Barnes Makes History As Cats Cruise to 95-83 Victory.
The Bobcats took on the Eagles of Clark State this Saturday at home looking to start OCCAC play 2-0 and they did just that, defeating Clark State by a final score of 95-83. Jalen Barnes was, to put it lightly, sensational. The transfer guard finished the contest with 30 points, 25 of which came in the first half, and was so hot from behind the arc his mere presence had fans in attendance sweating. Barnes finished the night 11-18 from the field including a new school record 8-12 from 3 point land. His 8 made 3s on the night strips the title away from Desean Reed who finished 7-13 from 3 in his school record 38 point performance against Columbus State in January of 2020.
The first half was all Jalen Barnes as he led all scorers with 25 points going 7-9 from deep and 9-12 from the field. Perry Fullum did his part pitching in 11 while shooting 5-7 from the field and hitting a 3 of his own, while Tareeq Roper had a 2 point basket and 6 assists. Even with Barnes and Fullum hitting shots from all over the floor, the Eagles were able to hang pretty tight to the Bobcats as they only led 46-42 with 45 seconds left in the half. The Bobcats showed once again how quickly they can score as Barnes knocked down 2 threes in transition as the seconds ticked away to push the Bobcat lead to double figures going into the half with a score of 52-42. The 52 point first half is, unsurprisingly, the most points the Cats have scored in a half of basketball this season.
Coming out of the break the defensive game plan for the Eagles was pretty apparent as they had a man glued to Barnes, but the rest of the Cats were able to answer the call. Tareeq Roper shot a perfect 5-5 from the field including 2 threes and a pair of free throws to lead BSC with 14 points in the second half. Larry Reynolds had 11 points in the final 20 minutes of play, and Jaelyn Terrell added 7 of his own to put all of the Bobcat starters in double figures on the night. The Cats cruised through the second half maintaining a 10+ point lead the rest of the game to move to 2-0 in OCCAC and remain at the top of the conference standings with the 95-83 victory. They will look to make it 3-0 on Wednesday Dec 7th as they travel to Toledo to take on the Express of Owens College.
