BY JIM MISUNAS
jmisunas@gbtribune.com

HUTCHINSON — When Barton Cougar Cooper Jackson sprinted upcourt, teammate Lajae Jones was trailing the play. 

Jackson flipped the basketball off the glass backboard and Jones showed off his Most Valuable Player skills with a thunderous slam dunk for a 55-43 lead against Triton, Ill.

The duo paired for an ESPN-worthy play, which was perfect because the championship game was aired nationally on ESPN-U. A rowdy Great Bend crowd were treated to the greatest moment in Cougar basketball history.

Jones delivered the thunder with an all-around game to spark Barton's dominating 88-73 NJCAA championship victory over Triton, Ill. All-tournament Myles Thompson showcased his finesse with 13 rebounds and a 27-point game. All-tournament Ring Malith provided a vintage 22-point performance. Mozae Downing-Rivers contributed seven assists for the fourth consecutive NJCAA game.

The No. 1 ranked Cougars (36-1) dominated the NJCAA Tournament, winning three games by 15 points and one game by 14 points. Barton won eight consecutive games this year at the Sports Arena. It marked the Cougars' first basketball title and 60th NJCAA sports championship in Cougar history. 

Jones grabbed 13 rebounds and scored 14 points, nine after halftime. Jones averaged 161/2 points in addition to his shot-blocking defensive prowess. Jones is the son of Barton Cougar 2024 Hall of Famer Jackie Jones, who played basketball at Oklahoma.

"I feel blessed to earn MVP. I thought MVP would go to Myles Thompson," Jones said. "My teammates had my back that first half. I had to take care of business. We focus on defense first. We defended and held them under their average. We played excellent basketball."

The Cougars earned every statistical edge, outscoring the Trojans 11-0 off turnovers, 46-34 off the boards, 20-8 on second-chance points and 34-20 on points in the paint.

The Cougars put together a pair of 7-0 scoring runs for a 46-39 halftime lead on Amiri Ndayisaba's 3-pointer.

Triton's All-Tournament Amar Augillard scored 23 points, but converted 1 of 11 on 3-pointers. Red-hot guard Dior Conners scored 24 points, 5 of 6 on 3-pointers. 

The Trojans (34-3) misfired from 3-point range with 8 of 28 shooting. Triton did pick up eight bonus points when the Trojans converted 8 of 9 free throws after four Cougar fouls on 3-pointers. 

Malith led the way with three steals. Brent Moss blocked a shot by Augillard that keyed a second-half run that saw Keandre Kindell pose after drilling a 3-pointer for a 60-49 lead.

"It was our defense without a doubt," said Barton coach and NJCAA Coach of the Tournament Jeremy Coombs. "We got stops and put the game away. We hang our hat on defense and rebounding the basketball."

Thompson converted back-to-back shots and Jackson hit back-to-back shots for a 15-point lead.

"It was a matter of time until we got a run going," Coombs said. "We got a couple of second-half steals, which was huge. We knew Ring Malith was due to hit a couple shots. We stayed locked in to make sure we finished the game strong."

The Trojans roared within 78-73 with a 17-7 burst keyed by a trio of 3-pointers and three free throws off a foul. Thompson responded with two free throws and an inside basket. Cooper Jackson drilled a 3-pointer and Thompson sealed a 10-0 game-clinching burst.

Thompson was the second-choice for Most Valuable Player. He scored 81 points in four games, a 201/2-point average. 

"I thank Jesus Christ for putting me in this position," Thompson said. "The game came to me and I caught the basketball in the right spots.. We peaked at the right time and played as well as we could. We showed how talented our team is. It's a team effort all four games. We wanted to keep attacking offensively."

The Cougars' 10th consecutive victory at the Sports Arena had a unique twist. The Cougars' last loss at the Sports Arena was to Triton, Ill. 89-83 on Nov. 5, 2022. 

Barton finished as the NJCAA basketball runner-up in 1999 after losing 100-86 to Indian Hills, Iowa.  

Triton 39 34 — 73 

Barton 46 42 — 88

TRITON (34-3)—Conners 9-13 1-2 24, Augillard 8-20 6-6 23, Williams 3-13 3-3 10, Dixon 2-5 6-7 10, Samuels 1-5 0-2 2, Scott 1-5 1-2 4, Varajic 0-2 0-0 0, Totals 24-63 17-22 73.

BARTON (36-1)—Thompson 9-21 8-8 27, Malith 8-12 2-3 22, Jones 5-11 2-3 14, Jackson 5-9 2-5 14, Kindell 1-5 2-2 5, Ndayisiba 1-2 0-2 3, Downing-Rivers 0-6 2-2 2, Moss 0-1 1-2 1, Bowen-Webb 0-0 0-0 0, Surakat 0-0 0-0 0, Spray 0-0 0-0, Bol 0-0 0-0 0, Totals 29-67 19-27 88.

3-pointers—T (Conners 5-6, Scott 1-2, Williams 1-6, Augillard 1-11, Dixon 0-1, Varajic 0-2); BC 11-22 (Malith 4-7, Jones 2-3, Jackson 2-4, Ndayisaba 1-1, Thompson 1-2, Kindell 1-3, Downing-Rivers 0-2). Rebounds—T 34 (Samuels 16); BC 46 (Jones 13, Thompson 13). Assists—T 12 (Augillard 3)); BC 17 (Downing-Rivers 7). Steals—T 7 (Augillard 2, Scott 2); BC 10 (Malith 3). TO—T 11, BC 8.

ALL TOURNAMENT
Lajae Jones (William French Most Valuable Player) Barton; Ring Malith, Barton; Myles Thompson, Barton; Chris Mpaka,  Indian Hills, Iowa; Bradyn Hubbard - Connors State, Okla.; John-Paul Ricks, Hutchinson; Jabari McGhee, South Plains, Texas; Malique Ewin, South Plains; Jimmie Williams, Wallace State, Ala.; Tavion Banks, NW Florida; Willie Lightfoot, Odessa, Texas; AJ Dixon, Triton, Ill.; Amar Augillard - Triton

Bud Obee Outstanding Small Player Award—Dylan Williams, Triton, Ill.

Charles Sesher Sportsmanship Award—Triton, Ill.

Coach of the Tournament—Jeremy Coombs - Barton

CHAMPIONSHIP—No. 1 Barton 88,  Triton, Ill. 73

THURSDAY—Barton 93, Indian Hills, Iowa 78; Triton, Ill. 87, Connors State, Okla 84

WEDNESDAY—Barton 87, Northwest Florida State 73; Indian Hills 74, Odessa, Texas 68; Triton, Ill. 88, South Plains 87; Connors State, Okla. 91, Hutchinson 69

TUESDAY—Odessa, Texas 58, Vincennes, Ind. 56; Indian Hills, Iowa 68, Wallace State, Ala. 58; Connors State, Okla. 67, Salt Lake, Utah 61; Hutchinson 78, Chipola, Fla. 71

MONDAY—Connors State, Okla. 86, Moberly, Mo. 77; Hutchinson 96 South Carolina Salkehatchie 82; Barton 83, Walters State, Tenn. 68; NW Florida 85, Cowley College 70; South Plains 80, Panola, Texas 76; Triton, Ill. 105, Trinity Valley, Texas 87

SUNDAY—Walters, State, Tenn. 85, Daytona, Fla. 82; Cowley 87, Allegany, Md. 64; Wallace State, Ala. 76, Lee, Texas 64; Odessa, Texas 81, Trinidad State, Colo. 58; Panola, Texas 84, Jones, Miss. 73; Trinity Valley, Texas 61, Georgia Highlands 54