Box Score by Benny Benton
BELMONT, N.C. – Barton College freshmen Miguel Brown and Michael Boykin scored 11 and 10 points in the second half, respectively, to lead the Bulldogs in a furious rally from a 21-point first-half deficit to a 79-74 road win at Belmont Abbey College on Wednesday.
Brown, a hometown product of Beddingfield High School, led Barton (3-3, 1-1) with a team-high 18 points and also added five rebounds. Boykin, a resident of Clinton, N.C., scored all 10 of his points in the final stanza. Senior R.J. Claypool contributed 17 points and a team-high eight rebounds, and freshman Isaiah Buck-Lowman had his best game as a Bulldog with 10 points and five boards.
Barton shot 59 percent from the field in the second half (16-of-27) after managing an effort of just 34 percent in the opening period (11-of-32) that included a 1-of-11 performance from 3-point range.
Belmont Abbey (3-3, 0-1) played the two halves in reverse. The Crusaders shot 53 percent in the first period (20-of-38), but fell to just 31 percent in the final half (11-of-35).
After the Bulldogs made the first basket of the game, the Crusaders quickly took the lead and held it for the rest of the half.
Barton trailed by just one at 9-8 after a Nick Ellison free throw when BAC drained consecutive 3-pointers and added a layup to make up an 8-0 run. BC moved back to within six at 19-13 on a jumper by Claypool, but a 9-1 spurt by Belmont Abbey helped the Crusaders double-up the Bulldogs, 28-14, with just under 10 minutes to go in the half.
The Bulldogs got within 12 on three occasions in the period, the last time at 32-20 with 7:01 left before intermission, but Barton missed its next five shots – the first three from 3-point range – and committed two turnovers, allowing Belmont Abbey to race out to its biggest lead of the night, 41-20, with 4:05 remaining before intermission.
Barton chipped the deficit to 13 points at the break, 47-34, then used consecutive baskets by Brown to begin the second half to move back within single digits.
Belmont Abbey led by seven at 54-47 with 14:15 left when a layup by Brown and a 3-pointer by Tyler Thayer cut the margin to just two with 13:10 still to go.
A layup and 3-pointer by the Crusaders pushed BAC's lead back to seven, but a layup and free throw by Boykin and a dunk by Brown cut the deficit to two once more, 59-57. Belmont Abbey made one final push to a six-point cushion, but a jumper by Boykin, a 3-pointer by Zach Grant and a free throw by Brown completed BC's comeback to a tie, 63-all, with 8:08 remaining.
A steal and fast-break dunk by Boykin on the next play put Barton into the lead for the first time since 2-0. The Crusaders tied the game again at 65-all, but a free throw by Boykin and a tip-in by Ellison gave BC its first three-point cushion of the night at 68-65.
Still leading by three at 72-69, a 3-pointer by Belmont Abbey's Deion Lane tied the game for the final time at 72-all with 3:06 left, but a layup by Buck-Lowman and a pair of free throws by Claypool after his offensive rebound gave Barton a four-point cushion.
A dunk off an inbounds play pulled the Crusaders within two, and a Barton turnover on the next possession gave Belmont Abbey another chance to tie or take the lead. However, BAC missed three shots on its next possession – one blocked by Brown – before Matt Woods came down with a rebound with 21 seconds left.
Ellison made one of two attempts from the line to give BC a three-point cushion, then Barton intentionally fouled to put BAC on the line for a one-and-one. The strategy worked as the Crusaders missed, and Boykin sealed the win with two free throws for Barton.
The Bulldogs enjoyed an eight-rebound margin, 43-35, but surrendered 11 of their 17 turnovers on steals. BC's big man inside, Ellison, had a team-high four assists on the night.
Barton will return to action on Saturday when it visits Bristol, Tenn., for a rematch of the 2016 Conference Carolinas Tournament championship game against King University. That contest is slated for 8 p.m.
