Box Score
by John Hackney
WILSON, N.C.-Junior forward Sharod Williams posted game-highs of 23 points and 11 rebounds Wednesday night as visiting Coker College claimed a rare victory in Wilson Gym, 85-69, over host Barton in a Conference Carolinas men's basketball contest.
Both teams sizzled the nets for better than 53-percent accuracy in the first half and Barton held a 34-33 lead at intermission. After the break, the Bulldogs struggled with their shooting, hitting just 10-of-30 shots for 33.3 percent, including only 2-of-10 from 3-point land. The Bulldogs also had trouble from the foul line, where they hit just 15-of-27 for 55.6 percent, compared to a stellar 29-of-33 (87.9 percent) for the Cobras.
Coker, which improved to 10-12 overall and 4-8 in the league, had not won a game in Wilson Gym (aka the "Dog House") in the NCAA DII era, which began in the 1995-96 season. Barton, which lost its second straight at home, slipped to 13-8 overall and 5-6 in the conference. The Bulldogs are home against North Greenville at 7:30 Saturday night.
Williams swished 10-of-15 shots to pace the Cobras. Junior guard Andrew Morris dumped in 17 points and made four steals and sophomore guard Julian Nelson netted 16 points on 12-of-12 foul shooting.
Barton got 15 points, four assists and three steals from junior guard Gerald Boston and 12 points apiece from junior Keith Manley and senior Jaren Haley. Freshman forward Evan Shelton added eight points on 4-of-5 shooting and a team-high eight rebounds.
The Bulldogs committed 22 turnovers and Coker had 21.
Barton's biggest lead came at 6-0 on baskets by Joseph Velez, Manley and Haley. Coker countered with an 11-2 run punctuated by a jumper from sophomore forward Eren Moses for an 11-8 lead at the 14:35 mark. The Cobras kept the lead until Barton went up 28-27 on a layup by senior guard Aaron Suggs with 2:56 left in the half.
Boston drilled a 3-pointer early in the second half for a 37-33 lead but Williams swished a jumper and made 3-of-4 foul shots to put Coker ahead to stay at 38-37 with 17:15 to play. Boston's bucket was followed by six straight missed field goals for the Bulldogs, who were also misfiring from the charity stripe as the Cobras built a 10-point cushion. The closest Barton would get the rest of the way was 70-63 at 3:02, but Morris canned a 3-pointer on Coker's next possession to keep the Bulldogs at bay. Nelson's two foul shots with 50 seconds left provided the final margin…and Coker's largest lead of the night.
