Box Score
by Kevin Buczek
WILSON, N.C.-Senior point guard Gerald Boston bucketed 32 points and handed out eight assists in helping Barton College post a wire-to-wire 104-76 Conference Carolinas men's basketball victory over visiting North Greenville University on Saturday night in Wilson Gymnasium.
The Bulldogs – ranked No. 24 nationally in the NABC Preseason Coaches' Poll – led from start to finish for a second straight game to remain undefeated on the early season. Barton closed the game on a 34-12 run over the last 10-plus minutes to improve to 4-0 overall with its fourth consecutive win in the Dog House in an eight-day span.
Barton starts league play at 1-0 and hands North Greenville its first loss of the season. The Crusaders departed at 2-1 overall and 0-1 in the conference.
Boston made his first seven shots and was on fire all night en route to his game-high 32 points on 13-of-18 accuracy. The preseason All-American was two shy of his career-high 34 points he scored in the 2012 Conference Carolinas Championship game against Mount Olive.
Senior forward Jon Hart posted his first double-double of the season for the Bulldogs with season-best totals of 22 points and 13 rebounds. Freshman Trey Lofton led the Royal Blue and White reserves with 11 points and six rebounds. Barton had 12 players score in the squads highest scoring output of the season including nine points by freshman Chris Flemmings and six points each by senior Keith Manley, senior Aaron Brown and junior Brian McNair.
Boston put the Bulldogs ahead for good in the first minute of the game with a drilled three-pointer from the right wing on BC's first possession followed by an eight-foot running floater that he kissed off the glass from the left corner on the ensuing Bulldog possession.
North Greenville made five of its eight 3-pointers in the first half to keep the deficit to single digits for most of the period.
Boston hit another triple followed by a jumper for his sixth and seventh straight basket to put Barton up 27-18 midway through the frame. Boston had 17 points at that point but would be held to just one more point over the final 10 minutes.
A layup by Manley extended the Bulldogs advantage to 38-27 at the 4:47 mark before Division I transfer Tyshawn Patterson started to heat up for the Crusaders. McNair played great defense on Patterson, who averaged 28 points in his first two games for the Crusaders after transferring in from Stetson University, holding him without a point for the first 13 minutes allowing Barton to lead from the opening moments.
Patterson made a contested pull-up jumper from the free throw line as the clock ticked inside seven minutes for his first points. Patterson then scored 10 points over the next six minutes including a shot in the final minute to pull the visitors to within five.
After Hart converted on a pair of free throws with 21 seconds left, the Crusaders missed a three-pointer in the final 10 seconds and Hart got the defensive board and quickly made an outlet pass to junior Ethan Maske for a breakaway layup as time expired to give Barton a 52-43 halftime lead. Hart had nine points and nine rebounds in the opening 20 minutes while Brown dished out five of his six assists in the first period.
North Greenville stuck around for the first 10 minutes of the second half and got as close as four, 62-58, on a jumper in the paint by Patterson at the 13:40 mark. The two teams kept swapping points for next three minutes before Barton started its dominating finish that was ignited with eight points by Boston a 13-4 surge. The Bulldogs maintained a lead of at least 15 points over the final eight minutes and freshman Rodrick Chandler put an exclamation point of the win with a breakaway dunk as time expired. The game-ending sequence that provided BC with its largest lead of the night was started by a steal and outlet pass by classmate Tristan Thomas.
Barton shot 51.9-percent from the floor (40-of-77) and 76.9% (20-of-26) from the free throw line. The Crusaders made 45.3% of its field goal attempts and only converted on 10-of-21 (47.6%) free throws. The Bulldogs forced North Greenville into 24 turnovers with 10 steals while protecting the ball well with only 12 mistakes. BC also finished with a 42-39 edge on the glass.
Patterson poured in 11 more points in the second half to lead NGU with 21 points but his technical foul after being whistled for a charge with 9:22 left in regulation helped sparked Barton's final run. Senior Jimmy Ellis swished five of the Crusaders eight made 3-pointers en route to 18 points. Junior Chris Deans added 16 points and nine rebounds. Sophomore Phillip Brown pulled down a team-high 13 rebounds to go along with eight points.
Barton hit the road for its final game before the Thanksgiving break when the Bulldogs visit Fayetteville State University on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. The Bulldogs won the first meeting against the Broncos on Tuesday, Nov. 13 by a final score of 84-79.
