Box Score WILSON, N.C. – The King University men's basketball team took to the road to open the Conference Carolinas Men's Basketball Championship on Tuesday night. The sixth-seeded Tornado held a lead at third-seeded Barton at the half, but the Bulldogs came back to force overtime. Barton outscored the Tornado in the extra session as the Bulldogs took the contest 95-89.
THE BASICS
FINAL SCORE: No. 3 Barton 95, No. 6 King 89 (F/OT)
LOCATION: Wilson Gymnasium; Wilson, N.C.
RECORDS: King 15-14; Barton 22-7
HOW IT HAPPENED
First Half
- King put together one of their best halves of the season, shooting a blistering 70.8 percent while holding Barton to 37.1 percent from the floor.
- The Tornado knocked down eight triples in the opening 20 minutes, two each from Justin Frazier, Desmond Davis and Mike Salomon.
- Tristan Upchurch and Gabriel Gonzalez also knocked down trifectas.
- The score was tied for the fourth and final time in the first half at 13 when Gonzalez connected from three-point range.
- Upchurch followed with his triple, giving King the lead with 13 minutes remaining in the half.
- Frazier gave King their largest lead of the half at 41-29 with a three-point play.
- Barton scored the final points of the half, a triple from Jeff Gordon, but King held a 46-37 lead at the break.
Second Half
- The Bulldogs tried to get their offense going early in the second half, but King answered each time to extend their lead.
- Barton cut their deficit to six points twice, but Jordan Young answered with a layup the first time and Davis connected from long range the second time.
- Tyre Moore Jr. gave King their largest lead of the game at 71-57 with a layup with nine minutes remaining.
- However, the Bulldog offense heated up at that point, scoring 11 straight points to cut the King lead to 71-68.
- Salomon ended the Tornado drought when he connected from long range.
- Each time Barton pulled within two, King answered with a buck, extending their lead back to four.
- King led 80-76 with two minutes remaining, but Barton scored five straight points to take an 82-80. That was the Bulldogs' first lead since they held a 14-13 advantage in the first half.
- Frazier evened the score when he made a layup with 41 seconds remaining.
- Neither team was able to score in the final seconds, sending the game to overtime.
Overtime
- Barton opened the extra session by scoring seven of the first eight points, including six straight to open up an 89-83 lead.
- King could not overcome the deficit as the Bulldogs escaped with the 95-89 victory.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Frazier led the Tornado with 24 points while Davis followed with 20 points and six assists.
- Salomon added 14 points, knocking down four triples.
- Moore chipped in with 12 points, four rebounds and four assists.
- Young grabbed a game-high nine rebounds.
FOR THE FOES
- Isaiah Reddish and Isaiah Buck-Lowman led Barton with 18 points apiece. Reddish added six rebounds.
- Matt Woods followed with 14 points and Michael Boykin chipped in with 13 points.
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
- The Tornado shot 54.4 percent from the floor, their third-best shooting game of the season. King shot better than 50.0 four times on the season.
- Davis poured in a career-high 20 points, topping his previous best of 12.
- Seniors Davis and Moore played their final game wearing the scarlet and navy.
