Beau Barney's hot shooting night lifts IMPACT Basketball to close win

Barney

IMPACT Basketball, the two-time defending champs in the Westminster Open League, did not have the start of the season they were anticipating. They opened the season with a 68-54 loss to Sho Nuff, matching the amount of losses they have had over the course of the past two seasons, where they complied a record of 21-1 in that span.

They have responded with two straight wins, with both of them coming by only two points. They defeated Oh Boy 91-89 in Week 2 and they defeated Tha Crew 84-82 last night. The one consistent thing they can rely on this season is the play of Beau Barney, who has been the leading scorer in each of IMPACT’s first three games, scoring 22, 29 and a season-high 39 last night.

Barney absolutely torched Tha Crew last night, as he shot 13-19 from the field, 9-13 from deep and 4-5 from the free-throw line to get to those much-needed 39 points. He also had seven rebounds and three assists to help hand Tha Crew their first loss of the season.

Barney’s performance last night was by far his best game of the season, which is saying something, because he was already off to a great start. Through three games, he’s averaging 30/7/3.3, shooting 53% from the field and 46% from deep.

I would be remiss to not mention what Jordan Michelson and what he did last night. He had 15 points and 16 rebounds on 6-11 shooting. That’s a solid performance, despite the loss. He responded to his team’s first loss of the season by absolutely crushing the Flint Michigan Tropics with 28 points, 29 rebounds and seven assists on 13-15 shooting, helping Tha Crew pick up a 126-96 win. Sheesh.