Box Score by Benny Benton
BRISTOL, Tenn. – Sophomore Chrls Flemmings tossed in a game-high 25 points and junior transfer Khari Faison had his best game as a Bulldog with 16 points and 17 rebounds, but Barton College could not make shots when it counted most in dropping a 70-69 Conference Carolinas road loss to King University Saturday night.
Between a Faison layup with 3:57 to play and a 3-pointer by Flemmings with two seconds left that made the final margin of defeat one point instead of four, the Bulldogs (6-8, 2-2) made just 1-of-5 shots from the field and turned the ball over twice.
Faison, whose 17 rebounds were the most by a Barton player in a game this season, also missed two critical free throws with 16 seconds to play that would have given the Bulldogs a one-point lead. Barton was then forced to foul, and Michael Fortune made both of his attempts for King (7-8, 4-1) to give the Tornado a 69-66 advantage.
C.J. Good then ended any hopes Barton had of a 3-pointer to tie the game, intercepting a Travis McEachern pass and making the first of two subsequent free throw attempts with six seconds remaining to seal the victory for King, which moved into first place in the league by a half-game over Erskine College.
Good was 5-of-8 from the field, including 4-of-6 from long range, in scoring a team-high 15 points. Fellow freshman Hunter LeVeau added 14 points and a team-high five boards, and sophomore James Scales came off the bench to contribute 14 points as well.
Barton also received 13 points and five rebounds from senior Brian McNair, and Flemmings added six rebounds to his excellent scoring night.
The Bulldog defense did a stellar job of limiting opportunities for King's 3-point shooters, who as a team lead the nation in attempts and rank second in 3-pointers made. The Tornado made 7 of 19 from beyond the arc, half of their usual numbers and in line with Barton's 6 of 18 from long range.
Barton also out-rebounded the guard-oriented team 38 to 26, but King took advantage of 20 Bulldog turnovers, outscoring Barton 24 to 12 in points off turnovers. The Tornado bench also played a key role, outscoring Barton's 35 to 13.
The contest was tightly contested throughout, with neither team able to build much of a lead. Each time one side tried to pull away, the other answered.
A three-point play by Flemmings capped a 7-2 run and gave the Bulldogs their biggest lead of the game seven minutes into the first half, 12-6, but a 3-pointer by Good and a layup by Bruce Crompton quickly brought the Tornado back to within one.
Barton held a two-point lead following a Ryan Canoy layup with 3:43 left in the half when King used 3-pointers by Good and LeVeau as part of an 8-0 run to go up 33-27, but the Bulldogs got a layup and a dunk from Faison on consecutive possessions to close the gap to two points, and King went to the break with a one-point cushion, 35-34.
Barton turned the ball over on its first four possessions of the second half, leading to a 7-1 King spurt that gave the Tornado their biggest lead of the contest, 42-35, with 17:49 to play. However, the Bulldogs immediately responded with a 6-0 run of their own, half of those coming on a McNair 3-pointer.
McNair gave the Bulldogs their last lead of the game on a jumper with 10:52 remaining. A Flemmings basket with 5:51 left tied the game at 59-all, but the Tornado made a free throw 30 seconds later to move in front and clung to a small lead the rest of the way.
Barton, which saw a two-game win streak snapped by the Tornado, will try to get back on track Wednesday night when it visits Banner Elk, N.C., to face league foe Lees-McRae College in a 7:30 p.m. matchup.
