Bulldogs Come from Behind for Win, 77-69

by Christian Stryker, SID Coker College

Hartsville, S.C. - A 26-9 run by the Barton Bulldogs in the final minutes of the game sealed the Coker Cobras fate, as Barton battled back from a 15 points half time deficit to beat Coker 77-69 in Conference Carolinas men's basketball on Wednesday night.

The win moves Barton to 15-4 overall, and 11-1 in the conference, while the loss drops the Cobras to 9-10 overall, and 5-7 in the conference.

The Cobras opened the game firing on al cylinders and quickly going on a 12-2 run that had Barton scrambling to figure out what to do. The Bulldogs could not figure out an answer to the Coker big men, Mason Ambler (Atlanta, GA) and Michael Gore (Landis, NC) in the first half, and Coker found themselves up by 15 at the half to a team that had given them a 40 beating earlier in the year.

Then the second half came and the sleeping giant awoke. Barton battled their way back throughout the first 14 minutes of play, and then it was a three pointer from Bobby Buffaloe with about six minutes left that tied the game for the first time since the opening tip, and from then on the Bulldogs never looked back, showing why they are one of the top teams in Conference Carolinas.

Coker did not roll over and fought hard to keep it close, down by just six with under a minute to go, but in the end they could not get the big shot to fall.

Ambler had a team high 18 points with seven rebounds, five assists and three steals, while Josh Poston (Myrtle Beach, SC) had 12 points with four rebounds. Vatrick Thompson (Columbia, SC) also had 12 points and Gore chipped in with 10 points and five rebounds.

L.J. Dunn led the Bulldog attack, scoring 18 points and grabbing 8 rebounds, with Greg Mammel netting 14 points. David King had a game high 14 rebounds with seven points.

The Cobras next game is scheduled for Saturday, when they host Belmont Abbey at 4:00 p.m., while Barton will travel to Erskine.