Box Score by Benny Benton
ERIE, Pa. – Barton College freshman Travis McEachern scored a season-high 13 points Friday night against Winston-Salem State University, but the Rams shot better than 58 percent from the field in claiming an 82-66 non-conference victory in the opening round of the 40th Annual Porreco Cup, hosted by Gannon University.
Almost all of McEachern's points came on four 3-pointers. The Bulldogs made a season-high 12 from beyond the arc, but did so on 33 attempts. Barton shot just 36 percent from 3-point range, 34.8 percent overall (24 of 69) and 29 percent from the free throw line (4 of 14) in falling to 4-6 on the season.
Winston-Salem State, meanwhile, made 28 of 48 from the field (58.3 percent). It marked the second game in a row in which the Bulldogs allowed the opponent to shoot better than 55 percent from the floor.
Barton trailed throughout the game, as the Rams (5-3) made their first four shots while the Bulldogs missed their first three, allowing WSSU to build a 9-0 lead two minutes into play.
Still trailing by nine at 11-2 following a dunk by the Rams' Preston Ross, the Bulldogs went on a 9-1 run made up entirely of three 3-pointers. McEachern made the first one, followed by consecutive treys from fellow freshman Kendall Patterson that cut Winston-Salem State's margin to just one point, 12-11, with 14:54 left in the first half.
However, WyKevin Bazemore made consecutive layups for the Rams to push their margin back to five, the start of a 14-3 run that would give WSSU a double-digit lead. Barton made just 1-of-8 from the floor during the key spurt and turned the ball over three times.
In addition to the four points from Bazemore, who had a double-double of 12 points and 12 rebounds in the game, the Rams received six points during the run from Javan Wells, who scored 15 in the contest. Winston-Salem State was led by Marquez Jones, who tossed in a game-high 20 points. Tyre Desmore also reached double-figures for the Rams, scoring 11 and adding six assists.
Barton was paced by sophomore Chris Flemmings, who had 16 points. Evan Shelton added 10 points and a team-high nine rebounds.
Trailing by 13 points with two minutes to go in the first half, Barton used 3-pointers from Flemmings and freshman Daniel Westbrook to cut the deficit to seven at the break, 39-32, but the Bulldogs had a missed 3-pointer and a turnover to start the second period, while WSSU made a layup and two free throws to take the lead back into double-digits at 11, 43-32.
Flemmings made a 3-pointer to get Barton back within eight, and the Bulldogs still trailed by that margin following Daniel McClendon layup with 16:52 left. However, the Rams got a dunk from Bazemore and a 3-pointer from Jones to go up by 13, 50-37, with 15:18 remaining.
From there, Winston-Salem State would slowly increase its advantage, which reached as many as 26 points on a Wells 3-pointer with 7:47 left.
Barton did enjoy a 42 to 35 rebounding margin, but the Rams outscored the Bulldogs 38 to 26 in the paint, and 17 to nine on points off turnovers.
The Bulldogs will play in the consolation game on Saturday at 5:30 p.m. against the loser of Friday's second game between host Gannon University and Shepherd University.
