WILSON, N.C. – The Barton men's basketball team (3-4, 1-2) put together a furious late-game rally but eventually fell short to Belmont Abbey (5-3, 3-1), 72-63, Saturday afternoon in a Conference Carolinas game at Wilson Gymnasium.
The Crusaders' Mario Lacy, Jr. (Cleveland, Ohio) led all scorers with 15 points and was one of four players to score in double figures as Belmont Abbey snapped a two-game losing streak.
Barton was led by sophomore guard
Donaven Hairston (Atlanta, Ga.) with 17 points but was just one of two players to score in double figures as the Bulldogs tried to rally from a 25-point deficit but the margin was too great to overcome.
After trailing by a 60-35 score with just under 10 minutes to go in the game, Barton cut the margin to five points with a minute left - 68-63 on a lay-up by Hairston - but simply ran out of time. Redshirt freshman guard
Marcus Boykin (Clinton, N.C.) also scored in double figures for the Bulldogs with 10 points to go along with five assists.
The Bulldogs hit just three-of-18 from the charity stripe and 38 percent (24-for-63) from the floor in suffering their second straight setback.
Barton travels to Murfreesboro, N.C., on Tuesday evening at 7:00 p.m., to face Chowan in a conference game while Belmont Abbey hosts Emmanuel in a league game next Saturday, December 11, beginning at 7:30 p.m.
