Box Score by Kevin Buczek
MOUNT OLIVE, N.C.-Barton College sophomore guard Chris Flemmings scored a game-high 16 points before fouling out in a 58-56 loss to Virginia State University on day one of the 48th annual Mount Olive College Pickle Classic in Kornegay Arena Friday evening.
A free throw by senior Evan Shelton tied the seesaw affair for an eighth time at 55-55 but sophomore Brandon Farmer put the Trojans back ahead for good by making 1-of-2 free throws with 1:12 on the clock. BC missed its next shot and VSU was then able to run off over 40 seconds off the game clock. With the shot clock inside 10 seconds, Farmer missed a 3-pointer but 6-8 freshman center Amiel Terry was able to corral the offensive rebound. The Bulldogs were forced to foul with the shot clock off and junior Lamar Kearse made the front end of two free throws to double up the Trojans advantage with 16.6 ticks left. Barton freshman Kendall Patterson drew a body check foul and had an opportunity to knot the score from the charity stripe but only managed to make the back end after a VSU timeout to cut the score to 57-56. The Bulldogs fouled again and Farmer once again went 1-of-2 on the freebees. Patterson took a contested layup in the final seconds with his errant shot falling into the hands of senior teammate Zach Faircloth as time expired and before he could take a shot.
Virginia State improved to 3-1 overall and Barton slipped to 2-3. The Bulldogs will try and rebound from a loss in the second game of an invitational less than 24 hours later for a third time this season when they battle Saint Augustine's College on Saturday at 5 p.m. The Trojans will wrap up the Pickle Classic against the host Mount Olive Trojans on Saturday at 7:30 p.m.
Flemmings scored 12 of his game high 16 points in the first half to give Barton a 31-29 halftime advantage. Barton's leading scorer went into the locker room without committing a foul but he was whistled for five infractions in the second period and fouled out on a charge call with 4:16 left in regulation and VSU leading 51-48.
The Bulldogs scored the next six points to take their last lead at 54-51. The rally started with sophomore DJ Carnegie making a pair of free throws. Junior Ryan Canoy then swished a go-ahead, 15-footer from the left edge of the free throw line before Patterson sank BC's last field goal with a layup off an offensive rebound with 3:23 to go.
Sophomore DeShon Dabbs pulled the Trojans to within one by making two of the teams next four free-throw attempts. Terry made a layup just under a minute later to give VSU a one point edge, which was the 10th and final lead change, before Shelton evened the score with his freebee to setup the late drama in the final 75 seconds.
Both squad's struggled from the charity stripe with Virginia State making 15 of 28 (53.6%) and Barton converting just 12 of 25 (48%). The Bulldogs were held to 30.3% (20 of 66) accuracy from the field while the Trojans were slightly marginally better at 38.3% (18 of 47).
VSU also dominated the glass with a 50-36 rebounding advantage. Terry pulled down a game-high eight rebounds for the victors. Flemmings and Canoy each grabbed five boards for BC.
Dabbs was held scoreless in the first half but scored a team-high 11 points beginning with nine of the Trojans first 11 points in the second period. Kearse and junior Larry Savage each added 10 points for Virginia State.
Canoy followed Flemmings with nine points for the Royal Blue and White. Junior Khari Faison bucketed eight points, Faircloth sank a pair of 3-pointers for six points and Shelton chipped in five.
In the first half, VSU built its largest lead of the contest early at 11-4 on a made three-pointer by senior Allen Harris. The Bulldogs raced back with the next nine points and a three-pointer by Flemmings gave Barton its first lead at 13-11.
The two programs played the next eight minutes within one possession of each other until Faircloth swished a three-pointer to give BC its largest advantage of four, 31-27, in the final minute. However, junior Kahlil Tate made a couple free throws to cut VSU's deficit to just two at the intermission.
A three-pointer by Dabbs completed an 11-7 start to the second half for the Trojans. The trifecta gave Dabbs nine points in the four minutes of the final period and VSU a 40-38 edge.
The Trojans kept the lead for the next 10 minutes as Barton's fate really started to diminish when freshman point guard Travis McEachern – who was having a strong game for the Bulldogs with four steals, four assists, three rebounds and two points – suffered an injury with over 11 minutes left in the second half. At that time, BC was forced to put Flemmings back in the game with three fouls.
