Box Score by Benny Benton
WILSON, N.C. – Barton College stormed back from a 15-point second-half deficit to take a brief lead with less than five minutes to play, but visiting Lees-McRae College drained 12 of its final 13 attempts from the free throw line to claim a 95-89 men's basketball victory in Conference Carolinas play Tuesday night at Wilson Gym.
The loss was the first at home this year in eight games for the Bulldogs, who had won their last five games overall and nine of the previous 10. Barton, which entered the contest tied for sixth in the latest D2SIDA Southeast Region Poll, fell to 12-5 overall and 7-2 in league play.
Lees-McRae improved to 11-8 on the year and also moved to 7-2 in the league. The Bulldogs and Bobcats are now part of a four-way tie at the top of the conference standings with King University and Emmanuel College after King was upset on Tuesday.
Junior Daniel Westbrook recorded his first career double-double for the Bulldogs after collecting a career-high 10 rebounds to go with a team-high 18 points. The former Hunt High School standout scored 16 of those points in the second half to lead Barton's rally, and sophomore Danny Shand scored 13 of his 15 in the final period.
However, Barton could not overcome strong shooting from both the free throw line and the 3-point arc by the Bobcats. Lees-McRae drained a season-high 16 3-pointers in the win, led by 6-6 senior Austin Anderson, who poured in five treys and 27 points overall. He also pulled down a game-high 13 rebounds and dished out four assists.
The Bulldogs also forced just eight turnovers, matching a season-low. Meanwhile, Barton committed 19 miscues, its second-highest total of the year.
Despite all that, Barton nearly pulled off a miraculous comeback. BC trailed 58-43 after Anderson's fifth 3-pointer of the game with 16:40 to play. Five points from Westbrook over the next minute and a half helped the Bulldogs trim the margin to single digits, and six straight points from Shand later in the half helped BC cut a 10-point margin to just four with 7:01 left.
Barton trailed by seven with 6:49 to go, but a layup by Shand and consecutive baskets by Westbrook pulled the Bulldogs within a point at 75-74. After a missed jumper by LMC, Westbrook converted two free throws to complete the rally and put BC back into the lead for the first time since early in the opening period.
The Bulldogs held the lead for just over a minute, going up by two points on two occasions. Barton lost the lead, then gained it back one final time on two Dominique Byrd free throws with 3:35 left.
However, Anderson was fouled while collecting an offensive rebound with 2:39 to play, and he made both shots to put the Bobcats into the lead for the final time. Shand was called for an offensive foul on the next possession, and then Jonathan Honore completed a three-point play after being fouled while driving to the basket with 2:21 left, putting LMC up 84-81.
Two missed shots by Barton led to more Lees-McRae free throws, and the Bobcats increased their lead back to as many as eight in the final minute. A pair of quick 3-pointers by R.J. Claypool and Westbrook helped the Bulldogs make it a one-possession game at 91-88 with 21 seconds to go. But Barton was forced to foul, and Lees-McRae did not miss in its final four attempts to close out the win.
In addition to the 27 points from Anderson, the Bobcats received 19 points from Lepreece Lynch and a season-high 14 points from Chris Hicks. Honore added 10 points and a game-high six assists.
Byrd contributed 17 points to Barton's effort, with Claypool and Jake Veasley each chipping in 12 points.
Barton will have a rare weekend off before returning to action next Tuesday night at Pfeiffer University.
