February 3, 2005
BARTON COUNTY PLAYS ABOVE EXPECTATIONS TO KNOCK OFF SCCC
With a season full of turbulence at Barton County no one could have ever noticed last night as the fifth place Barton County Cougars (9-13, 4-4 in the Jayhawk West) defeated the Seward County Saints (16-6, 5-3 in the Jayhawk West) 83-66. The 17 point defeat comes after being out rebounded 43-23 and allowing Barton to shoot .574 (31-for-54) from the field and .429 (6-for-14) from three-point range.
The Saints had two scorers in double figures, sophomores Keoni Watson (16 points) and Kyle Smith (11 points) who both kept the Saints in the game during the first half, all the way till midway through the second half. With lack of size inside the paint, the Cougars took advantage grabbing 26 defensive rebounds to the Saints 12 defensive boards. The Saints actually led the Cougars 58-54, with 10:19 left in the second half.
Barton County saw big time production from big man Antanas Kavaliauskas. The 6 foot-10 inch, 240 pound, Lithuania post player scored a game high 29 points and grabbed 15 rebounds to lead the Cougars.
Saints shooting guard Keoni Watson tied former SCCC All-American Devonne Giles for ninth place on the Seward County career scoring list with 965 career points. Watson is now averaging 17.6 points per game and 3.68 assists per game.
Smith was 4-for-11 from the field and 3-for-9 from three-point land for the Saints. Smith now has 28 trey’s on the season for the Saints.
Seward County scored 19 of their 66 points in fast break situations compared to Barton County’s six fast break points.
The Saints are leading the Jayhawk Conference in defensive field goal percentage, allowing opponents to shoot only .385 percent. Barton on the season is only averaging a .429 field goal percentage. But last night the Cougars had a .667 field goal percentage in the first half of play (18-of-27).
On Saturday, the Saints will host Dodge City Community College (11-10, 3-5) for an 8:00 p.m. match up in the Green House. The Saints are in sole possession of third place in the Jayhawk West. Dodge City sits in a three-way tie for fifth place in the Conference. In their initial meeting this season Dodge City defeated the Saints 71-68 in Dodge City.
BOX SCORE at. Barton County Community College
