Box Score by Kevin Buczek
WILSON, N.C.-Barton College made eight 3-pointers in the second half to rally from a 10-point halftime deficit – including a go-ahead trey by freshman Danny Shand with 1:40 left – to propel the Bulldogs to a season-opening 74-72 win over Carson-Newman University to cap the first day of the Barton College 45-Second Classic in Wilson Gymnasium Friday night.
Shand scored a team-high 18 points in helping Barton topple an Eagles program that defeated the Bulldogs to start last season. Carson-Newman went on to advance to the NCAA Tournament, but will start the new campaign 0-1.
Barton committed 15 turnovers in the first half compared to 11 by the visitors to fall behind by 10 at 35-25 but the Bulldogs reversed the role after the intermission only committing three more miscues while forcing the Eagles into 11 more turnovers. BC ended up with a 12-3 advantage on points off turnovers in the second half.
Sophomore Daniel Westbrook, who only scored 19 points his freshman season including a game-high four points twice, posted 16 points for the Bulldogs on 5 of 7 shooting in his first collegiate start. Classmate Jordan Sharpe and junior Dominique Byrd added 13 and 10 points, respectively, in a deep lineup that had 13 BC players see action Friday.
Sharpe was instrumental in Barton's rally hitting a trio of 3-pointers in the final 20 minutes. Shand matched Sharpe with three made triples for the night including his go-ahead bomb to break a 69-69 tie with exactly 100 seconds left. Shand dribbled the ball to the left wing where C-N seemed willing to give him the shot and he confidently fired away.
Carson-Newman made 1 of 2 free throws on its ensuing possession but Byrd answered with two of his own makes from the charity stripe to extend Barton's lead to four, 74-40, with 45 ticks on the clock. Junior Carson Brooks, who had a stellar night for the Eagles, kept the visitors hopes alive with a made 5-foot jumper in the paint with less than 30 seconds left.
The two teams then traded turnovers before Shand had a chance to seal the victory from the free throw line but he barely missed the front end of a 1-and-1. However, Barton's defense continued to hassle the Eagles into their 22nd turnover as time was winding down to preserve the two-point triumph.
Brooks made all 12 of his field goal attempts for a game-high 26 points. C-N shot 55.8% for the contest including a stellar 14 of 19 (73.7%) in the second half but were outscored 49-37 in the frame because of the Bulldogs marksmanship and taking 16 less shots due to turnovers and losing the battle of the boards. The Eagles also made less than 50% of their free throws (8 for 18).
Barton finished with a 37-34 rebounding advantage with senior Khari Faison pulling down a team-high six rebounds and Westbrook, Shand and sophomore Kendall Patterson each corralling five apiece.
Shand scored six consecutive Bulldog points as BC jumped out to the initial 10-4 lead but Barton cooled down from the field in allowing Carson-Newman to jump into the lead. The Eagles outscored Barton 31-15 over the final 15 minutes that featured 14 points by Brooks.
Barton chipped away at the double-digit deficit by mostly trading made three-pointers to two-point baskets by C-N.
The Eagles led for over 24 consecutive minutes until Byrd nailed an 18-foot shot near the free throw line on an assist by Shand to knot the score at 61-61. Sharpe eventually gave the Bulldogs a 64-63 edge with 3:36 to go with a made 3-pointer but the Eagles scored the next five points to jump in front at 69-66. Westbrook deadlocked the score for an eighth and final time at 69-up with his own made trey on a senior Ryan Canoy pass.
Shand then came up with a steal at midcourt that eventually led to his go-ahead trifecta. Shand completed his strong performance with a game-high five assists.
Barton stole the ball a dozen times including three thefts by Sharpe, who also dished out four assists.
The Bulldogs will wrap up their annual 45-Second Classic with a showdown against No. 20 preseason nationally ranked USC Aiken on Saturday at 4 p.m. The Pacers, who are the NCAA Division II National Championship runner-ups from a year ago, suffered a 90-76 loss to University of Mount Olive in the event's first game Friday.
