HUTCHINSON — The Barton Community College men's basketball team trailed for just two brief moments Wednesday evening on the road, grinding out a controlled 68–60 victory at Hutchinson Community College.
Barton (15-8, 10-7 Jayhawk) drops Hutchinson to 10-13, 5-12 Jayhawk. The Cougars travel to Pratt Saturday.
The Blue Dragons briefly nudged ahead at 10–9and again at 15–14 with 9:07 remaining in the opening half, but those leads were fleeting. Barton seized control over the next five minutes, rattling off a decisive 13–0 run to create separation. Hutchinson answered with four straight, but late three-pointers from Noah Williams and Blake Rucker sent the Cougars into the locker room with a 35–24 halftime cushion.
Hutchinson hung around through most of second half play, trimming the margin to five following a four-minute 6–0 spurt near the midpoint. That's when Jayden Ramirez provided the spark. The sophomore knocked down a three, converted an and-one off an offensive rebound, then added four more points to cap a personal 10–0 burst that rebuilt Barton's lead to its largest at 12 with 2:51 remaining. Rucker answered a Hutchinson triple with a dagger of his own at the 1:59 mark, and Barton calmly sealed the result by sinking 7-of-8 free throws down the stretch.
Ramirez led Barton's balanced scoring with 15 points and 7 rebounds, three coming on the offensive glass, helping Barton to a plus-16 edge on the boards and a 21-point bench scoring advantage. Willams rounded out the double-digit scoring with 12 points and 4 rebounds.
Four Cougars finished just shy of double digits with nine points apiece. Majok Chuol added six rebounds, Aris Rodriguez filled the stat sheet with five rebounds, four assists, and three steals, Rucker connected on both of his three-point attempts, andBrian Sullivan, Jr. chipped in five rebounds and three assists. Sebastian Muchitsch pulled down a game-high eight rebounds to go with five points, while Jon Byrd flirted with a double-double at seven assists and seven boards.
Daleron Thomas accounted for nearly half of Hutchinson's scoring, pouring in 29 points on 4-of-7 shooting from beyond the arc. Bobby Cannon was the lone other Blue Dragon in double figures, finishing with 11 points and a team-leading seven rebounds.
JAYHAWK MEN
Butler 12-5 16-7
Independence 12-5 14-8
Dodge City 11-5 15-7
Seward 11-6 16-7
Barton 10-7 15-8
Cowley 9-7 14-8
Garden City 9-7 14-8
Coffeyville 9-8 15-8
Cloud 7-9 12-10
Hays NW 7-9 11-10
Hutchinson 5-12 10-13
Pratt 3-14 6-16
Colby 3-14 5-18
2-4—Barton 68, Hutchinson 60; Seward 84, Pratt 62; Garden City 112, Butler 106; Independence 81, Hays NW 70; Dodge City 80, Colby 71; Coffeyville 84, Cowley 67
2-7—Barton at Pratt, 2; Coffeyville at Dodge City; Colby at Cloud; Independence at Garden City; Hutchinson at Cowley
2-8—Seward at Hays NW
