Box Score
by John Hackney
WILSON, N.C.-Visiting King College shot a sizzling 70.6 percent from the floor Thursday night as it ran past nationally 15th ranked Barton College 97-72 on City of Wilson and Wilson County Schools Night in front of 1,050 fans in the Dog House.
The loss was the worst suffered at home by a Bulldogs team in NCAA DII history (since 1995).The previous worst loss was a 17-point setback, 69-86, to Pfeiffer on February 9, 2002. King, which led 48-28 at intermission, departed with a share of the Conference Carolinas lead at 4-0 and stands 9-1 overall. Barton lost its second straight game and sports a 7-2 overall mark and 2-1 league ledger. The Bulldogs, still without the services of post players Keith Manley and Evan Shelton, play at Limestone College (also 4-0 in the league) at 7:30 p.m. Saturday night.
Barton bounced out to a 5-0 lead a jumper by senior Jonathan Hart and a 3-pointer from junior Brian McNair, but King quickly closed the deficit to 9-8 behind a pair of 3-pointers from 6-foot-4 senior sharpshooter Jason Seymore, who cashed in 9-of-9 shots from the floor while scoring 20 first-half points. He only took one shot in the second half and finished a perfect 10-for-10 for 24 points. He added 11 rebounds (nine in the second half), four assists, two blocks and two steals.
Barton's last lead of the night came at 21-20 with 9:32 remaining in the first half off a 3-pointer from freshman Chris Flemmings. With senior Barton point guard Gerald Boston on the bench with two fouls, the Tornado then took command with a 14-2 run that included three baskets by Seymore, a dunk from 6-6 freshman forward Drew Standifer, a 3-pointer by 6-foot junior Michael Fortune and three points from 6-3 freshman Aaron Wheeler.
A layup by 6-5 Barton redshirt freshman Ryan Canoy with 3:25 left in the half pulled Barton within 36-27, but King responded a crushing 12-0 run that ended with a layup from Seymore and back-to-back 3-pointers from 6-5 sophomore Logan Lyle.
King shot an amazing 76.9 percent (20-of-26) from the floor in the first 20 minutes, including 5-of-7 from downtown, while Barton managed just 10-of-26 (38.5 percent).
The Tornado opened the second half with a 7-0 run for a 55-28 lead. The lead hovered around 30 points for the next 10 minutes and reached its largest at 32 points on several occasions. The last was at 74-42 with 8:54 left.
The Bulldogs didn't quit, rallying within 15 points at 87-72 with 2:13 left on a few nice plays from Boston and Flemmings. Fortune and senior guard Eddie Piccinini drained a pair of 3-pointers down the stretch as King ended the contest with a 10-0 run.
The Tornado, whose only loss this season was to nationally ranked Lincoln Memorial University, finished with six players in double figures scoring. Seymore had 24, followed by Piccinini and Standifer with 16 each, Lyle with 14 and Fortune and Wheeler with 12 apiece. Fortune handed out 10 assists and 6-6 freshman Michael St. Louis snared a game-high 12 boards.
King notched a 43-27 rebounding advantage, outscored the host 55-24 in the paint and overcame 26 turnovers (18 in the second half). The Tornado finished 36-of-51 from the floor (70.6 percent) and hit 9-of-12 3-pointers (75 percent) as the league's top 3-point shooting squad. The Bulldogs made just 25-of-73 shots (34.2 percent), including 8-of-28 from downtown (28.6 percent).
Senior guards Aaron Brown and Boston led the way with 13 points apiece. Brown dished seven assists and Boston had six assists and five steals. Flemmings added 10 points and junior guard Brian McNair recorded five steals.
