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Barton College

Men's Basketball

Bulldogs hold off Fayetteville State 84-79

Box Score


by John Hackney

WILSON, N.C.-Junior 6-foot guard Brian McNair rained in three bombs en route to a game-high 23 points Tuesday night as the Barton College men's basketball team raised its record to 2-0 with an 84-79 win over visiting Fayetteville State University in the Dog House.

Barton, ranked 24th in the NABC Preseason Coaches' Poll, struggled with its shooting from the field (38.5 percent), but canned 27-of-32 foul shots (84.4 percent) and forced 28 FSU turnovers.

The Bulldogs, who were up 43-39 at intermission, took command with an 11-2 run to start the second half and pushed the lead as high as 17 points. However, the Broncos (1-1) would not back down. Trailing 74-60 with just two minutes, 50 seconds left, a pair of Anthony Shelton 3-pointers in an 11-2 run pulled them as close as 76-71 with 39 ticks left.

Barton then iced the game by hitting 8-of-10 free throws. Senior point guard Gerald Boston, who played only 27 minutes because of foul problems, hit 5-of-6 charity shots down the stretch and finished with 18 points and seven assists.

"I thought it was a tough, hard-fought game," Barton head coach Ron Lievense said. "I thought Fayetteville State really pulled together when their coach got sent out (with two technical fouls) and I was proud of how our guys kept fighting although we didn't have a stellar game. We still caused a lot of grief for them with our defense."

McNair, who ran the show admirably in Boston's absence, netted 8-of-15 shots from the floor, including 3-of-6 from downtown. He was 4-of-4 from the line and added four assists and two steals. Senior 6-4 forward Jon Hart scored 16 points and 6-5 freshman Chris Flemmings pulled a team-best nine boards. Barton was outrebounded 34-30. Keith Manley notched five steals for Barton.

Junior 6-5 forward Tyrell Tate tallied 20 points and eight rebounds to pace FSU, which played most of the game without its head coach, Alphonza Kee, who was ejected with 8:08 left in the first half. Shelton netted 19 points on 4-of-8 3-point shooting and added seven assists. Andre Best contributed 10 points.

The game was close throughout the first half. FSU secured its last lead of the game at 8-7 at 12:49 before intermission, A jumper by Barton guard Aaron Brown gave Barton its biggest cushion of the opening half at 19-11, but the Broncos battled to a 39-39 tie before Brown hit two free throws, then Keith Manley stole the ball, leading to a McNair layup at the buzzer and a 43-39 lead.

McNair drilled two jumpers and a 3-pointer early in the second half and Manley scored on a tip-in to make it 54-41. Barton kept the lead at double digits until less than seven minutes remained. FSU gradually cut the lead down to five before Barton sealed the win at the foul line.

FSU finished with a 42-24 advantage in points in the paint, but Barton had a 32-22 edge in points off turnovers.

FSU shot a torrid 57.4 percent (27-of-47) from the floor, including 6-of-12 from beyond the arc, while Barton was 25-of-65 (38.5 percent) from the floor and 7-of-19 (36.8 percent) from 3-point land.

"I was proud of our guys for hanging in there," Lievense said. "We fought through it and got a win against a very talented Fayetteville State team. I was also very happy with our foul shooting, which allowed us to close the game out."

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Players Mentioned

Gerald Boston

#3 Gerald Boston

G
5' 10"
Senior
Aaron Brown

#1 Aaron Brown

G
6' 1"
Senior
Chris Flemmings

#2 Chris Flemmings

G
6' 5"
Freshman
Jon Hart

#23 Jon Hart

F
6' 4"
Senior
Keith Manley

#30 Keith Manley

F
6' 6"
Senior
Brian McNair

#31 Brian McNair

G
6' 1"
Junior

Players Mentioned

Gerald Boston

#3 Gerald Boston

5' 10"
Senior
G
Aaron Brown

#1 Aaron Brown

6' 1"
Senior
G
Chris Flemmings

#2 Chris Flemmings

6' 5"
Freshman
G
Jon Hart

#23 Jon Hart

6' 4"
Senior
F
Keith Manley

#30 Keith Manley

6' 6"
Senior
F
Brian McNair

#31 Brian McNair

6' 1"
Junior
G

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