WILSON, N.C. -- Belmont Abbey shot 51.8 percent from the field and forced a season-high-tying 21 turnovers, lifting the Crusaders to a 93-79 upset of 20th-ranked Barton Tuesday night at Wilson Gymnasium. The victory was the second of the season against a nationally-ranked foe as The Abbey knocked off No. 10 Queens on the road last month.

The Crusaders improve to 7-2 overall and 2-0 in Conference Carolinas play, equalling their best start since the 2012-13 season, while Barton falls to 7-2, 1-1.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• DeQuan Abrom tallied 32 points, the sixth time in his career that he has eclipsed the 30-point mark.
• Sean Halloran scored a career-high 19 points, while Romeao Ferguson added a double-double of 11 points and 12 rebounds. 
• Belmont Abbey shot 61.3 percent in the opening period, its best half of the season.
• Barton opened the game with the first eight points and led 10-1 before the Crusaders rallied. They scored nine straight points to tie the score at 10, then took their first lead 16-15 on a Halloran three.
• After a pair of Bulldog free throws, The Abbey rattled off eight points in a row for a seven-point advantage, 24-17.
• Barton retook the lead at 41-40 with 2:54 left in the half, but the Crusaders used a 10-0 run to go back up by nine. The lead was the same at halftime, 52-43.
• The Bulldogs pulled to within four on three occasions early in the second half, the last at 60-56, but a 13-4 run over the next seven minutes extinguished the threat.
• Belmont Abbey led by as many as 17 twice in the final five minutes.
• With three three-pointers, Ben Ferguson became just the fourth player in school history with 200 or more threes in his career.
• Barton shot 50 percent in the contest and placed four players in double figures. Blake Burdack was the leader with 24 points and a team-best eight rebounds.

UP NEXT

• Belmont Abbey opens a three-game homestand on Friday to conclude its pre-Christmas schedule. The Crusaders host North Greenville in Conference Carolinas action with an expected tip of 7:30 p.m.