WILSON, N.C.-Junior guard Jaren Haley (Woodbridge, VA) rained in six 3-pointers and scored a game-high 29 points Saturday night as host Barton beat feisty Erskine 68-55 in a Conference Carolinas men's basketball game.
The Bulldogs, who had beaten Erskine by 37 points in their first meeting this season, rose to 12-8 overall and 7-5 in the league while the Flying Fleet left town at 2-15 overall and 1-9 in conference. Barton entertains St. Andrews Presbyterian College in doubleheader action Wednesday night.
Barton jumped out to a 14-7 lead and never trailed in the first half, but Erskine would not go away and trailed only 31-28 at intermission. The Fleet blistered the nets for 55-percent accuracy in the first half, but were slowed by 15 turnovers.
Barton bolted to a 37-30 lead early in the second half, but Erskine battled back to a 38-38 deadlock on layups from Filip Pejovic (Serbia) and Adison Lawrence (Greer, S.C.), a 3-pointer from DeShaun Hall (Inman, S.C.) and a free throw from Casey Sorrell (Walton, Ky.). The two teams went scoreless for more than two minutes before Barton senior forward L.J. Dunn (Raleigh, N.C.) broke the tie with a foul-line jumper.
Haley swished four straight 3-point attempts over the next five minutes to put Barton ahead 55-48 with 7:45 to play. The latter part of the game featured a parade to the free-throw line for both teams and a handful of turnovers.
Haley, who tied his career high, cashed in 10-of-16 field-goal attempts, including 6-of-9 from downtown. He also tied with Jarrett Jernigan (Virginia Beach, Va.) with five steals on the night. Dunn recorded his seventh double-double of the season with 13 points and 11 rebounds. Senior guard Greg Mammel added eight points and a game-high five assists for the Bulldogs.
Lawrence and Hall paced the Fleet with 13 points apiece. Erskine had a scant 29-28 edge in rebounding but finished with 25 turnovers. Barton outscored the Fleet 31-12 in points off turnovers and 12-4 in fastbreak points. Barton shot 43 percent from the floor (22-of-51) and Erskine was 19-of-42 for 45.2 percent. Barton also had a 21-6 edge in points from beyond the arc, thanks to Haley's heroics.
