Barton basketball designates special nights in January

Barton College has designated three special nights for its home basketball games during its January Term Session. Each night will feature a Conference Carolinas doubleheader with the women’s game played at 5:30 p.m. and men’s game to follow at 7:30 p.m. The January 7 games against Pfeiffer University will be City Of Wilson Night, with all city employees and their immediate families admitted free. The January 12 doubleheader against Limestone College will be Wilson Daily Times Night, with all of its employees and their immediate family members admitted free. The doubleheader on January 21 against Queens University of Charlotte is Raleigh Road Baptist Church Night, with anyone bringing a church bulletin from services held at the church on January 20 and their immediate family members admitted free.

Barton basketball grabs headlines again

The exploits of the Barton College basketball team again grabbed headlines on numerous fronts during year-end wrap-ups on television and in print this past week.

Barton stunned defending national champ Winona State (MN) last March in the NCAA D-II title game, rallying from 74-67 deficit in the final 40 seconds to a 77-75 victory. All-America point guard Anthony Atkinson scored Barton’s final 10 points as the Bulldogs claimed their first NCAA championship and ended top-ranked Winona State’s 57-game win streak.

The crazy finish, which culminated with Atkinson’s buzzer-beating layup after a Bobby Buffaloe steal was a highlight reel for everything from local stations to ESPN and CNN. The image of an ecstatic Atkinson being chased down the floor by his teammates will forever be etched in the minds of those present in Springfield, MA, and those fans watching the game on television.

The finish, which earned an ESPY nomination, was featured this week as the No. 11 Play of the Year on Fox Sport’s “The Best Damn Sports Show Period” in its countdown of the top 50. ESPN featured it as one of the most memorable plays of the year and WRAL-TV in Raleigh, N.C., used the dramatic ending as its highlight of not only the most memorable sports plays of 2007 but as its top news story of the past 12 months.

The Wilson Daily Times named Barton’s National Championship as the No. 1 sports story of the year and Anthony Atkinson was listed as the No. 2 sports story. Not only did Atkinson’s exploits lead to numerous personal honors, including Elite Eight MVP, and a national championship for his hometown school, it made him the top draft pick of the Harlem Globetrotters, with whom he is currently touring.

Barton’s Director of Athletics Gary Hall also made the Daily Times’ top 10. After 18 years at the helm, he retired from coaching men’s soccer at Barton after this year and will be inducted into the N.C. Soccer Hall of Fame on Jan. 26.

Lady Bulldogs roll past 23rd-ranked Shaw 64-48

(WILSON, NC) Junior 5-foot-10 center Kendra Thomas scored 14 points and pulled 12 rebounds Tuesday night as Barton College overpowered visiting and nationally 23rd-ranked Shaw University, 64-48, in women’s basketball.

Thomas (Virginia Beach, VA) hit 5-of-10 shots and was complemented by junior Sara Fleming (Stanley, NC) with 14 points and sophomore Esty Flores (Virginia Beach, VA) with 11 points and three steals. Candice Britton (Baltimore) contributed six assists and Jamilla Johnson (Garner, NC) added five. Freshman guard Casey Moore (Liberty, NC) snared seven rebounds.

The Lady Bears were victimized by 32 turnovers and were outrebounded 46-39. They also shot just 33.3 percent (18-of-54), including just 22 percent in the first half. Barton, which led 27-18 at intermission and by double digits throughout the second half, finished 24-of-67 (35.8 percent) from the floor.

Barton’s largest lead was 38-20 with 15:18 left in the game. The Lady Bulldogs concluded the 2007 portion of their schedule at 4-4. They lost two, won two, lost two and won two for the .500 mark. Shaw, which had been ranked as high as 16th in NCAA D-II last week, fell to 5-3 overall.

For the Lady Bears, senior 6-0 guard Jamie Goshen was the lone player to score in double figures with 16. Shaw went 0-7 from 3-point range while Barton was 3-for-13 (23 percent).

