Box Score by Benny Benton
WILSON, N.C. – The Barton College basketball programs will visit North Greenville University tonight for a pair of matchups with key seeding implications for the Conference Carolinas Tournament.
Among teams eligible for the post-season, the Barton women stand fifth in the league, one game behind fourth-place Erskine and a game and a half ahead of North Greenville in sixth. The Bulldog and Crusader men are in a virtual tie with Lees-McRae College for spots three through five, and Pfeiffer is just a half-game back in sixth. The top four teams at the end of the regular season will host first-round tournament games.
Tip-off is slated for 5:30 p.m. for the women's game, followed by the men's contest at 7:30 p.m. North Greenville sports information will provide live stats and video for both games. Women: live stats | video Men live stats | video
Barton basketball fans can follow the Bulldogs throughout the season on www.BartonBulldogs.com and via social media including Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
Lady Bulldogs vs North Greenville
Barton (11-12, 10-6) won the year's first meeting, 84-69, in Wilson after shooting what was then a season-best 47.8 percent from the field, including 40 percent from 3-point range.
Shatisha Dukes had 18 points and eight rebounds in the win, while Kaila Lea added 15 points and Brianna Thomas chipped in seven points and 12 rebounds.
Timisty Nelson produced a double-double of 21 points and 12 rebounds in the first meeting for the Crusaders, with Alisha Hope adding 13 points and nine boards.
For the season, Nelson paces the squad with 15.7 points and 7.9 rebounds per contest, while Hope is tossing in 14.5 points and 6.3 rebounds per game.
North Greenville (10-13, 9-8) is averaging 70.2 points per game as a team, fourth-best in the conference, but is allowing 72.7, 11th among the league's 12 programs. Barton is scoring at a rate of 65.4 points per game, sixth in the league, and giving up 63.7, fourth in the conference.
The Lady Bulldogs are on a two-game winning streak while the Crusaders have won three straight, most recently a 66-62 road victory at University of Mount Olive.
Bulldogs vs North Greenville
The Bulldogs (12-11, 8-7) must put an end to a four-game losing skid against a North Greenville team which just saw a three-game winning streak end in a 75-65 loss at nationally-ranked University of Mount Olive.
Barton has struggled offensively of late, but still leads the league in scoring at 84.2 points per contest. The Bulldogs are allowing almost as many, surrendering 82.6 points per game, which ranks ninth in the conference.
The Crusaders (15-8, 8-7) are scoring at an 80.5 point-per-game clip, fourth in the league while giving up 72.3, sixth in the conference.
Barton won the prior meeting between the two teams 84-80 behind 27 points from Jake Veasley, 18 of those coming in the second half. The Bulldogs shot just 38 percent in the game, but enjoyed a plus-9 rebound margin, in part due to 24 offensive rebounds.
Korval McElroy scored a team-high 20 points for North Greenville, which lost despite shooting 56 percent from the floor and scoring 50 points in the paint.
Spencer Reaves, who scored 12 against the Bulldogs, leads the team with a season average of 16.1 points. Reaves is shooting 45 percent from 3-point range, which ranks third in the league. McElroy is averaging 13.1 points per game, and Phillip Brown is contributing 11.3 points and 7.7 rebounds, fourth-best in the conference. The team is shooting a league-high 50.7 percent from the field.
Barton is paced by freshman Danny Shand, who is collecting 16.9 points, 4.5 assists and 4.1 rebounds per game. Veasley is scoring 15.3 points per contest, and Dominique Byrd is pulling down 6.7 rebounds per outing.
