Box Score by Benny Benton
WILSON, N.C. – Barton College used a 55-point second half to down Elizabeth City State University, 89-67, in a non-conference men's basketball matchup Saturday night in Wilson Gymnasium.
The Bulldogs (6-5) ended a seven-game winning streak for the Vikings (7-6) by flipping the script from the two teams' December 9 meeting, when ECSU scored 64 points in the final period to edge BC, 93-89.
Barton freshman Danny Shand had a big night Saturday for the Bulldogs, pouring in 25 points, grabbing six rebounds and handing out a season-high seven assists. Junior Jake Veasley added 20 points and seven rebounds, with senior Ryan Canoy chipping in 12 points and senior Khari Faison contributing 11 points and seven boards.
Elizabeth City State (7-6) was paced by senior Darrell Ward, who had team highs of 16 points and seven rebounds. Glenn Patterson added 12 points and five boards. The Vikings' leading scorer, Miykael Faulcon, spent much of the night in foul trouble and was limited to seven points, less than half his season average.
ECSU took an early 12-6 advantage less than six minutes into the game on a layup by Ward, and reached its largest lead of the night at seven points (20-13) on a 3-pointer by DeCarlos Anderson with 10:44 left in the half.
A three-point play by Barton transfer Dominique Byrd against his former team started a 12-0 run that put the Bulldogs in front to stay. Shand scored five straight points during the spurt, and Daniel McClendon turned a steal into a three-point play that gave Barton a 25-20 lead with 7:33 left before intermission.
Two free throws by Ward stopped the streak, but Shand scored Barton's next five points to put the Bulldogs up eight at 30-22 with 5:27 to go in the half.
Trailing by seven in the final minute of the period, Patterson drilled a 3-pointer for Elizabeth City State to cut the halftime deficit to four, 34-30, and after BC made the first basket of the second half, the senior guard drained another trey to close the gap to just three at 36-33.
However, Byrd and Shand combined for the game's next 11 points as Barton surged ahead to a 14-point cushion, 47-33, with 16:19 remaining. From there, the Vikings would get no closer than 12 points the rest of the game.
After struggling from the field in the opening period (31 percent), Barton responded with 59 percent shooting in the decisive second half. The Bulldogs were also 25-of-30 from the line (83 percent) in the game to keep pace with ECSU, which made 23-of-29 attempts from the charity stripe (79 percent).
Elizabeth City State was held to 35 percent shooting for the game, its third-lowest total for the season. During their seven-game winning streak, the Vikings shot no worse than 46 percent and exceeded 52 percent in six of the seven victories.
Barton dominated play in the paint, out-scoring Elizabeth City State 40 to 18. Many of those points came following offensive rebounds, as the Bulldogs collected 19 and turned them into 24 points. Overall, the Bulldogs out-rebounded ECSU 47 to 30.
The game was the final one for Barton before the holiday break. The Bulldogs will jump straight into Conference Carolinas play when they return with road games at Lees-McRae College and King University on Jan. 3-4, respectively.
