Burton celebrated for setting men's basketball wins record as 'Dogs crush Lions

BARBOURVILLE, Ky. - On a night where he was celebrated for breaking the Union College men's basketball all-time wins record, Kevin Burton felt compelled to shine the spotlight on the man whose record he surpassed.

Since taking over the Bulldog program in 2012, Burton has developed a strong friendship with Pete Moore, who previously won a program-record 253 games at Union over two different stints ranging from 1962-83. His record stood until Nov. 19 of this year, when Burton earned win 254 with a victory against Point.

As he so often does when achieving a career milestone, Burton placed a call to his fried to commemorate the occasion.

"We were both laughing because neither one of us knew that I was at that number," said Burton, who received a celebratory plaque from Union President Marcia Hawkins and Athletic Director Tim Curry before a Wednesday game against Bryan. "He's just very appreciative we were still remembering him."

Moore's influence has been felt in the locker room as well, as he's frequently served as a guest speaker to Bulldog teams. Burton says one story players always seem to gravitate to is Moore's recruitment of Ron Brack, the first African-American player to be recruited to Union.

And while it's now his name in the school record books, Burton says he and every other Union coach is well behind Moore in terms of impact.

"Pete Moore has meant more to Union than any basketball coach will ever mean to Union," Burton said. "The time he spent here, all the impactful things he did for our college off the basketball court ... I'm honored to even be mentioned with him. It's almost a humbling and embarrassing thing because I think so much of him that people don't need to think I've surpassed him. Yes, we've racked up a lot of wins, had some great teams. But to me he's the all-time great."

As for Wednesday's game, Burton earned career win No. 256 with ease, as five different Bulldogs scored in double-figures in a 92-61 win over Appalachian Athletic Conference rival Bryan at Robsion Arena.

Stealing the show Wednesday was Will Bailey, who led all players with career-high 19 points and snagged the night's biggest highlight late in the second half when he slammed home an alley-oop from Jordan White, who fed Bailey for the monster dunk off the backboard.

Starters Markelle Turner, Israel Farrington and Deonte Douglas scored 18, 17 and 14 points respectively while DJ Mercer had his second-straight double-figure performance off the bench, scoring 13.

The 17th-ranked Bulldogs improve to 9-1 and are a perfect 7-0 in the AAC. They return to action Saturday with a 4 p.m. road matchup against Milligan.