Balanced Barton attack beats Virginia State

(WILSON, NC) Three Barton players registered double-doubles Monday night as the defending NCAA D-II National Basketball Champions won an ugly game, 74-69, against visiting Virginia State University.

Barton finishes the pre-exam portion of its schedule at 6-3 overall, with two of its losses coming to Elite Eight teams from last season (Bentley and Wingate). VSU left at 3-5 overall. Barton and VSU will square off again to open the 2008 portions of their schedules on Jan. 2.

Sophomore L.J. Dunn (Raleigh, NC) had 15 points, 11 rebounds; senior center Brian Leggett (Alexandria, VA) had 11 points and 12 boards; and sophomore forward Eddie Kershaw (Youngstown, OH) tallied 10 points, 10 rebounds for the Bulldogs, who led 27-23 at intermission. Sophomore guard Aaron Suggs (Wilson, NC) added 15 points and six assists.

The first half featured 29 turnovers (15 for VSU and 14 for BC), as well as 29-percent shooting for the Trojans and 34 percent for the Bulldogs in the sweltering “Dog House,” where Barton has now won 16 straight.

The pace quickened in the second half, when both teams did a better job of handling the ball. Barton, which dominated the glass 50-37, pushed the lead to 12 points with three minutes left, but VSU finally found the range from downtown to close the gap. Suggs and junior guard Bobby Buffaloe (Fuquay-Varina) put the game out of reach from the free-throw line.

Trey Mines paced the Trojans with 18 points, Clifton Springfield-Cobb canned 11 and Edwin Torres tallied 10 points and six assists. Both teams struggled from the foul line. Barton was 24-of-40 for 60 percent and VSU drilled just 19-of-29 for 65.5 percent. The game featured 55 fouls (31 on VSU) and 49 turnovers (25 for BC). Barton did not trail after tying the game at 13-13 with 6:22 to play in the first half.

Barton evens score with Wingate; wins 92-73

(WILSON, NC) Guards Greg Mammel and Aaron Suggs combined for 39 points Saturday night as the Barton College Bulldogs beat Wingate University 92-73 in men’s basketball action.

The defending NCAA D-II National Champs avenged a 78-76 loss at Wingate on Nov. 26. Barton is 5-3 overall while Wingate had a six-game win streak ended and fell to 6-3 overall. Both teams were in the Elite Eight last season. Barton, which has won 15 straight at home, will entertain Virginia State at 7 p.m. Monday.

Mammel, a freshman guard from San Antonio, TX, sizzled for a team-high 20 points and dished off 10 assists. He was 7-of-13 from the floor and 4-of-7 from downtown. Suggs, a sophomore from Wilson, N.C., cashed in 6-of-11 shots, including 3-of-6 from 3-point land, en route to 19 points. He added four rebounds and three steals.

Barton took control about three minutes into the game and never looked back, Wingate’s largest lead was at 6-3, but Barton rattled off six straight points for a 9-6 lead. The margin was 37-30 at intermission. By the 12:44 mark of the second half, Barton had run the lead to 26 points at 64-38 behind a barrage of 3-point bombs, including two apiece by Mammel and Suggs and one from sophomore forward Eddie Kershaw.

Wingate hung tough, pulling within 13 points at the 7:35 mark. Brian Plummer and All-American Sean Barnette keyed the run. Kershaw and junior guard Errol Frails (Wilson, NC) came up with a couple of big plays to push the lead back to 19 points for the victors, who coasted home.

The 92 points was the most scored by Barton this season. Senior 6-6 center Brian Leggett added 11 rebounds and eight points for Barton. Frails finished with 12 points and Kershaw canned 10.

For Wingate, Barnette and Plummer tallied 19 points apiece. Barnette added 10 rebounds for a double-double. Both teams shot 47 percent from the floor, but Barton got off 18 more shots since Wingate was whistled for 24 turnovers (BC had 16). Barton’s bench also outscored the visiting Bulldogs 33-9.