Barton College Tickets

Details of Barton College and the Ticket Luck value

It was definitely a David and Goliath story, said Ron Lievense, the basketball coach at Barton College in Wilson, N.C., a school of about 1,100 students. We're a small school that nobody believed could win. But our group of young men played unselfish basketball, bought into our defensive system, and played as a team, something very few teams do these days. I'm just really proud of what this team accomplished together, against great odds, for Barton College and the entire Wilson (N.C.) community. Member of the Carolinas-Virginia Athletic Conference, Barton College participates in twelve different varsity sports for men and women. Its mascot is the Bulldog.

On March 24, 2007, the men's basketball team won the NCAA Men's Division II Basketball Championship. The team, with a 31-5 record in 2006-07, defeated the previously undefeated defending champion Winona State Warriors, who held a Division II-record 57-game winning streak at the time. Winona State looked to repeat as champs, taking a 74-67 lead with 45 seconds remaining. Barton's Anthony Atkinson then scored 10 points in the last 39 seconds, including the winning lay-up at the buzzer for a 77-75 victory. The Bulldogs were nominated for their dramatic rally in the final minute of the 2007 NCAA Division II National Men's Basketball Championship game March 24th against top-ranked defending national champion Winona State (MN), with a NCAA D-II record 57-game winning streak.

In recognition of its improbable, come-from-behind victory in the NCAA Division II Men's Basketball Championship, the Barton College Bulldogs were saluted, but did not win, during ESPN's prestigious ESPY Awards celebration. Nominated in the category of Best Finish, the Bulldogs were up against stiff competition for the award, including the Dodgers' dramatic win over the Padres (baseball), Kevin Harvick's win at the Daytona 500 (NASCAR), and race horse Curlin beating the Triple Crown-hopeful at this year's Preakness (horse-racing). The category winner was the Los Angeles Dodgers, who hit four straight home runs in the ninth inning to tie San Diego, then won in extra innings.

The Bulldogs never stopped believing that they could do the unthinkable, and their faith in each other, heart, and spiritual strength, helped them reach the top of the mountain, said Barton President Dr. Norval Kneten. After falling behind 74-67 with 45 seconds left in the Mass Mutual Center in Springfield, Mass., Barton mounted one of the most spectacular comebacks in basketball history. The hero was Anthony Atkinson, a hometown All-American point guard, who swished Barton's last 10 points in a 39-second span. His winning shot came at the buzzer. Barton College won the game and the championship 77-75. We were preparing for this game all season long, said Anthony Atkinson. We brought our discipline, confidence, and powerful beliefs with us every step of the way?and it made the final difference during the championship.

This is a special moment for Barton College and for the whole community of Wilson, N.C. The ESPY Awards ceremony took place at the famous Kodak Theater in Los Angeles. Thousands of celebrities from the entertainment, sports, and political communities attended the event, while more than 10 million are expected to view the show 9 p.m. Sunday night when ESPN broadcasts the ESPYs. The autograph session for the Barton College men's basketball team has been re-scheduled for Thursday, April 26 at Wilson Gymnasium. The Barton College men's basketball team practiced in the Mass Mutual Center has been introduced to local and state dignitaries and visited the Shriner's Hospital to play with the children there.It has been interviewed by numerous media and has participated in the lavish NCAA D-II Elite Eight Men's Basketball Tournament banquet in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.

The 28-5 Bulldogs, CVAC and East Region champs and winners of 18 straight games, take on the Grand Valley State Lakers, who are 29-4 and champs of the Great Lakes Regional, in the Elite Eight's opening game in the MassMutual Center, Springfield, MA. Barton is making its second straight Elite Eight appearance, having lost in OT last season in the quarterfinals to eventual champ Winona State, who has now won a record 55 straight games. This is Grand Valley's first Elite Eight appearance.