Belmont Abbey junior guard Richard Barbee led all scorers with 23 points, but the Crusaders men's basketball team fell at Barton 97-73 this evening in Wilson. The Abbey falls to 6-7 overall and 2-5 in Conference Carolinas, while Barton climbs to 11-3 overall and remains perfect in Conference Carolinas play with a 7-0 ledger.

The Abbey shot 37 percent from the field as Barbee led all scorers as he sank seven of 14 field goal attempts to go along with nine rebounds and two assists. Harvin Council, Jr. notched a career-best 17 points on six of 11 shooting with three rebounds, two assists and a blocked shot, and sophomore Kyle Phillips posted 13 points, eight rebounds, one assist, a blocked shot and a steal.

Barton shot 47 percent as Jo Jo Velez contributed a team-high 22 points and nine rebounds, six on the offensive glass, with two blocked shots and a steal. Eddie Kershaw registered a double double with 19 points and a game-high 16 rebounds as Barton won the rebounding edge by a 60-38 count. Jeran Haley added 17 points and Gerald Boston Boston contributed 14.

The Bulldogs never trailed in the contest but the Abbey kept the deficit within nine points for most of the first half, erasing the Bulldogs lead from nine points to one point behind the strength of a 15-7 run over the course of a seven minute span. Barton responded with a run of its own to stretch the lead back to ten, and would eventually grow to 12 points at the break on a free throw by Kershaw with 35 ticks left to give Barton a 44-32 halftime lead.

In the second half, Barton raced out to a 30 point lead on a 27-9 jaunt in the first 8:13 to seal the game. The Abbey never cut the lead below 20 points as Barton earned the win.