Box Score by Benny Benton
WILSON, N.C. – The Barton College men's basketball team posted its sixth straight victory on Saturday afternoon by downing Belmont Abbey College, 90-81, in a Conference Carolinas matchup at Wilson Gymnasium.
Freshman Isaiah Buck-Lowman tossed in 24 points to lead Barton (13-4, 8-1), which pulled within a half-game of idle Limestone College for first place in the conference. Senior Daniel Westbrook added 19 points and a team-high eight rebounds, freshman Michael Boykin contributed 16 points, six assists and five rebounds, and freshman Miguel Brown chipped in 10 points and seven boards for the winners.
The Bulldogs (13-4, 8-1) led for more than 39 minutes of clock time but could never fully put away the Crusaders (8-9, 4-5) thanks the sharp-shooting of sophomore Ben Ferguson, who fired in eight 3-pointers and scored a total of 26 points, both career-highs. Four other players reached double-figures for Belmont Abbey, including junior Jacob Wilson, who narrowly missed a triple-double with 10 points, 10 assists and eight rebounds.
Barton went on a 12-3 run midway through the first half to open up a double-digit lead for the first time in the game, but four 3-pointers by Ferguson in a span of just two and a half minutes helped the Crusaders close within four at 35-31 with 4:22 left in the period.
However, Buck-Lowman scored the next five points for the Bulldogs, starting a 13-3 run to close the half which left the Bulldogs with a 48-34 lead at intermission.
The BC advantage grew to as many as 20 points on dunks by Brown and Matt Woods midway through the second half, the latter with 9:59 to go. However, for the third straight game, the Bulldogs let a lead of at least 18 points fall into single-digits. In the previous two outings, the opponents were able to climb all the way back, but this time BC would keep the Crusaders from seriously threatening.
Belmont Abbey cut the deficit back to single digits for the first time since the first half on a layup by Troy Henderson that made the score 75-66 with 3:47 remaining. But Barton received a thunderous dunk from Brown on its next trip down the court, followed by an immediate steal and another basket two possessions later from the hometown Beddingfield High School product.
Brown's play helped turn the momentum back to the Bulldogs, and BC went back up by 14 on a 3-pointer by Boykin with 1:55 left.
Undaunted, the Crusaders used a pair of 3-pointers from Wilson and the last of Ferguson's eight treys to close the margin back to seven in the final minute, but Barton made six straight free throws to seal the victory.
The shooting performance was not typical of the night at the line for the Bulldogs, however, as the team ranked tenth-nationally in the category went just 13 of 22 from the stripe in the contest (59 percent).
Barton made up for it by making 51 percent from the field (35 of 68) while holding Belmont Abbey to just 40 percent (28 of 70). The Bulldogs also enjoyed the rebounding edge, 43-37.
The contest ended a six-game homestand for the Bulldogs. Barton must now hit the road for its next three games, beginning with a visit to Emmanuel College on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m.
