No. 18 Cougar men start season 2-0

THATCHER, Ariz. — The No. 18 Barton Cougar men held off No. 15 Eastern Arizona College, 76-73 to win Saturday's 4-team Gila Monster Basketball Shootout.

Aris Rodriguez scored 27 points, with six rebounds and three steals in 32 minutes of action. Jayden Ramirez followed with 17 points. Pavel Ivanov led the bench production chipping in 13 points and six boards.

Barton set the tone with a 48-point first half, using a 27-9 stretch midway through the frame to turn an early 11-point deficit into a 17-point advantage.

A 13-0 Eastern Arizona surge over the final four minutes trimmed the deficit to three with seven seconds remaining, but a missed front-end of a one-and-one left the door open before a top-of-the-key three in the final seconds fell short

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