Box Score by Benny Benton
WILSON, N.C. – Barton College scored the game's first 14 points and was never seriously threatened from there in rolling to a 98-75 Conference Carolinas men's basketball victory over Southern Wesleyan on Saturday at Wilson Gymnasium.
Junior Tyler Thayer started and ended the early run with 3-pointers, and senior Dominique Byrd added four points and a steal. Barton's defense came up with five steals in the game's first five minutes, and the Warriors turned the ball over six times in total during that stretch.
Behind a breakout night from freshman DJ Dobson, who poured in a game-high 32 points and grabbed seven rebounds, the Warriors (1-9, 0-3) pulled to within single digits on two occasions late in the first half and trailed by just 10 at the break, 45-35.
However, Byrd scored five points in the first three minutes of the second half to help Barton (5-3, 1-1) pull away again, and the Bulldogs used 17 second-half points from sophomore Danny Shand to put the game away.
Shand ended the night with a season-high 23 points, and matched career highs with nine assists and five steals. Thayer finished the game with 16 points, while junior Daniel Westbrook added 14 points, six rebounds and a pair of blocked shots.
Byrd contributed 13 points and R.J. Claypool chipped in 11 for the Bulldogs, while redshirt senior Ryan Canoy pulled down a team-high seven rebounds and scored eight points.
In addition to the stellar night from Dobson, which came on 11-of-15 shooting from the field and 9-of-10 shooting from the line, Southern Wesleyan received 12 points and five rebounds from junior Jerome Wimphrie.
Barton shot 49 percent from the field in the game, including 51 percent in the second half. The Warriors made nearly 45 percent from the floor, but were just 3-of-15 (20 percent) from 3-point range. Southern Wesleyan collected nearly twice as many rebounds as the Bulldogs, 45 to 28, but turned the ball over 24 times while forcing BC into just 10.
The Bulldogs will continue a four-game homestand on Wednesday when they host Elizabeth City State University in a non-conference matchup at 7:30 p.m.
