steals from Boston and three swipes by Hart.
All five lead changes and the contests only tie came in the first 7-plus minutes. Hart erased ECSU's third and final lead with a made layup with 12:58 on the first half clock to deadlock the score at 12-up. An ensuing layup by Boston put the hosts ahead for good and junior guard Aaron Brown scored five consecutive points including a reverse layup while being fouled. Brown made the free throw to complete the 3-point play to cap a 10-0 BC run. The Bulldogs maintained at least a six-point edge for the final nine minutes of the first half and a sophomore Zach Faircloth basket in the final 10 seconds provided Barton with a 35-27 halftime advantage.
Barton pulled away with a 22-9 surge to start the second half. Senior Aaron Suggs made the Bulldogs only 3-pointer at the 8:04 mark to give Barton its largest lead of 21 (60-39). BC was held to a ice cold 1-of-15 (6.7%) shooting from three-point range but the Bulldogs dominated both the transition game with an 18-0 fast break dominance and the paint with a 48-20 scoring supremacy inside.
The Vikings kept things interesting with a 19-6 rally that featured a trio of treys in a two-minute outburst. Junior Quintin Spady scored all 10 of his points in the second half including two of the rallies 3-pointers. A pair of Spady free throws inched Elizabeth City to within eight, 68-60, with 2:04 to go before Barton a pair of made freebees by Boston and a layup by junior Joseph Velez increased the Bulldogs cushion to 12 points heading into the final minute.
ECSU junior Angelo Sharpless scored nine of his team-high 14 points in the first half. Freshman Glenn Patterson and senior Rondy Tucker each totaled eight points.
Boston set up the Bulldogs offense with a game-high six assists to compliment his 17 points on 6-10 shooting accuracy. Velez netted nine points, Suggs canned eight, junior Keith Manley scored six and junior Aaron Brown and Jarrett Jernigan each swished five. Velez and Boston both corralled five rebounds.
The Bulldogs will next visit non-conference CIAA foe Chowan University in Murfreesboro, N.C., on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. Barton is 4-1 against opponents from the CIAA this season including an 84-71 win against the Hawks on Nov. 15.
In Saturday's first game, Saint Augustine's jumped out to a 36-24 halftime lead by shooting 65.2% in the opening period. Mount Olive had its defense step up by holding the Falcons to just 25% shooting in second stanza. MOC outscored SAC 38-17 in the final 20 minutes to pull away for the nine-point win.
Craig Hayes, who missed Friday's game with injury lead the Trojans rally scoring 10 of his team-high 12 points in the second half. Hayes also had a game-high seven rebounds. Derek Staton added 11 points and Jordan McCain chipped in nine as a reserve.
Jeremy Banks led all players with 17 points for the Falcons on 8-of-10 precision from the field. David Brown added 10 points and Chris Johnson tallied nine points in the first half before being held scoreless in the second half.
