 WILSON,
NC - The Bulldogs are back on top again!Top-seeded Barton College, playing in front of nearly 1,900 fans in a sweltering 'Dog House' Saturday night, defeated feisty Erskine College 65-52 to win the Conference Carolinas Men's Basketball Tournament Championship. The Bulldogs, 2007 NCAA D-II National Champs, are now 24-6 and have won six straight and 9-of-10 heading into the Southeast Regional, which will be held Saturday, Sunday and Tuesday (March 14, 15, 17), likely in Augusta, GA. Barton, ranked 5th in the Southeast Region, won all 15 of its home games this season and seniors David King (6'6''-C), Errol Frails and Bobby Buffaloe (5'11''-G) finished a remarkable 59-3 (.952) in Wilson Gymnasium. Barton, the regular-season Conference Carolinas co-champ, has now won three conference championships in the 13-year tenure of head coach Ron Lievense (2006, 2007 and 2009). The previous two times the Bulldogs won league tournament titles, they also won regional crowns and advanced to the Elite Eight in Springfield, MA. Erskine, seeded 7th, made a dramatic run through the tournament, beating No. 10 St. Andrews Presbyterian, No. 2 Mount Olive and third-seeded Belmont Abbey. The Flying Fleet, who finished 12-19, would not go away during the title tilt with Barton, despite a poor start. The Bulldogs came out smoking and led 14-0 and 20-4 midway through the half. Sophomore guard Greg Mammel (6'0''-G) provided the early spark for Barton while junior 6-foot-3 forward L.J. Dunn (6'3''-F) and King, a 6-6 center, controlled the paint. Dunn finished with 15 points, 12 rebounds while King had eight points, a career-high 19 rebounds, four assists, four steals and three blocks. Frails added 10 points. Barton, which utilized full-court defensive pressure throughout, led 29-16 at the break and ran the lead to 19 points (37-18) with 15:41 to play. The Fleet battled back within eight points at 57-49 with 2:46 to play. That's when Buffaloe scored back-to-back baskets to push the lead back to double digits. Buffaloe, who was named Tournament Most Valuable Player, swished 11 of his 15 points in the second half. He scored 46 points (15.3 average) during the three tournament wins (Barton beat Limestone 80-66 and Anderson 88-69). He was joined on the All-Tournament team by Dunn and King. Erskine was represented on the squad by Wright, who finished with 16 points, and Dejan Nedelkovski, who scored 12. The All-Tournament team was rounded out by Anderson's Stephen Cobb (6'5''-F) and 7-foot-1 Belmont Abbey center Alex Pledger (7'1''-C-87). Barton outrebounded the Fleet 50-40 and shot 44.6 percent, compared to 43.1 for Erskine. Courtesy of Barton Tournament Final: Barton - Erskine 65-52 Tournament Semifinals: Barton - Anderson 88-69 Erskine - Belmont Abbey 69-44 Conf.Carolinas All-Tournament MVP: Bobby Buffaloe of Barton Conf.Carolinas All-Tournament Team Stephen Cobb of Anderson Alex Pledger of Belmont Abbey Brandon Wright (6'2''-G) of Erskine Marko Latinovic (6'7''-F) of Erskine L.J. Dunn of Barton David King of Barton Bobby Buffaloe of Barton
All-Conf.Carolinas 1st
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