Box Score
by Kevin Buczek
ETTRICK, Va.-Senior Gerald Boston and freshman Chris Flemmings scored 19 and 11 points, respective, to pace a hot-shooting Bulldogs squad as 11th ranked Barton College posted a solid 67-59 road win at Virginia State University on Thursday night.
The Bulldogs nearly shot 50-percent from the field going 26-of-53 (49.1%) including a season-best 57.1% (8-14) from three-point distance to remain undefeated on the season. Barton finished a busy November schedule with a perfect 7-0 overall record while denying the Trojans (2-3) a third consecutive win.
Boston scored his game-high 19 points on 7-of-13 shooting while matching senior forward Jon Hart with five rebounds. Flemmings helped preserve Barton's lead in the second half scoring eight of his 11 points in the second period.
Barton never trailed for a third time this season even though Virginia State was able to tie the contest five times in first eight minutes. The scoreboard was deadlocked for the final time at 14-14 before a Boston put the Bulldogs ahead for good with two consecutive made three-pointers in a 16-second flurry. The quick six points started a 16-6 run by the visitors. Senior guard Aaron Brown capped the outburst with a deep trey to give BC its first double digit advantage at 30-20.
VSU trimmed to within two possessions, 31-25, but an ensuing dunk by Hart followed by a 3-pointer by Flemmings extended the Bulldogs lead to 36-25. Canoy then banked a shot off the glass in the final minute to keep Barton's advantage at 11 as time expired in the half.
The much smaller Bulldogs were able to out-rebound the Trojans 19-12 including eight offensive boards to help take the 41-30 halftime lead. Both squads shot 50 percent but Barton made six of its 10 three-point attempts (60%).
Boston led all players at the intermission scoring 15 of his 19 points including a trio of trifectas in the period. Hart was on pace for a double-double with eight points and five boards at the midway break but was held without a point or rebound in the final frame. Junior guard Brian McNair made all four of his assists in the first 20 minutes.
The host Trojans started the second half on a 12-4 run to pull within one possession before Flemmings ended that first VSU rally with a three-point play. The Trojans answered with a John Holleman dunk and a Kenny Mitchell layup to close to within two points, 48-46, with 11 minutes left.
Barton responded with a 6-0 reply that featured two junior Zach Faircloth field goals sandwiched between a Boston fastbreak layup setup by a block by Flemmings. Barton maintained at least a two-possession cushion for the final nine minutes and five consecutive points by Flemmings completed by a three-pointer at the 6:35 mark ended the upset hopes for Virginia State.
Flemmings added three blocks to his 11 points. Faircloth finished with seven points while both Brown and senior Jarrett Jernigan tallied six.
Virginia State took over control of the backboards in the second half, 21-11, behind a game-high eight rebounds by Mitchell and six boards each by Holleman and Christopher Grier. Mitchell led four Trojans scorers in double figures with 16 points including 8-of-8 free throws. Grier, Mike Bynum and DeVonte Williams all netted 10 points.
Barton will conclude play this calendar year with a difficult road game at Shaw University (Raleigh, N.C.) on Monday at 7:30 p.m. The Bulldogs defeated the Bears 77-67 in both squads' season opener on Nov. 10 in the Dog House.
