Box Score
by John Hackney
WILSON, N.C.-The nation's leading scorer apparently did not want his college career to end.
Belmont Abbey senior guard Tyshawn Good scored 30 of his game-high 38 points in the second half Thursday night to lead the fourth-seeded Crusaders to a 105-87 victory over top-seeded Barton in the semifinals of the Conference Carolinas Men's Basketball Tournament. With his team trailing 42-41 at intermission, Good, who is averaging 27 points per game, took control in the early part of the second half, scoring 16 of his squad's first 22 points as the visitors roared to a 63-50 lead with a crucial 20-8 run.
Barton, ranked third in the NCAA DII Southeast Region, never got any closer than nine points the rest of the way in falling to 21-7 overall. The Bulldogs were regular-season co-champs alongside Limestone. The second-seeded Saints took out No. 6 Erskine Thursday night and will host Belmont Abbey for the Conference Carolinas Championship at 7 p.m. Saturday.
The Abbey, ranked 10th in the Southeast, broke a six-game losing skid to the Bulldogs and ended Barton's home winning streak at nine. The Bulldogs finished the season 13-2 at home in the Dog House and will now wait to see if they receive a bid to the Southeast Regional. The selection show is set to air at 10:30 Sunday night on ncaa.com.
Good obviously loves to play against the Bulldogs. He scored 39, 35 and 38 points in the team's three meetings this season (Barton won both in the regular season) for an average of 37.3 points per game. He was dogged defensively in the first half and appeared content to be a playmaker. He had eight points and three assists at the break. However, he drained 30 points and added three more assists in the second half.
The Abbey erupted for 64 second-half points on 56-percent shooting while Barton managed to hit just 36 percent in the second half.for 45 points. The Bulldogs were dominating the backboards 24-17 at intermission, but Belmont Abbey finished with a 45-42 edge.
The Bulldogs, who had two of their best shooting performances against the Crusaders in their earlier meetings, started out hot, hitting 7-of-15 shots from downtown in the first half, but only canned 1-of-15 from beyond the arc in the second half.
The first half featured five ties and eight lead changes. The Bulldogs powered to their largest lead at 35-27 four minutes, 41 seconds before intermission, but The Abbey battled back within one at the break.
Senior All-America candidate Gerald Boston led the Bulldogs with 21 points despite hitting just 6-of-19 shots. He was 7-of-8 from the foul line and added nine assists, three rebounds and two steals. Senior 6-4 forward Jon Hart notched his 10th double-double with 10 points and 13 rebounds; junior guard Brian McNair tallied 15 points on 6-of-13 shooting; and Chris Flemmings and Tristan Thomas added 12 points apiece. Senior 6-6 center Keith Many had four blocks.
For the Crusaders, 6-7 junior post Darryl Durham dominated down low with 18 points and 16 rebounds; Jay Council scored 17; senior guard Chris Davis notched 15 points, nine rebounds, three blocks and three steals; and point guard Terrone Sheffey added 11 points.
The Abbey finished 35-of-64 (54.7 percent) from the floor, including 4-of-11 (36.4) from 3-point land, and was 31-of-38 (81.6 percent) from the charity stripe. Barton wound up 31-of-83 (37.3 percent) from the field, including 8-of-30 (26.7 percent) from downtown. Barton canned 17-of-20 foul shots for 85 percent.
Belmont Abbey scored 50 points on 25 layups while Barton managed 34 points in the paint. The Bulldogs had a 22-4 advantage in second-chance points but the Crusaders posted an 18-6 advantage in fastbreak points.
