Box Score by Benny Benton
BANNER ELK, N.C. – Barton College fell behind 10-4 three minutes into play at Lees-McRae College on Saturday and never caught up in suffering a 102-86 Conference Carolinas road loss at Williams Gymnasium.
Austin Anderson scored six of those first 10 points for the Bobcats (13-10, 9-4) – including four on one play after being fouled while making a 3-pointer – and went on to match a season-high with 28 points. The 6-6 senior transfer from NCAA Division I Presbyterian College scored 27 points and grabbed 13 rebounds in a 95-89 loss at Barton earlier this year.
Barton (15-7, 10-4) shot 39 percent from the field in the game (24 of 62), including just 16 percent from 3-point range (3 of 19). The Bulldogs, the second-best team in the league in rebounding margin (plus 2.9) coming into the contest, was out-rebounded in the game, 43-36, led by seven from Anderson.
Senior Dominique Byrd scored 19 points and grabbed nine rebounds in a losing cause for Barton, both team highs. Sophomore Danny Shand added 17 points and dished out a game-high six assists, while R.J. Claypool chipped in 14 points and Jake Veasley contributed 13.
With the loss, Barton dropped into a tie for second place in the league with Emmanuel College, and Lees-McRae closed to within a half-game of both those squads while maintaining fourth place.
After falling behind by the early six-point deficit, the Bulldogs closed to within three on two occasions, only to see LMC move ahead by seven each time.
Barton, which never held a lead in the game, climbed back within four after a three-point play by Claypool with 9:15 left in the first half. However, the Bulldogs missed their next four shots from the field as well as two free throws, allowing the Bobcats to go on a 7-0 run and grab a double-digit lead, 32-21, with 6:31 left.
BC chipped the deficit back to seven on three occasions, the last of those on a 3-pointer by Tyler Thayer that sent the two sides into halftime with Lees-McRae leading, 47-40.
But the Bobcats made their first field goal attempt of the second half while the Bulldogs missed theirs, and LMC added a free throw to move back in front by double-digits just 55 seconds into the period.
Barton fell behind by 14 before making a run to cut that number in half following a Byrd jumper with 11:27 remaining. The Bulldogs trailed by nine when consecutive 3-pointers by Anderson with eight minutes remaining ended any potential comeback bid by BC.
The Bulldogs return home for their next contest, where a matchup with league-leading King University awaits on Tuesday. The Tornado has won eight of its last nine games, including an 85-50 rout of Mount Olive on Saturday. King defeated Barton by that same 35-point margin earlier this season in Bristol, Tenn., 98-63.
