Box Score
by Kevin Buczek
MISENHEIMER, N.C.-Senior point guard Gerald Boston scored a game-high 30 points including Barton College's last nine points in the last 4:03 to close out a 73-62 Conference Carolinas men's basketball road win at Pfeiffer University on Tuesday night in Merner Gym.
Boston made 10-of-15 field goal attempts including a perfect 4-for-4 precision from three-point range as the Bulldogs maintained first place in the conference standings with records of 16-5 overall and 11-4 in the league. Boston – a preseason All-American -- is the league's most accurate free throw shooter and he went 6-for-6 from the charity stripe including four straight made free throws in the final minute to reach the 30-point plateau for a third time this season.
Junior guard Brian McNair added 10 points on 5-of-5 field goal accuracy. Barton shot 50.8% (30-59) from the floor.
Pfeiffer (3-20, 1-15) shot 60% in the second half to keep things interesting late but 20 costly turnovers led to 25 extra Bulldog points. BC controlled the boards 38-28 with Boston pulling down a season-best eight boards.
Barton never trailed even though a Falcon run midway through the first frame knotted the score one time.
Boston nailed a three-pointer on the opening possession of the game as Barton drained four of its first five attempts from 3-point distance to double up the hosts early at 19-8. Freshman Chris Flemmings canned the Bulldogs second trey from the right corner before Boston's second trifecta extended the visitors cushion to 15-5. Senior Jon Hart closed the opening surge with his own 3-pointer.
Sophomore Jerod Wallace kept the Falcons within reach during the early stages with six consecutive Pfeiffer points before the hosts rattled off a 9-0 run to tie the score for the only time. Freshman AJ Clark started the rally with a three-pointer. Wallace and Clark made ensuing layups before a third consecutive lay-in by freshman Joe Ledbetter evened the score at 20-20.
Barton responded by holding Pfeiffer without a field goal for the final 6:57 of the half after the Ledbetter hoop. The Bulldogs closed the period on a 16-3 run that was started by Boston, who made a go-ahead, fade-away 18-footer from the right edge of the free throw line while being fouled. Boston made the free throw to finish off the three-point play and Bulldogs raced ahead with 12 straight points. The Falcons scored three late points on 3-of-4 free throws but a late layup by freshman Rodrick Chandler closed out the half positively for Barton. Senior Zach Faircloth saved an offensive rebound from going out of bounds and passed the ball to Chandler for the easy two points as time started to expire to send the Royal Blue and White into the halftime locker room leading 36-23.
Boston scored 16 points before the intermission with Barton shooting 46.9%. Wallace had eight points for the Falcons, who were shooting 33.3% at the half.
Pfeiffer made several attempts to comeback on the Bulldogs in the second half including a 10-0 run to start the frame that closed the gap to one possession. Sophomore Tayron Gibson made two consecutive 3-pointers in the first minute before four points by freshman Matt Ellwood inched the score to 36-33.
A dunk by Hart ended the Falcon rally and redshirt freshman Ryan Canoy followed with two consecutive layups. The hosts pulled to within three, 46-43, one more time but a Boston 3-pointer near the left end line ignited an 18-7 outburst that put the Bulldogs ahead 64-50. The decisive run was capped by a Chandler dunk that was set up by a freshman Tristan Thomas steal and assist. A Gibson 3-pointer and a Wallace fastbreak layup got Pfeiffer within seven, 69-62, heading into the final minute but Boston made all of his four free throws to close out play.
Boston added a team-high three steals to go along with his 30 points and eight rebounds. Hart chipped in nine points while both Flemmings and senior Keith Manley totaled seven points. Canoy finished with six.
Gibson scored a team-high 20 points for Pfeiffer. Wallace added 16 points on 8-of-9 sharpshooting.
Barton will go for a third consecutive win on Saturday when the Bulldogs host Lees-McRae College in Conference Carolinas action at 7:30 p.m.
