Box Score
by John Hackney
WILSON N.C.-Freshman 6-foot-6 forward Trey Lofton and senior point guard Gerald Boston scored 22 of Barton College's final 26 points Wednesday night as the host Bulldogs edged Queens University of Charlotte 80-76 in a thrilling Conference Carolinas men's basketball game.
The Bulldogs' 10th victory in 11 Dog House outings this season delighted the Spirit Night crowd of 1,254 and solidified Barton's spot atop the league standings at 13-4. Second-place King was defeated by Limestone and Mount Olive knocked off Belmont Abbey, leaving Barton with a one-game lead over Limestone. Barton, now 18-5 overall, has won four straight. Queens left at 13-10 overall and 11-8 in the league.
Barton – ranked No. 4 in the first NCAA Southeast Region Poll released earlier Tuesday -- will travel to Erskine College in Due West, S.C., for a 7:30 p.m. tipoff on Saturday.
The Royals took the lead at 56-54 with nine minutes, 11 seconds left on a dunk by 6-6 forward Antonio Stabler, who led all scorers with 30 points on 12-of-18 shooting. That's when Boston and Lofton took charge for the Bulldogs. Boston floated in a bank shot and canned a jumper from the top of the key for a 58-56 edge. A foul shot and layup from speedy freshman point guard Joby Glymph gave the Royals a 59-58 lead and Stabler dunked another one for a 61-58 cushion.
Lofton then tallied eight straight Bulldog points. He drove the lane for two points, hit a jump shot off an Aaron Brown steal, canned a 17-foot jumper from the top of the key and cashed in two foul shots to make it 66-67 with 2:17 to play. Queens maintained its lead behind two buckets from senior 6-10 forward Sam Johnson and a layup by sophomore guard Trey Ervin.
Boston buried a 3-pointer at 1:48 to put the Bulldogs up 69-67, but Glymph quickly drove in to tie it at 69-69. Boston bolted down the right side of the paint on the ensuing possession and banked in a shot as he was fouled. He hit the charity shot for a 72-69 lead at 1:11. Junior Barton guard Brian McNair blocked a shot to start the break and 6-4 senior forward Jon Hart made both free throws. Brown came up with another steal on the next trip down the court and Hart was fouled again. He made both for a 76-69 lead with :24 on the clock. Boston eventually sealed the victory by hitting 4-of-4 foul shots.
The reigning Conference Carolinas Player of the Week, Boston did not disappoint, accounting for 14 of his team-high 24 points in the final eight minutes of play. Lofton was a stellar 6-of-7 from the floor for 14 points while freshman forward Chris Flemmings made 3-of-4 from downtown in tallying all of his 15 points in the first half. Hart had eight points, seven boards, four assists and one block; 6-6 senior post Keith Manley added nine points (all in the second half) and five boards; and Brown notched a game-high four steals.
Queens shot a remarkable 55.6 percent (30-of-54) from the floor, won the rebounding battle 35-33 and swatted eight Barton shots. However, the Royals were hampered by 17 turnovers and 10 Bulldog steals. Glymph finished with 19 points, nine assists and four rebounds. Johnson recorded five blocks.
The Royals outscored Barton 48-16 in the paint, but the Bulldogs' bench tallied a 35-7 advantage in points.
"I think Queens is one of the most athletic teams we have played all year," 17th-year head coach Ron Lievense said. "Stabler is one of the greatest players we have played against and Glymph is a tremendous point guard. It was anybody's game and I thought Gerald took it up another notch down the stretch. Aaron Brown gave his heart and soul out there and came up with four big steals and Jon Hart hit four big free throws. And Trey Lofton…I am really proud of him. He is really coming along.
"I told the guys that this would be a championship level game. It was like Foreman-Ali. It was a knockdown, drag out fight all night and I was proud of how our guys kept their heads up and kept fighting. I also told them that to have only eight turnovers against such an athletic team was a tremendous effort."
A Flemmings 3-pointer provided Barton an early 7-1 lead and the margin grew as large as 17 points at 35-18 on two Boston free throws with 4:42 left in the half. But powered by Stabler and Glymph, the Royals rallied with an 18-6 spree to end the half only trailing 41-36. Queens' first lead of the night came at 52-50 at 11:35 of the second stanza. The lead went back and forth until the final two minutes, when Barton pulled away to the victory.
