Belmont Abbey junior center Alex Pledger scored a career-high 25 points on 10-13 shooting from the field, but the Crusaders fell at Barton 92-76 this evening. The Abbey falls to 8-5 overall and 5-2 in Conference Carolinas.

The Abbey trailed 55-38 at halftime but outscored Barton 38-37 in the second half as Pledger led all scorers with 25 points, sinking ten field goals on 13 attempts, while converting all five of his free throws. He also had four rebounds, three blocked shots and a steal in 23 minutes. Kashif Gumbs added 14 points in 15 minutes, shooting five of eight from the floor and four of five from the free throw line. Chad Patus posted a double double with 11 points and ten rebounds, while handing out six assists in just under 29 minutes. Belmont Abbey shot 38.9 percent (28-72) from the floor.

Barton jumped out to its first half lead behind a 63.2 percent (24-38) effort in the half and finished with a 57.8 percent (37-64) total for the contest as L.J. Dunn led four Bulldogs in double figures with 18 points and 13 rebounds. Eddie Kershaw added 14 points, while Errol Frails and David King both finished with ten.