Box Score by Benny Benton
MISENHEIMER, N.C. – Freshman Matt Woods hit the biggest basket of his young career on a jumper from the left wing with three seconds to play, providing Barton College with the go-ahead points in a thrilling 106-103 comeback road win over Pfeiffer University on Tuesday night.
Pfeiffer's Mike Smith missed the second of two free throw attempts with eight seconds left – the only miss Smith would have all night in nine shots from the line – and Jake Veasley claimed the rebound for the Bulldogs. Veasley make a quick pass to Woods, who was running open down the left sideline.
Woods, a Swannanoa, N.C., resident, pulled up just inside the 3-point arc and drained the shot, putting Barton up 105-103. Pfeiffer turned the ball over on the ensuing in-bounds play and was forced to foul with one second left, and BC's Dominique Byrd capped off the win with a free throw.
Barton overcame an 11-point deficit in earning the victory, which helped the Bulldogs (13-5, 8-2) remain in a share for first place in Conference Carolinas. Pfeiffer, which had won four of its last five games, fell to 8-9 overall and 4-5 in league play.
Woods, who got his first career start in the absence of starting point guard and leading scorer Danny Shand, made 6-of-7 shots from the field and 3-of-4 attempts from the line in producing a season-high 15 points.
Veasley delivered a season-high scoring night as well, tossing in a team-high 25 points while adding five assists. Byrd chipped in 19 points, including nine key points in the game's final six and a half minutes. Most of Byrd's points came from the line, where the 6-7 forward made 15-of-18 attempts. R.J. Claypool contributed 13 points and nine rebounds, while freshman Zach Grant dished out a team-high and career-high six assists.
Pfeiffer was paced by 26 points from De'Vonte Jenkins. Smith added 24 points and Josh Calhoun tossed in 18 points.
The Falcons made 38 free throws in the game on 44 attempts (86 percent), the most taken and made against a Barton team since King went 45-of-54 in a game three years ago. Pfeiffer was 21-of-23 in the second half (91 percent), but the Bulldogs kept close by making 17-of-20 (85 percent) in the final period.
In addition to its 38 points from the line, the Falcons scored 46 more in the paint. Pfeiffer made 12 layups in the first half alone and 21 in the contest. Barton enjoyed an edge from long range, where the Bulldogs made 11 3-pointers while giving up just three.
The contest was a one-possession game for much of the first half, and two teams tied 16 times in the game's first 22 minutes.
Pfeiffer finally pulled away after Barton suffered a series of turnovers, missed shots and two technical foul calls. Four straight made free throws by the Falcons following a foul and technical with 13:12 to go gave Pfeiffer the biggest lead of the night at 74-63.
Barton still trailed by nine with 8:14 left, but a jumper by Woods and a 3-pointer by Tyler Thayer quickly pulled the Bulldogs back within reach at 89-85. Jenkins missed a shot on the other end, and Byrd cut the deficit down to just two with a pair of free throws.
Pfeiffer would go back up by four on three separate occasions – the last one with 4:06 left on a layup by Calhoun – but a 3-pointer by Woods cut the margin to one. With 2:21 left, Byrd completed the comeback for Barton, grabbing an offensive rebound and turning it into two free throws that put the Bulldogs back in front, 96-95.
The lead changed hands on the next five possessions in a row, with Pfeiffer taking a 102-101 lead on a three-point play by Smith with 1:04 remaining. Both teams had empty possessions before Byrd came up with another offensive rebound and was fouled with 27 seconds to go.
Byrd missed one of the two free throw attempts, leaving the Falcons with a one-point lead and the ball. However, Barton's trapping defense forced Calhoun into a turnover, and Veasley then drove for a layup with 20 seconds to go, putting BC back in front, 103-102.
Smith drove to the basket on the next Pfeiffer possession, drawing a foul with eight seconds left. The all-conference guard made the first shot to tie the game at 103, but missed the second attempt off to the right, setting up the big shot by Woods for Barton.
The win completed a season sweep by Barton, which won 75-62 earlier this year in Wilson.
The Bulldogs return home for back-to-back matchups this weekend. Barton will host Limestone College in a 7:30 p.m. contest on Friday night, and will welcome North Greenville University for a 4 p.m. matchup on Saturday in Wilson Gymnasium.
