AUGUSTA, Ga. -- L.J. Dunn’s baseline jumper with 1.8 seconds left gave fifth-seeded Barton a thrilling 80-78 win over Georgia College & State University Saturday night in the quarterfinals of the NCAA Tournament’s Southeast Regional. Dunn’s heroics came after an improbable four-point rally by GCSU in the final 35 seconds. With the win, Barton (25-6) advances to the regional semifinal where they will meet top-seeded host Augusta State on Sunday at 7:30 p.m.. GCSU sees their season come to a close with a 22-7 record.

Down 77-73 with 35 seconds to go, GCSU’s Shaun Keaton hit a three-pointer with 19 seconds to left. On the ensuing foul, Barton’s Jaren Haley hit one of two free throws for a two-point lead. Keaton was then fouled driving down the sideline and hit both of his free throws to tie the game at 78 with 14 seconds left. Barton inbounded and Dunn was left alone on the baseline 12 feet from the hoop.

Dunn led Barton with 21 points, hitting eight of 12 from the field and grabbing six rebounds. Bobby Buffaloe added 17 including a trio of three-pointers, all in the second half. Greg Mammel added 10 points while David King led the Bulldogs with seven rebounds.

Keaton scored the final eight points for the Bobcats over the last 1:07 of the game and led the team with 25 points. Graham Martin added 13 points and a game-high nine rebounds while Ty Rowland put in 10.

GCSU hit three of their first four shots from the field to race out to a 9-4 lead to begin the game. Barton answered with seven straight points including a three from Suggs and tied the game at 14 on a Dunn free throw. The game remained nip-and-tuck for the next three minutes and was tied at 20 until the Bobcats went on an 8-0 run sparked by a Keaton jumper as four different players put in buckets.

Barton cut the lead down to six with 2:42 to play on a layup from David King, but was immediately answered by a Ty Rowland three-pointer to give GCSU a nine-point lead, their largest of the half and they led at the break 37-30.

GCSU increased that lead to as many as nine in the second half, leading 51-42 with under 13 minutes to play when Barton responded yet again with 12-2 run to take their first lead of the half. L.J. Dunn had back-to-back layups followed by a Buffaloe three-pointer to give the Bulldogs the 53-51 lead with 10:59 to play.

The two teams traded the lead eight times over the next seven minutes until a layup from Barton’s Errol Frails put the Bulldogs up 69-67 with 2:27 to go. A Buffaloe three-pointer pushed that to five points and Barton would never trail again.

Barton shot 47% from the field for the game, 65% in the second half. The Bulldogs were nearly unstoppable from long range in the final 20 minutes hitting eight of 10 three-pointers. GCSU hit 48% for the game and drained 22 of 27 free throws. Barton made only nine of their 20 free throw attempts while GCSU was 6-23 from three-point range (.261). (VIEW BOX SCORE)

Game Quotes

GCSU Head Coach Terry Sellers
"I thought Barton played extremely well in the second half, you have to give them a lot of credit, they played really hard and really well. We had a few turnovers that cost us, but you have to tip your hat to Barton, it was a hard fought game, but they made the play that counted."

On his 2008-09 team:
"This has been one of the best groups we have had at Georgia College, they have been a fine group of young men to work with. These guys have hung in there all season long, they are high character young men, and they are just aren’t going to quit, and they sure didn’t tonight."

On the second half play:
"I thought we got more out of our press in the first half, and it looked like they were hitting some easy shots, so we got out of the press. I was really disappointed that defensively we didn’t get out on shooters, but give them credit for knocking down shots."

On the seniors:
"This team might be extra special, they worked hard all season long and it will be one of my favorite teams from now on. You have to give Shaun Keaton and Ken Kemp credit, they are both super men on and off the court."

Barton Head Coach Ron Lievense
"Our team has shown a lot of heart lately, I thought this was a great team effort, and our guys hit some big shots. They have showed tremendous heart all year long and hopefully we aren’t done yet."

On the final Basket:
"It was a play we put in place for the conference tournament, and hadn’t run it tonight, we wanted to get L.J. (Dunn) the ball, and it worked perfectly, and he chose to take the shot and we are really thankful it went in."

On GCSU’s pressure:
"Nothing was easy, and nothing is easy against great teams, we were struggling to get in a flow, but we kept thinking if we could hit a shot and get some positive flow going great things will happen."

On facing Augusta State:
"You are talking about a tremendous basketball team, they have great size which is something we don’t have, so we will have to work hard defensively. This is going to be a very tough game, but we are glad to take the underdog role and we know they are coached well and have great talent.

Barton’s Forward L.J. Dunn:
On the final play:
"In the huddle we knew we hadn’t ran the play the whole game so we knew they hadn’t seen it, and I was so wide open that I didn’t know whether to shoot it or take it in, and I was able to knock it down."

On the final minutes:
"I just wanted to keep my focus, I wanted celebrate, but the game’s not over until the zeros are on the clock. They could have easily hit a shot to send us home, but we kept our focus the entire game."

Barton’s Forward Eddie Kershaw
On making shots late:
"I needed to make something happen, my teammates have encouraged me to go up stronger all year, and our season was on the line so I was trying to give us a spark."

On the victory:
"I have never been in any games like this, there is a lot of talent in this region, so it felt good to play well."

Barton’s Guard Bobby Buffaloe:
"My teammates kept telling me to shoot it, so I decided to start shooting some more and Greg (Mammel) found in me in the corner and I was able to knock it down for the lead. I just got in a rhythm and starting shooting."