ARKANSAS CITY — The No. 17 ranked Barton Cougars rallied from a 9-point deficit for a gritty 85-79 victory over Cowley College that clinched a share of the Jayhawk Conference basketball title.
The Cougars (22-8, 17-7 Jayhawk) earn the No. 1 seed in postseason with a sweep of co-champion Butler (21-9, 17-7 Jayhawk). The Cougars will play the Garden City/Cloud winner Tuesday, March 10. The semifinals March 13 and the championship games scheduled at Barton's Fleske Fieldhouse.
The Cougars have won 10 consecutive games. The co-Jayhawk championship virtually assures the Cougars a berth in the 2026 NJCAA Basketball Championship at Hutchinson.
"They believed in the coaching staff and each other," said Barton coach Jeremy Coombs. "This group has rallied together as a team. The guys bought into what we were doing and put 10 wins together. I have never seen this type of depth in the conference. You've got to prepare mentally every day in practice."
Cougar Aris Rodriguez scored a game high 28 points and drew a key charging foul. Noah Williams (15), Blake Rucker (14) and Sebastian Muchitsch (12) scored in double figures.
Down nine, the Cougars rallied 48-33 after halftime. .
"We talked about toughness," said Coombs. "Cowley beat us to 50/50 balls, had more offensive boards and had more points in the paint. I had no doubt we'd win the game."
Barton's lead was one point when Rucker converted a 3-point play to spark a 9-0 Barton spurt. Cowley answered with seven points. Muchitsch responded through contact for 3-point play with 18.8 seconds left.
Rodriguez and Noah Williams combined for 20-of-23 free throws. The Cougars converted 38-of-46 from the stripe (83%).
Cowley (18-12, 13-11 Jayhawk) was paced by Marcus Smith leading with a stat stuffing 22 points, five rebounds, three assists, and a pair of steals. CJ Majors added 13 points, Leslie Owens, Jr. 11 and Jordan Smith 10.
Barton 37 48 — 85
Cowley 46 33 — 79
BARTON (22-8, 17-7)—Rodriguez 9-18 (1-6) 9-11 28; Noah Williams 2-4 (0-2) 11-12 15; Rucker 4-6 (2-3) 4-5 14; Muchitsch 3-5 6-8 12; Chuol 0-1 1-2 1; Ramirez 1-3 2-4 5; Mikey Williams 1-2 0-0 2; Sullivan 1-3 0-0 2; Inanov 0-0 2-2 2; Byrd 13 2-2 4; Totals 22-45 (3-11) 38-46 85
COWLEY (18-12, 13-11)—Marcus Smith 6-12 (1-6) 9-12 22; Majors 4-9 (1-3) 4-6 13; Owens 2-4 7-7 11; Thompson 2-5 (0-1) 4-4 8; Vickerstaff 3-0 (2-7) 0-0 8; Britt (0-2) 0-0 0; Robinson 0-4 0-0 0; Mbouk (0-2) 0-0 0; Jordan Smith 2-3 6-8 10; Miller 1-5 (0-1) 3-4 5; Brown 1-3 (0-1) 0-0 2; Totals 21-59 (4-23) 33-41 79
Rebounds—BC 31 (Muchitsch 7); CC (Thompson 5). Assists—BC 3; CC 11 (Thompson 3, M. Smith 3). Steals—BC 8 (Ramirez 3); CC 9 (Vickerstaff 3, M. Smith 3). TO—BC 18, CC 12
MEN'S REGION 6
3-7—Cloud 86, Garden City 66; Seward 82, Colby 68; Hays NW 76, Independence 74; Cowley 61, Hutchinson 60
3-10—1 Barton (22-8) vs. 8 Cloud (18-13); 4 Coffeyville (21-9) vs. 5 Seward (19-12); 2 Butler (21-9) vs. 10 Hays NW; 3 Dodge City vs. 6 Cowley (19-12)
JAYHAWK MEN
Barton 17-7 22-8
Butler 17-7 21-9
Dodge City 16-8 20-10
Coffeyville 15-9 21-9
Cowley 13-11 19-12
Seward 13-11 19-12
Independence 13-11 15-16
Garden City 12-12 17-14
Cloud 12-12 18-13
Hays NW 10-14 16-15
Hutchinson 9-15 14-17
Colby 5-19 7-24
Pratt 4-20 7-22
3-2—Coffeyville 74, Garden City 73
3-4—Barton 85, Cowley 79; Dodge City 75, Seward 74; Hays NW 74, Hutchinson 73; Butler 82, Colby 65; Independence, Cloud
