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
JAYHAWK MEN
Butler 13-5 17-7
Barton 12-7 17-8
Seward 12-7 17-8
Independence 12-7 14-10
Garden City 11-7 16-8
Cowley 11-7 16-8
Dodge City 11-7 15-9
Coffeyville 11-8 17-8
Cloud 8-10 13-11
Hays NW 8-10 12-11
Hutchinson 6-13 11-14
Pratt 3-17 6-19
Colby 3-15 5-19
2-11—Barton 78, Hays NW 76; Hutchinson 67, Dodge City 61; Garden City 77, Seward 76; Butler 93, Independence 88; Cowley 81, Pratt 61; Coffeyville 79, Cloud 68
2-14—Barton at Garden City; Coffeyville at Colby; Independence at Neosho; Pratt at Dodge City; Hutchinson at Cloud; Seward at Butler
2-15—Cowley at Hays NW
2-18—Barton at Butler; Cloud at Pratt; Independence at Seward; Dodge City at Hays NW; Garden City at Colby; Colby at Hutchinson
