Barton Cougar Blake Rucker found a perfect way to rescue a wild 78-76 Jayhawk basketball victory over Fort Hays Tech Wednesday. After Rucker drew an untimely offensive foul, he preserved the 2-point victory by blocking a potential game-winning 3-pointer by Da'King Smith at the Fleske Fieldhouse. Barton's Brian Sullivan Jr. threw down a momentum-swinging dunk off a steal for a 73-66 lead with 75 seconds remaining. Jayden Ramirez and Aris Rodriguez converted free throws for a 77-70 lead with 23 seconds left. Northwest's Paris Strozer drilled a 3-pointer with 15 seconds left to trim the deficit to 77-73. After Barton's Rucker made a free throw, Tigers Kuet Galwech buried another triple with five seconds left to make it 78–76. Barton (18-8, 12-7 Jayhawk) moves into second place and drops Fort Hays Tech Northwest (13-11, 8-10 Jayhawk). The Cougars travel to Garden City Saturday. Neither team found much separation all evening. Barton built an eight-point edge midway through the opening half behind physical possessions, second-chance opportunities, and steady interior scoring, only to see Northwest surge ahead by four late in the frame. Majok Chuol and Aris Rodriguez set the early tone with paint finishes and trips to the line, Jayden Ramirez provided a lift off the bench, and Sebastian Muchitsch's 10 first-half points, capped by an and-one before the buzzer, sent the Cougars into the locker room with a narrow 38–37 lead. Barton went 27-of-67 (40.3%) from the floor and 3-of-15 (20.0%) from beyond the arc, but made its work count at the line, converting 21-of-27 (77.8%) free throws. Northwest shot 22-of-59 (37.3%) overall, hitting 10-of-32 from three-point range while going 22-of-27 (81.5%) at the stripe. Despite being outrebounded by six, the Cougars controlled the interior, owning a plus-28 advantage in points in the paint along with a plus-7 edge in second-chance points and points off turnovers. Rodriguez led Barton with 21 points on 8-of-14 shooting. Ramirez added 14 points in 16 minutes, going 4-of-7 from the floor and 5-of-6 at the line. Muchitsch finished with 12 points and eight rebounds, Chuol chipped in eight points, and Jon Byrd contributed five points, seven rebounds, and four assists. Noah Williams added 10 points, four rebounds, and four steals. Fort Hays Tech Northwest was paced by three 19-point scorers in Marquintez Dixon, Kuet Gatwech, and Matija Otasevic. Gatwech hit 4-of-5 from beyond the arc and Hays Tech 37 39 76 Barton 38 40 78 HAYS TECH (13-11, 8-10) Dixon 6-14 (1-5) 6-6 19; Otasevic 6-15 (1-8) 6-9 19; Gaywech 5-8 (4-5) 4-6 19; Loria (2-6) 0-0 6; Shields 0-3 (0-1) 0-0 2; Marzetti 1-3 (0-1) 3-4 5; Strozier 1-3 (1-1) 0-0 3; Smith (1-4) 2-2 5; Camara 0-2 (0-1) 0-0 0; Slayton 0-1 0-0 0; Totals 22-59 (10-32) 22-27 76 BARTON (17-8, 12-7) Rodriguez 8-14 (1-5) 4-5 21; Ramirez 4-7 (1-3) 5-6 14; Muchitsch 4-14 (1-2) 3-4 12; Noah Williams 3-9 (0-1) 4-4 10; Chuol 4-7 0-0 8; Mikey Williams 0-2 (0-1) 0-0 0; Sullivan 1-3 0-0 2; Rucker 1-5 (0-2) 3-4 5; Inanov 0-3 (0-1) 1-2 1; Byrd 2-3 1-2 5; Totals 27-67 (3-15) 21-27 78 Rebounds Hays 41 (Otasevic 9); BC 35 (Muchitsch 8). Assists Hays 11 (Slayton 3), BC 8 (Byrd 4). Steals Hays 4 (Slayton 2), BC 9 (N. Williams 4). TO Hays 16, BC 11