Box Score
by Kevin Buczek
DUE WEST, S.C.-Erskine College shot 75-percent in the second half to pull away for an 82-68 Conference Carolinas victory over NCAA Southeast Region fourth ranked Barton College on Saturday night in Belk Arena.
The Flying Fleet (17-8 Overall, 11-8 Conf.) have won three straight games in a late push to gain a top-four seed in the 2013 Conference Carolinas Tournament (top four teams host quarterfinals). Erskine is currently fifth.
Barton (18-6, 13-5) had its four-game win streak come to a halt. The Bulldogs are tied with Limestone for first place in the Conference Carolinas standings after losing on the road for a fourth time in BC's last five away tilts. The Royal Blue and White can clinch the No. 1 seed in the league tourney with wins in its final two regular season games (Barton holds tiebreaker after sweeping Limestone this season). The Bulldogs entertain Belmont Abbey on Tuesday and local rival Mount Olive on Friday's 'Senior Day'. Both showdowns are scheduled to tip-off at 7:30 p.m.
Division I transfer Corey Sorrell shined on his senior night with a game-high 24 points to lead four Fleet scorers in double figures. Sorrell shot 9-13 from the field and 6-7 from the free throw line. Junior Mike Gabbard tossed in 18 points; freshman Roderick Perkins canned 16; and junior DeShaun Hall chipped in 10.
Barton – ranked eighth nationally in turnover margin – committed more turnovers (19) than it forced (18) for only the second time in 2012-13 (also happened in BC's triple overtime loss at Coker). The 19 Bulldog turnovers also tie for the most in a game by Barton this season.
Senior Zach Faircloth and freshman Chris Flemmings came off the bench to lead Barton with 13 points apiece. Senior guard Gerald Boston led the Bulldog starters with 11 points.
Erskine led for most of the first half and a trio of three-pointers by Perkins gave the hosts an early 21-8 advantage. Barton pulled inside two with an ensuing 13-2 run that featured three consecutive BC baskets by senior Jarrett Jernigan. After Gabbard made a pair of free throws, Boston looked to have tied the score for the first time at 25-25 with a rare four-point play but after some discussion the referees ruled Boston's foot was on the three-point line in the right corner keeping Erskine temporarily in front.
A fastbreak layup by Hall extended the Fleets lead to 27-24 before Barton took its only lead of the night. Hart pulled the Bulldogs within one with his own lay-in before a baseline jumper by senior Keith Manley put the visitors ahead, 28-27.
Erskine quickly regained the lead in the final minute with a transition layup by Sorrell. After a Barton miss, Gabbard drove the lane as time was about to expire and hit a leaning 10-footer to send the Fleet into the halftime locker room leading by three, 31-28.
A hoop by junior Brian McNair to start the second half inched Barton within one again but the Bulldogs would be held scoreless for the next six minutes. Erskine scored 14 consecutive points to extend its lead to 45-30. Gabbard scored seven points in the run including a three-point play that McNair got hurt on and a step-back trey at the top of the arc.
Freshman Ryan Canoy ended the Bulldogs drought with a baseline jumper and a left-side layup. Classmate Trey Lofton followed with a fast break layup to close the gap to 45-36. Hall when to the basket for a difficult layup before Flemmings scored his first points on another fast break to get Barton to within single digits, 47-38, for a final time. A junior Jake Haslam three-pointer from the left wing followed by another Sorrell three-point play extended the Flying Fleets advantage to double figures for the final 10 minutes.
Flemmings single-handedly tried to keep the Bulldogs within striking distance scoring all 12 of BC's points during a five-minute stretch including two 3-pointers and a three-point play. The Flying Fleet responded to every point scored by Flemmings and outscored the Bulldogs 15-12 over that span. A fast break layup by Boston narrowed the deficit to 10 at 60-50 but a couple turnovers on Barton's next two possessions helped Erskine maintain a comfortable cushion for the final five minutes until the final buzzer sounded.
The Flying Fleet shot made 15-20 (75%) field goal attempts and 17-26 (65.4%) free throws in the second half. Erskine finished the night shooting at a sizzling 58.7% clip compared to 41.5% by the Bulldogs. The hosts also took more than twice as many free throws making 20-30 (66.7%) compared to 7-13 (53.8%) by Barton.
Haslam totaled nine points as the Flying Fleet starters outscored Barton's top five, 77-27. Gabbard and Hall both pulled down seven rebounds as EC finished with a 38-37 rebounding edge. Garrard also handed out a game-high seven assists and Hall made a game-high six steals.
Hart, Manley and Jernigan all tallied six points for the Bulldogs. Hart yanked down a game-high nine rebounds.
