Box Score by Kevin Buczek
WILSON, N.C.-Second-seeded Barton College will play third-seeded King University in the semifinals of the 2014 Conference Carolinas Men's Basketball Tournament Powered by OrthoCarolina at the Cabarrus Arena & Events Center on Wednesday at 8 p.m.
Admission is free for the semifinals and finals in Concord, N.C., but Conference Carolinas is gladly accepting donations for the Make-A-Wish Foundation.
Top-seeded University of Mount Olive will play fourth-seeded Limestone in the first semifinal on Wednesday at 3 p.m. The Barton-King winner will play the Limestone-Mount Olive winner in the championship game on Thursday at 8 p.m.
Conference Carolinas will be providing Live Stats and Live Video for Wednesday's semifinal.
Barton basketball fans can follow the Bulldogs throughout the season on www.BartonBulldogs.com and via social media including Twitter and Facebook.
Barton College Men's Basketball
The Bulldogs advanced to the semifinals with a 76-64 home triumph over seventh-seeded Belmont Abbey College on Saturday. Barton (17-10 overall, 12-4 conf.) claimed a share of the Conference Carolinas regular season title for a second straight season and is ranked 10th in the current NCAA Division II Southeast Region Top-10 Poll (a new Southeast Region Top-10 Poll is scheduled to be published on NCAA.com late Wednesday afternoon before tipoff against King).
Sophomore wing Chris Flemmings was named the Conference Carolinas Player of the Year and First Team All-Conference on Tuesday. Flemmings was fourth in the conference in scoring (20.0) and seventh in rebounding (6.8). He also ranked seventh in the league in field-goal percentage (47.9) and in 3-pointers made (66).
Senior guard Brian McNair also captured postseason recognition with Third Team All-Conference accolades. McNair was second on Barton's team in scoring with 11.6 points, 4.1 assists and 2.1 steals per game over 16 contests. However, his impact is more obvious in the team's win-loss record. With McNair sitting out the first semester, the Bulldogs went 4-7. With him in the lineup, Barton has since gone 13-3.
Barton uses a deep bench with 11 players averaging at least 10 minutes per game. A dozen different Bulldogs have scored in double figures in a game this season showcasing the squad's depth.
The junior transfer duo of guard Daniel McClendon and forward Khari Faison are the Bulldogs next top scorers at 9.0 and 8.9 points, respectively.
Senior Evan Shelton (5.7 rebounds) and Faison (5.6) have helped BC to a +1.6 rebounding margin per game.
The Bulldogs have an aggressive defense that averages 7.9 steals per game (second in the league). However, a free throw percentage of 62.5% that ranks 283rd out of 291 DII programs has been problematic at times.
Barton split its regular season series with King. The Tornado held on for a 70-69 win in Bristol, Tenn., on Jan. 11 as missed free throws proved too costly down the stretch for the Bulldogs. Barton responded by picking up its first win against King since KU joined the league in 2011 with an 87-61 home thrashing on Feb. 1. BC pulled away by shooting 53% from the field including 11 of 22 (50%) from 3-point distance. Flemmings averaged 29 points in the two games and Faison notched double-doubles in both showdowns.
King University Men's Basketball
King barely won its regular season finale against North Greenville University, 77-75, but quickly stepped up in its second straight game against the Crusaders by cruising through the first round with a 96-73 win against sixth-seeded NGU. King (15-12 overall, 11-5) was the preseason favorites to win the league.
Freshman forward Hunter LeVeau and junior forward Logan Lyle were both voted Second Team All-Conference by the league's head coaches. LeVeau is averaging 14.0 points, 6.1 rebounds and 1.1 steals per game in his rookie season to garner the Conference Carolinas Freshman of the Year award. Lyle paces the Tornado with 14.3 points per game.
King leads NCAA Division II with 13.7 made 3-pointers per game. The Tornado has four players ranked in the top dozen of the conference in made treys per contest. Lyle and LeVeau rank 11th and 27th nationally, respectively, with 3.26 and 2.93 made 3-pointers per game. Freshman C.J. Good (2.74) and senior Scottie Hendricks (2.15) are also prominent threats from behind the arc.
Good is King's third leading scorer at 10.1 points per game. Sophomore Drew Sandifer (7.9), Hendricks (7.2) and senior guard Michael Fortune (6.4) add scoring depth for the Tornado.
Fortune is second in the league with 5.1 assists per contest.
The perimeter-oriented team has struggled on the backboards this season with a -1.9 rebound margin per game. The Tornado is 288th out of 291 DII programs in free throws attempted by relying on its 38.6% three-point field goal percentage.
King is 4-1 against Barton over the past three regular seasons since joining the league.
