Box Score by Benny Benton
FRANKLIN SPRINGS, Ga. – Barton College, the highest scoring offense in Conference Carolinas, was held to its season-low point total on Saturday as Emmanuel College claimed an 83-61 men's basketball victory.
BC, which came into the game averaging almost 86 points per game, shot just 38 percent from the field (22 of 58) and 48 percent from the free throw line (12 of 25) in suffering its second straight loss.
Emmanuel, meanwhile, made half of it field goal attempts (27 of 54, 50 percent) – including 8 of 17 from 3-point range – and 70 percent of its attempts from the line (21 of 30) in winning for the 11th time in its last 13 games.
The result left both teams tied for third place in the league at 8-5. The Lions improved to 12-8 overall, while the Bulldogs slipped to 12-9 on the year.
Senior guard Luke Miller, a resident of Raleigh, N.C., poured in five 3-pointers in seven attempts and scored a season-high 21 points to lead the Lions. Another senior guard, Michael Stanley, added 16 points.
Three players scored 13 points each for Barton – junior Jake Veasley, sophomore Daniel Westbrook and freshman Danny Shand. Senior Khari Faison grabbed a game-high seven rebounds, and Shand also issued a game-high five assists.
The Bulldogs kept pace with Emmanuel through the game's opening 10 minutes. Westbrook came off the bench to score six points in a five-minute span – adding to five points by Shand and four by Faison – to help Barton hold a slim 19-17 lead with 10:20 left in the half.
However, at that point the Lions went on an 8-0 run, capped by a Jeremy Burgess dunk, to take a six-point cushion with 8:51 remaining.
Barton cut the deficit to three at 28-25 on a pair of free throws by Shand with 6:55 to go before intermission, but the Bulldogs turned the ball over on their next three possessions, missed two shots and then turned the ball over again during a stretch of just under three and a half minutes.
Miller made the Bulldogs pay, making two of his 3-pointers and adding a pair of free throws during an 11-1 run that pushed Emmanuel's lead to 39-26 with 2:37 to play in the half.
Trailing by 11 at the break, Barton used two field goals by Veasley and one by Shand to climb within seven at 44-37 with 18:37 remaining, but the Bulldogs made just one of their next six attempts from the floor and turned the ball over twice as the Lions pulled away to an insurmountable 15-point advantage with 15:13 to go.
Emmanuel enjoyed a 21-9 edge in points off turnovers and a 30-18 edge in points in the paint. The Lions had a seven-rebound advantage and four less turnovers.
The challenge for Barton doesn't get any easier, as the Bulldogs will visit league-leading and nationally-ranked No. 15 University of Mount Olive on Wednesday night for a 7:30 p.m. contest.
