Anthony Hilliard puts up a shot in traffic against Cal State San Marcos
Kansas City, MO – “That’s what Champions do, they find a way to win,” Dalton State Coach Tony Ingle told the team in the dressing room immediately after the Roadrunners advanced to the NAIA Division I Men’s Basketball Championships Fab Four by beating No. 3 Cal State San Marcos, 80-76, in overtime.
“We went up a great winning tradition team, we got outrebounded very badly, we could not stop them from scoring in the post, we lost a good lead, we were mentally, physically, and emotionally exhausted but you can never underestimate the heart of a champion or the desire to succeed,” said Coach Tony Ingle.
“Our team has created a lot of new basketball fans in Missouri because of their character and hustling team attitude.
They won today because they refused to back down regardless of circumstances and by persevering and keeping the faith when things got tough is a testament to the love for each other.
The regular season Southern States Athletic Conference champions jumped out to 15 point lead (29-14) when Preston Earle drained a three with 7:57 left in the half, but the Cougars rallied back 10 straight points to trail by only five (29-24) at the 5:21 mark.
Dalton State went back up by 12 (38-26) with 2:54 left before intermission, but was outscored 10-2 the remainder of the half to hold on to a 40-36 lead,
The Roadrunners went up by eight again in the second half before the Cougars came back to take a two point lead (64-62) at 4:44. Dalton State was down by two with 11 seconds left when a flagrant foul was called. Sean Tate hit two free throws to tie the game at 70 and send the game into overtime.
Dalton State never trailed in the overtime, Cal State San Marcos trailed by only one point with two ticks on the clock. The Cougars called a time out that they didn’t have and then complained about being penalized. That resulted in a couple of bench technical fouls on the Cougars. Tate went to the line and hit three of four free throws. The Roadrunners outscored CSSM 10-6 in the extra period for the final 80-76 victory.
Four Dalton State players hit in double digits. Anthony Hilliard had 20 points and three assists. Preston Earle scored 19 with five assists. Sean Tate had 17 points and contributed four assists. He was five for six from the “charity stripe”.
The Roadrunners were out rebounded 42 to 27. The big difference was in free throws where DS hit 13 of 21 (61.9%) and the Cougars hit six of 11 (54,5%).
Jordan Bowling scored 16 and pulled down seven rebounds. Jamaine Burrey contributed seven points. Ladaris Green hit a double double Wednesday but was held to one point and three blocked shots Saturday. Raheem Mosley had the Roadrunner’s two other blocks.
Cal State San Marcos (31-4) was led by Julian Camper with a game high 30 points and 13 rebounds. Okachi Okugo added 16 points.
The Roadrunners (30-4) play in the NAIA D-I Men’s Basketball Final Four Monday at 6:00 p.m. CDT against No. 2 Talladega (AL) (32-4).
The championship game is scheduled for 7:02 p.m. CDT on Tuesday. The games are being played at the 9,500 seat Municipal Auditorium.