SPARTANBURG, S.C. – The Barton men's basketball team (17-12) saw its 2022-23 season come to an end with an 86-69 setback to Emmanuel (22-7) in the semifinals of the 2023 Conference Carolinas Championship Saturday night at the Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium on the campus of Wofford College.
The Lions, the second seed in the tournament, will take on fourth-seeded Belmont Abbey (19-11) in the finals on Sunday at 4:00 p.m. The Crusaders upset the top-seeded Braves of UNC Pembroke (26-3), 77-67, in their semifinal contest. Barton was seeded third in the league championship.
Emmanuel was led by the Conference Carolinas Player of the Year, Kelvin Jones (Atlanta, Ga.), who scored a game-high 26 points while Jeremiah Francis (Columbus, Ohio) added 15 points as the Lions avenged an earlier regular season home loss to the Bulldogs.
Sophomore guard
Marcus Boykin (Clinton, N.C.) scored a team-high 20 points for the Bulldogs, who trailed by a 45-35 score at intermission and never got the margin within double-digits the rest of the way. Barton junior guard
Donaven Hairston (Atlanta, Ga.) also scored in double figures, finishing with 12 points on the night.
Both Jones and Francis hit four three-pointers for the Lions, who totaled 14 treys on the night and ran their winning streak to 14 games. Emmanuel's last loss came to Barton on Wednesday, January 4, at home by an 89-71 score.
