Box Score
by John Hackney
WILSON, N.C.-Senior 6-foot-4 forward Jon Hart scored 21 points Tuesday night to spark nationally 23rd-ranked Barton College to a convincing 78-60 conquest of visiting Coker College in a battle between two Conference Carolinas men's basketball frontrunners.
Hart was a perfect 3-of-3 from 3-point land while hitting 8-of-14 shots from the floor, including a monster baseline tomahawk jam in the second half the brought the crowd to its feet. Senior All-American point guard candidate Gerald Boston scored 16 on 7-of-12 shooting as Barton vaulted to 9-2 overall and 4-1 in the league. Coker, which had won four straight, slipped to 6-5 overall and 4-2 in the conference. Barton travels to North Greenville University for a 7:30 p.m. tilt on Saturday.
Junior guard Brian McNair added eight points, three assists, three blocks and two steals for the Bulldogs, who made 29-of-64 shots for 45.3 percent, including 6-of-15 (40 percent) from 3-point range. Coker was just 17-of-48 for 35.4 percent but hit 7-of-16 (43.8) from downtown.
Barton outrebounded its foe 40-32 and outscored the Cobras 30-16 in the paint and 20-9 in points off turnovers.
Coker got 13 points from sophomore guard Larry Felder and 12 each from 6-5 junior guard Julian Nelson and 5-9 sophomore guard Errick Bethel. Felder snared a team-high nine boards.
Barton bolted to a quick 12-5 lead behind a pair of 3-pointers from 6-3 freshman guard Tristan Thomas. The Bulldogs' cushion grew to 13 points at 28-15 with seven minutes left in the half on a Hart layup. Coker clawed back within 32-29 with a 14-4 run as five different Cobras scored. Bethel drilled two 3-pointers as the visitors closed the gap. Barton was up 37-31 at the half.
In the first 20 minutes, Barton held a 21-16 rebounding advantage, but Coker kept it close by canning 5-of-10 from beyond the arc. Nelson and 6-4 senior Andrew Morris each swished a pair of treys for the visitors.
McNair made a jumper and Hart scored twice early in the second half to give Barton a 43-32 lead. Coker did not score a basket until Nelson's bucket at the 15:51 mark. Coker was still in the game with a 45-38 deficit at the 11:51 juncture, but Barton blew open the contest with a 22-4 run. Boston and Hart accounted for seven and 10 points, respectively, in the spree. Hart had a pair of 3-pointers and the nasty one-handed jam over two would-be defenders that turned into a three-point play on a pass delivered by Thomas.
The Bulldogs' lead hovered between 20-25 points until the waning moments, when reserves from both sides played out the game.
"I thought our guys defended extremely well in the second half, which allowed us to get a very good win against a talented and well-coached Coker team," 17th-year head coach Ron Lievense said. "I thought we pushed the tempo and got to the basket well in the second half which helped turn the game around. Jon (Hart) got some big rebounds and hit some big shots and Brian (McNair), (Aaron) Brown and Gerald (Boston) did a tremendous job defensively on their perimeter players."
