SPARTANBURG, S.C. – The Barton men's basketball team (15-16) saw its season come to an end with a 79-73 loss to UNC Pembroke (22-6) in overtime Saturday afternoon in the semifinals of the 2024 Atlantic Casualty Conference Championship.
The Braves, the top seed in the league tournament, will move into the finals on Sunday at 1:00 p.m., and will play either third-seed Chowan (20-8) or second-seeded Emmanuel (24-5). The Bulldogs were the fifth seed in the championship.
UNC Pembroke, which beat Barton for the third time this year, was led by Bradlee Haskell (Southern Pines, N.C.) with 24 points including a key trey in overtime to lead the Braves to the win. Haskell also hit all 11 free throw attempts in the triumph as well.
The Braves' Nygell Verdier (Charlotte, N.C.) added 17 points including the game-winning field goal to start overtime as UNC Pembroke held a 48-36 edge on the boards and connected on 19-of-22 from the charity stripe in the contest.
Barton senior guard
Donaven Hairston (Atlanta, Ga.) led all scorers with 28 points and hit five three-pointers despite the setback. Senior guard
Reese McDonald (Raleigh, N.C.) also scored in double figures for the Bulldogs, totaling 18 points on the afternoon and his field goal with 36 seconds remaining in the second stanza forced overtime tied at 66.
The Bulldogs were able to push out to a 59-54 advantage with seven minutes remaining in the contest but the Braves were able to rally and earn a berth in the league title game. Barton also went perfect from the line – 15-of-15 – in the losing effort.
