No. 18 Cougar men start season 2-0
THATCHER, Ariz. — The No. 18 Barton Cougar men held off No. 15 Eastern Arizona College, 76-73 to win Saturday's 4-team Gila Monster Basketball Shootout.
Aris Rodriguez scored 27 points, with six rebounds and three steals in 32 minutes of action. Jayden Ramirez followed with 17 points. Pavel Ivanov led the bench production chipping in 13 points and six boards.
Barton set the tone with a 48-point first half, using a 27-9 stretch midway through the frame to turn an early 11-point deficit into a 17-point advantage.
A 13-0 Eastern Arizona surge over the final four minutes trimmed the deficit to three with seven seconds remaining, but a missed front-end of a one-and-one left the door open before a top-of-the-key three in the final seconds fell short to secure the victory.
The Cougars opened with a 74-67 win over Arizona Western.
COUGARS 74, ARIZONA WESTERN 67 — Rodriguez (18), Sebastian Muchitsch (13), Mikey Williams (12) and Jayden Ramirez (11) scored in double figures. The Cougars led 37-21 at halftime.
Arizona Western worked within seven points. A Rodriguez steal and slam, followed by two Noah Williams free throws, sealed the Cougar victory.
Barton (2-0) journeys to Mineral Area, Mo. Wednesday.
BC Cougars 37 37 — 74
Arizona Western 21 46 — 67
BARTON (1-0)—Rodriguez 6-14 (2-7) 4-6 18, Ramirez 3-8 (0-2) 5-6 11, Muchitsch 2-8 (0-1) 9-11 13, Chuoi 3-5 0-0 6, Noah Williams 2-4 (1-2) 0-0 5, Byrd 0-2 (0-1) 0-0 0, Mbala 3-6 (3-4) 0-0 9, Mikey Williams 5-7 (1-2) 1-1 12, Rucker (0-3) 0-0 0, Maddox Spray 0-0 0-0 0, Totals 24-57 (7-22) 19-24 74
ARIZONA WESTERN (0-1)—Gutierrez 4-8 (1-3) 1-1 10, Barton 2-7 (0-3) 2-2 6, Anglo 6-14 (1-4) 5-7 18, Winitana 3-7 0-0 6, Steibi 1-1 1-2 3, Arias (0-1) 0-0 0, Diatta 3-5 (0-2) 2-4 8, Aleksic 1-7 (1-5) 0-0 3, Fevry 1-3 (0-1) 4-8, 6, Brunetto 1-9 (0-5) 0-0 3, Mason 2-10 (0-3) 0-2 4, Kouyate 0-0 1-2 1, Totals 24-72 (3-27) 16-28 67
Rebounds—BC 43 (Muchitsch 10); AW 35 (Mason 9). Assists—BC 14 (Muchitsch 3); AW 16 (Fevry 5). Steals—BC 8 (Rodriguez 3); AW 9 (Diatta 3)
BC Cougars 48 28 — 76
E. Arizona 39 34 — 73
BARTON (2-0)—Rodriguez 9-20 (1-6) 8-12 27, Inanov 5-8 (2-5) 1-1 13, Ramirez 4-9 (1-3), 8-8 17, Muchitsch 0-2 0-0 0, Chuoi 1-2 0-0 2, Noah Williams 2-5 (1-3) 3-4 8, Mbala 2-4 (1-3) 0-0 5, Mikey Williams 2-3 (0-1) 0-0 4, Rucker (0-2) 0-0 0, Totals 25-55 (6-23) 20-25 76E. ARIZONA (1-1)—Bush 6-12 (1-4) 4-9 17, Treacher 2-7 (1-3) 4-4 9, Peyton 3-9 (1-4) 7-7 14, Ballinger 1-9 (1-4) 0-0 3, Hunt 5-8 (1-1) 0-2 11, Collins 3-11 (0-1) 9-11 15, Van Horn 1-2 (1-1) 0-0 3, Salnajs 0-2 1-2 1, Obgaidze 0-1 0-0 0, Totals 21-61 (6-18) 25-35 73
Rebounds—BC 33 (Chuoi 10); EA 35 (Hunt 7). Assists—BC 11 (Ramirez 4); EA 12 (Bush 6). Steals—BC 9 (Rodriguez 3); EA 5 (Bush 2)
