Bowling Green hit free throws down the stretch and defeated Ben’s Ford Christian School, 69-53, Tuesday in a District 6AA contest held at Ben’s Ford.

Bowling Green led, 54-46, with 5:15 to go in the fourth quarter.

Ben’s Ford was had some distance to catch up, but the game wasn’t out of reach.

Jordan Barnes, who had 14 points, four rebounds, a steal and an assist, extended the Buccaneers lead to 10 with a pair of free throws at the 5:04 mark.

Bowling Green made a series of passes and K.J. Robertson was fouled after hitting a shot and converted a 3-point play.

Ben’s Ford’s Bryan Johnson, who finished with 18 points, was good for two. It was 59-48 with 3:32 remaining.

Bowling Green then put up eight in a row to end all doubt. Bryan Ottinger split from the line before Brady Goings hit both of his from the charity stripe. Ottinger was good for two more on a field goal. Robertson hit one of two from the line and Barnes was good on two free throws. It was, 67-48, with 1:45 remaining.

Peyton Robbins, who scored six points for the Eagles, hit a three to end the run.

Bowling Green got good play from Robertson and Ottinger.

Robertson had a huge night, scoring 28 points and grabbing 23 rebounds, 18 on the offensive end. He also made four steals, and dished out three assists. Bowling Green had 24 offensive rebounds.

Robertson said they did well with offensive rebounding, but not defensive rebounding.

Robertson said they played well offensively.

“We shared the ball, got a lot of assists to each other. We got a lot of fastbreaks, and we’re going to be pretty good if we keep it up,” Robertson said.

Ottinger finished with seven points, three rebounds and an assist.

Bowling Green coach Pat King praised both players.

“K.J. for us is somebody that’s got to do it all,” King said. “He’ll play a guard, he can play the four, which is a stretch for him, he can play the five, which is our big guy down low. He can guard the point guard or the center. He rebounds, he passes, he scores. He does a whole bunch for us. I hold him to a high standard because he’s pretty good.”

“Ottinger is a senior that he knows his role. He’s a very good defensive player, a very good teammate. So they bring a lot of energy both offensively and defensively to our team,” King said.

The game was tied, 14-14, with 2:21 left in the first quarter. Bowling Green took the lead for good with Robertson connecting for two, giving his team a 16-14 advantage.

Ben’s Ford trimmed it to, 16-15, when Robert Gaitan split free throws.

Bowling Green opened the lead late in the first quarter.

Up, 19-15, the Buccaneers went on a 6-0 run by creating turnovers.

Robertson made a steal, passed ahead to Dylan Varnado and Varnado was good on the layup.

Varnado then recorded a steal, which led to a field goal by Barnes and it was 23-15.

Robertson then made another steal and was good for two more with 22 seconds left.

Destin Pittman, who posted eight, made a shot with a second remaining, and the Bucs were in front, 25-17 after one.

Bowling Green outscored Ben’s Ford, 12-8, in the second period and took a 37-25 lead to halftime.

The Buccaneers’ third-quarter lead went to 15 at 43-28, but Ben’s Ford cut it to 45-38 at the 43-second mark.

With the score, 45-33, Ben’s Ford posted five unanswered when Johnson connected for two and three, trimming it to, 45-38.

Barnes closed the period’s scoring with 23 seconds to go and it was, 47-38, as the teams prepared for the fourth quarter.

The Eagles trimmed the lead to eight with 5:15 left, but could get no closer, as Bowling Green had a strong finish in the 69-53 victory.

Ben’s Ford coach Shadd Pittman talked about the game.

“We played with them for about 26 minutes of the 32. They went into that little stall play about halfway through the fourth quarter when we were down by about nine or 10, and we had to force them to shoot free throws,” Pittman said. “K.J. killed us. He was way too active for the way played. We made too many turnovers and mistakes.”

Connor McCain tallied 10 points with two steals, two assists and a rebound. Goings totaled six points, two steals, a rebound and an assist. Varnado and Lane Adams had two points each. Varnado also had a steal and Adams grabbed a pair of rebounds.

Ben’s Ford’s Daniel Pittman scored 12 points while Jeremiah Slocum had five, Adam Mitchell logged three and Gaitan added one.