National champ Barton holds off gutsy Saints
STAFF REPORTS

Sophomore guard Aaron Suggs bailed out the Barton College men's basketball team in a big way Saturday night.

The defending NCAA D-II national champions, who trailed for most of the game and shot a paltry 31.6 percent from the floor, found themselves tied 52-52 with 32 seconds left. After two missed fieldgoal attempts, Suggs held the ball for the last shot, broke to the right side of the lane and elevated for a 15-foot jumper in traffic that rolled around the rim and fell in with 1.1 seconds remaining.

After a timeout, Limestone got off a desperation shot from half court that missed its mark.

The victory lifted the league-leading Bulldogs to 10-4 overall and 6-1 in Conference Carolinas while Limestone slipped to 2-8 and 0-5 in the league.

The Saints came out smoking in the first half and raced to a 23-8 lead with 8:56 remaining before intermission. An aggressive 3-2 zone gave the Bulldogs fits. But when Limestone went to a man-to-man, the Bulldogs came roaring back and closed within 28-27 at the break.

Barton, which hit just 24 percent of its shots in the first 20 minutes, did not have its first lead until the 13:13 mark of the second half. The two teams traded leads for the remainder of the game.

Marcus Williams scored with 1:56 left to give the Saints their last lead at 52-50. Barton countered on a layup by Brian Leggett off an Errol Frails assist at 1:46.

Limestone misfired on the ensuing possession, but Barton got three chances to win, and Suggs cashed in when it counted the most.

Suggs, who was playing on a bad ankle, finished with seven points, six rebounds and five assists. Leggett, a 6-6 junior, recorded another doubledouble with 10 points and 14 rebounds and 6-3 sophomore forward L.J. Dunn scored 12 points.