The No. 17 Barton Cougar men survived a wild finish with a last-second 96-95 Region 6/Plains District quarterfinal victory over Cloud County secured when the Thunderbirds' final prayer went unanswered.
The drama escalated in the final seconds.
After Cloud forced a turnover with nine seconds, Barton's Aris Rodriguez jumped a pass and was fouled on a breakaway with four seconds left.
However, a technical was assessed on Rodriguez during the sequence, setting up a chaotic finish.
Rodriguez converted two free throws for a 96-93 lead to finish scoring the Cougars' final 11 points. Cloud's Syncere Burnette answered with two technical free throws. Burnette launched a running 3-point attempt, but the shot missed its mark as Barton escaped with the one-point victory.
Jayhawk Conference champion Barton (23-8) advances to Friday's Region 6 3 p.m. semifinal against Seward County (20-12) at Barton's Fleske Fieldhouse.
Rodriguez's 38 points paced the Cougars while joining the exclusive 1,000-career point club. He converted 12-of-20 shots and 10-of-12 free throws.Noah Williams added a 16-point, 12-rebound effort for his sixth double-double.
Sebastian Muchitsch chipped in 14 points. Brian Sullivan, Jr. contributed 11 points and Ivanov added eight points. Barton connected on 11 three-pointers, shot 75% on free throws, and produced 21 second-chance points.
Burnette led the T-Birds (18-14) with 22 points. Manasseh Stackhouse added 20 points and 12 rebounds. Kaidan Chatham scored 14 points and D'ontez Walker chipped in 11. Cloud County shot 51% and scored 44 points in the paint.
Barton built a 14-point advantage behind strong perimeter shooting and second-chance opportunities. Pavel Inanov's 3-pointer helped Barton lead 47-37 at halftime.
Cloud County erased the deficit for a 59/59 tie with 14 minutes remaining. Rodriguez answered with key baskets, helping Barton maintain a narrow edge in the closing minutes.
The Region 6/Plains semifinals starts with the Butler Grizzly women meeting Coffeyville. Dodge City's women meets Hutchinson at 5:30 p.m. The Butler Grizzlies play Cowley at 7:30 p.m.
Saturday's championship games are scheduled at 3 and 5 p.m. Ticket and tournament information can be found at kjccc.org.
Cloud 37 58 — 95
Barton 47 49 — 96
CLOUD (18-14)—Burnette 7-18 (4-10) 4-6 22; Stackhouse 9-16 (1-3) 1-3 20; Chatham 5-7 4-5 14; Walker 4-7 (0-1) 3-4 11; Savane 3-5 2-2 8; Holloway 1-4 (0-2) 6-10 8; Kuel Akot 3-6 (1-3) 0-0 7; Sam Akot 1-2 (0-1) 3-6 4; Totals 33-65 (6-20) 23-36 95
BARTON (23-8)—Rodriguez 12-20 (4-10) 10-12 38; Noah Williams 5-15 (1-4) 5-6 16; Sullivan 3-11 (3-6) 2-2 11; Rucker 3-11 (3-6) 2-2 11; Muchitsch 3-5 (1-2) 7-10 14; Byrd (0-1) 0-2 0; Chuol 2-6 0-0 4; Ramirez 1-4 (1-1) 0-0 3; Inanov 2-3 (1-1) 3-4 7; Totals 29-70 (11-27) 27-36 96
Rebounds—CC 38 (Stackhouse 12); BC 39 (N. Williams 12). Assists—CC 13 (Burnette 5); BC 12 (Byrd 4). Steals—CC 8 (Otott 2, Stackhouse 2); BC 7 (Rodriguez 3). TO—CC 16, BC 12
JAYHAWK MEN
Barton 17-7 23-8
Butler 17-7 22-9
Dodge City 16-8 20-11
Coffeyville 15-9 21-10
Cowley 13-11 20-12
Seward 13-11 20-12
Independence 13-11 15-16
Garden City 12-12 17-14
Cloud 12-12 18-14
Hays NW 10-14 16-16
Hutchinson 9-15 14-17
Colby 5-19 7-24
Pratt 4-20 7-22
REGION 6 MEN
3-7—Cloud 86, Garden City 66; Seward 82, Colby 66; Hays NW 76, Independence 74; Cowley 61, Hutchinson 60
3-10—Barton 96, Cloud 95; Seward 84, Coffeyville 75; Butler 101, Hays NW 87; Cowley 76, Dodge City 69
3-13—Barton (23-8) vs. Seward (20-12), 3 p.m.; Butler (22-9) vs. Cowley (20-12), 7:30
