Box Score by Benny Benton
DUE WEST, S.C. – Barton College suffered its first Conference Carolinas loss of the season Saturday afternoon, falling to host Erskine College, 80-72, in a men's basketball matchup at Belk Arena.
The loss dropped the Bulldogs to 2-1 in league play and 4-4 overall. Erskine moved to 2-4 overall and 2-2 in the conference.
The Fleet shot 52 percent from the field (28 of 54) in the contest while holding Barton to just 35 percent (23 of 65). The disparity was even greater in the decisive second half, as BC made just 7 of 30 attempts from the floor (23 percent) while Erskine sank 10 of 19 (53 percent).
Barton's poor shooting extended to the free throw line, where the Bulldogs hurt themselves by making just 16 of 28 (57 percent) on the afternoon. The Fleet was slightly better, making 19 of 29 (66 percent).
The game was decided in Erskine's favor during an eight-minute stretch beginning halfway through the second period. Having erased a pair of seven-point Fleet advantages – one in each half – Barton enjoyed its biggest lead of the night, five points, following Ryan Canoy's jumper with 10:15 to play. However, the Bulldogs missed their next six shots from the field and turned the ball over four times, paving the way for an 18-3 Erskine run that gave the Fleet a 74-64 advantage with 2:15 left.
Freshman Danny Shand paced Barton with 12 points, while junior Jake Veasley and sophomore Daniel Westbrook each added 11. Khari Faison collected a team-high eight rebounds and also contributed nine points.
Erskine received an impressive performance from senior guard DeShaun Hall, who recorded game highs of 23 points, 11 rebounds and four steals. Sophomore guard Maurice Daniels Jr. added 19 points.
Barton fell behind early, as four missed shots and a turnover opened the door for Erskine to build a seven-point cushion at 15-8 five minutes into the game. The Bulldogs cut that deficit back to one with 11:13 left in the half following consecutive 3-pointers by Westbrook and Jordan Sharpe, but Hall scored two straight baskets to push the Fleet lead back to five.
The Bulldogs again trimmed the deficit to one on a Westbrook jumper with 2:45 left in the period, but a Ray Lock jumper and Daniels 3-pointer took the EC lead back to six. Barton's DJ Carnegie hit a 3-pointer, then made a layup off a Canoy assist on a nice backdoor cut to pull BC once more within one, and the half ended with Erskine holding a 44-42 lead.
The Fleet immediately jumped out to a five-point cushion to start the second half and increased the lead to seven at 54-47 on a jumper by Aaron Brown with 15:52 remaining. However, Barton scored the game's next 12 points to take its biggest lead of the night. Westbrook sparked the run with consecutive 3-pointers, and Shand and Dominique Byrd each chipped in three free throws.
One of those free throws by Shand gave Barton a 59-54 lead with 11:40 remaining. Hall made a jumper for the Fleet, and Canoy answered with one for the Bulldogs, making the scored 61-56 with 10:15 left. However, the Barton collapse began at that point. Erskine scored the next five points to tie the game, then followed two BC free throws by scoring the next seven points in a row to grab a five-point lead at 68-63.
A Byrd free throw cut BC's deficit to four, but Erskine scored six more points in a row to put the game away.
Barton turned the ball over just 14 times in the game, but three came in succession around the time of the final tie.
The Bulldogs will visit Elizabeth City State University on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. as part of a non-conference doubleheader.
