Barton suffers through tough second half in loss at Colby

Barton suffers through tough second half in loss at Colby
Things were going along nicely for the Barton County Cougars men's basketball team in the first 10-15 minutes at Colby Tuesday. But as easily as the Cougars built a 21-point lead in the first half, they struggled to score in the second half, falling to Colby, 80-69. The loss dropped Barton to 9-6 in the Jayhawk West and 20-9 overall. Colby finishes its regular season at 6-10 and 17-13.

Highlights
Barton County was nearly unstoppable on offense early in the game, building that 21-point first half lead. The Cougars took a 44-34 lead into half. The second half was a much different story. The offensive struggles hit a high when the Cougars scored just one field goal in a 12-minute stretch. Barton's only field goal from the 12:26 mark to the 0:26 mark of the second half was a Jason Carter running layup with 5:27 to play. During that time the Trojans overtook Barton and pushed their lead to 13 points.

Barton made just 6-of-28 shots in the second half for 21 percent. Two of those baskets came in the final 26 seconds as Colby outscored Barton 46-25 in the second half. The Trojans, meanwhile, hit 52 percent from the floor and connected on four big treys during the stretch when Colby took the lead.

The Cougars were led by Rapheal Posey with 16 points, followed by Robert Whaley with 15 points and 10 rebounds. Jason Carter added 13. Colby was paced by Dedric Spooner with 22 points.

Next Up
Barton County will conclude its season Saturday when Pratt pays a visit to Barton County Gym. Pratt brings a 7-8 West mark and a 15-14 overall record to the Hill. Tip will be at 8 p.m.

Playoffs
Even with the loss, Barton County secured a home spot for the first round of the Region VI playoffs, thanks to a Garden City loss at Seward County. The Cougars will more than likely be the No. 4 seed from the West. The only way Barton could move up to No. 3 is with a win against Pratt and a Hutchinson loss at home against Cloud County, the team in the West cellar. If the Cougars end as the No. 4 seed in the West, their first round opponent will be either Neosho County or Allen County. If Neosho beats Highland Saturday, the Cougars would play Neosho. If Highland wins the game, Barton would play Allen County.

Stats
Game boxes and cumulative stats can be found at the following website.

Barton County Men's Basketball Online at http://www.barton.cc.ks.us/sports/MB_01-02/mbasketball_01-02.htm