Trailing 49-43 at the half, the Belmont Abbey men's basketball team shot a blistering 59 percent in the second half, outscoring Barton 55-39 in the period, as the Crusaders snapped a six-game Conference Carolinas losing streak with a key 98-88 win over the visiting Bulldogs this evening at the Wheeler Center. The Abbey moves to 13-13 overall and 8-13 in Conference Carolinas, while Barton falls to 13-13 overall and 9-10 in Conference Carolinas. The win, coupled with losses by Coker and Erskine, moves the Abbey back into contention for a spot in the eight-team Conference Carolinas Tournament, which begins next week.

Abbey guard Richard Barbee led all scorers with 23 points, one of six Crusaders to reach double figures, while Chad Patus notched 18 points and nine rebounds. Tyshawn Good and Kyle Phillips both posted 14 points,while Patrick Kuhlman and Jay Council both contributed ten each.Phillips finished with seven rebounds and erased six Bulldog shots, setting a new carer-high. Patrick Kuhlman finished with a career-high 10 assists. Belmont Abbey shot 54 percent from the field, and sank 16 of its 27 shots in the second half, while holding Barton to a 34 percent output in the final 20 minutes.

Barton, which shot 45 percent from the floor, including 57 percent in the first half, was led by Jarrett Jernigan's 17 pints, while Gerald Boston finished with 14, all in the first half. Eddie Kershaw added 13 and Jaren Haley totaled 12, while Greg Mammel and Charles Gamble both poured in 10 points apiece.

The contest featured 10 ties and eight lead changes as both teams exchanged the lead for most of the first half until Barton closed the half on a 12-7 run in the final 6:13 to take a 49-43 lead into the lockerroom.

Barton's lead was short lived, as the Crusaders opened the second period on an 11-3 run to take a lead it would never lose at 54-52 with 17:12 left. The cushion rose to as high as 14 points at 70-56 with 13:01 left, before a Barton run chopped the lead down to 80-73 with 6:34 remaining. The Abbey responded with a 13-4 run to push the lead to 16 points at 93-77 with 3:13 showing. Barton would not get to within ten points for the remainder of the contest as the Abbey earned the win.