Box Score by Benny Benton
BRISTOL, Tenn. – Four Barton College freshmen had big nights to lead the Bulldogs in a 101-99 double-overtime road victory over defending Conference Carolinas champion King University on Saturday.
Isaiah Buck-Lowman led the way for Barton (4-3, 2-1), tossing in 22 points and pulling down 13 rebounds, most of them in the second half and overtime periods. Miguel Brown added 20 points and eight rebounds, Michael Boykin contributed 17 points and six rebounds, and Jeff Gordon chipped in 12 points to help the Bulldogs gain the victory.
Barton also received 13 points, six rebounds and six assists from sophomore Matt Woods, and benefitted from some key plays among the eight points and three rebounds of senior R.J. Claypool.
Although Barton never trailed in the second overtime period, it wasn't until King's C.J. Good missed a potential game-winning 3-pointer with a second remaining that the victory was secure.
It was one of just four misses from long range all night for Good, who made seven 3-pointers in scoring a game-high 27 points. The Tornado (3-5, 2-1) also received 21 points from Hunter LeVeau, who had five 3-pointers, including a clutch one from the corner with nine seconds left in double-overtime to pull King back within one, 100-99.
The Tornado then fouled Gordon, who made the first of two free throws with seven seconds left but missed the second. King grabbed the rebound and worked the ball to Good in the corner for the final shot but it missed.
King made 16 3-pointers in the contest, but Barton made 12 of its own. The Bulldogs shot 53 percent overall (40-of-75) on the night while holding the Tornado to 45 percent (38-of-84). Despite having no one taller than Buck-Lowman at 6-6 in the lineup, Barton also managed to out-rebound King, 48-41.
One of the biggest rebounds of the night was made by Claypool, who managed to claim an offensive board on a missed free throw with 40 seconds to go in the second OT and Barton clinging to a 98-97 lead. Claypool was fouled on the play and made both free throws, putting BC up by three in the final minute.
The lead extended to four on a free throw by Brown with 17 seconds left before LeVeau's clutch 3-pointer with nine seconds left gave King a final chance.
The Tornado matched its largest lead of the second half, six points, on a 3-pointer by Good with 3:02 left in regulation. However, Buck-Lowman made a jumper and a 3-pointer to cut the margin to one, and Brown added a layup on Barton's next possession to regain the lead for BC, 78-77, with 1:33 left.
Good drained a 3-pointer on King's next possession to put the Tornado back in front, but Buck-Lowman came through again for the Bulldogs with a jumper that tied the game at 80-all with 1:02 remaining in regulation.
Mack Owens put King back on top once more on a jumper with 43 seconds left, but Brown grabbed an offensive rebound with six seconds left and put it back in to tie the game at 82-all. King then worked the ball to LeVeau for a 3-pointer, but he missed and the game went to overtime.
The lead changed hands three times in the first overtime, with Barton holding a 90-88 advantage after a Buck-Lowman 3-pointer with 58 seconds remaining. However, King got an easy layup on its next possession to knot the game at 90-all, and both teams missed shots over the last 16 seconds to extend the game to the second overtime.
Brown converted a three-point play to give Barton the early lead in the second overtime. LeVeau tied it again with another 3-pointer, but two free throws by Boykin gave the Bulldogs the lead for good.
Barton, which had been just 2-of-4 from the line all night in regulation, made 7-of-10 from the charity stripe in overtime to seal the win. King, by contrast, made just 1-of-4 in the extra periods.
The victory was the first for Barton in its last seven meetings with King dating back to the 2013-14 season, and was its first win in Bristol since the Tornado joined the conference in 2011.
Barton will play its first home game in nearly a month on Tuesday when it hosts Elizabeth City State University in a 7 p.m. non-conference matchup at Wilson Gymnasium.
