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Saturday, January 12, 2013 1:25 AM Barton teams visit N. Greenville today By Paul Durham | Sports Editor Coming off key Conference Carolinas victories against Coker (S.C.) College on Tuesday night in Wilson Gym, the men’s and women’s basketball teams of Barton College hit the road today for a doubleheader at North Greenville University in Tigerville, S.C. This will be the second meeting this season between both the men’s and women’s teams as Barton swept the Nov. 17 doubleheader in Wilson Gym, which also was the Lady Bulldogs’ season opener. The Barton women, who won that game 81-53, are 6-4 overall and 5-1 in Conference Carolinas, tying them with Limestone (S.C.) College for the top spot. Lady Bulldogs head coach Wendee Saintsing doesn’t expect as easy a game with the Crusaders (2-7, 0-5 CC) this time around. "North Greenville’s been playing tough. They’ve had close games with Limestone and Coker,” said Saintsing, noting the Crusaders didn’t have sophomore guard Alisha Hope and her team-high 13.9 points per game in the first meeting. "We’ve got to go down there and be ready to play.” And that’s not easy given the 5-hour bus ride to Tigerville. "You’ve got to be mentally focused once you step off the bus because you don’t have a lot of time to prepare,” Saintsing said. The veteran Barton coach said she hoped her team would continue to perform as it did in the 78-51 defeat of Coker, in which the Lady Bulldogs shot 50 percent from the floor, forced 23 turnovers while committing just 13 and outrebounded the Cobras. Particularly noteworthy was the play of senior point guard Elaine Morgan, who had perhaps her best game in a Barton uniform after transferring from East Carolina prior to last season. Morgan nearly had a triple-double as she finished with 13 assists, nine steals and eight points to go with six rebounds. "She played well. I just hope she continues to do that and understands why she was successful.” The Barton men, ranked No. 23 nationally by National Association of Basketball Coaches, also won big against North Greenville (4-5, 1-4 CC) in Wilson in November but the game was closer for much of it than the 104-76 final score indicated. The Bulldogs (9-2, 4-1 CC) used a 13-4 surge midway through the second half to gain separation. It was that type of run that put Barton on its way to a 78-60 win over Coker, a team that was above it in the standings. "I thought it was anybody’s game for most of the game,” Bulldogs head coach Ron Lievense said. "We put on a spurt there for about 12 minutes in the second half when we played very good defense and were able to spread the floor and move the basketball and get some very good shots. "We’re going to have to play that way more and not just select minutes to be a better basketball team.” A bit of good news for the Bulldogs this week was the return of 6-foot-6 senior post Keith Manley, who suffered a broken bone in his hand in Barton’s loss at Shaw University on Dec. 3. Lievense said Manley probably won’t see much action today after just two days of practice. "His role was extremely limited. He’s going to have to get back in the flow of things physically and be comfortable catching the ball,” the Barton coach said. "It’s going to take some time. He wasn’t backing down in practice at all but he’s still dominantly one-handed.” Both Barton teams will head back out on the road Wednesday when they travel to Belmont Abbey College. paul@wilsontimes.com | 265-7808  |
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