Roadrunner Point Guard Sean Tate brings the ball back across court Saturday as the Dalton State Roadrunners win their eighth game
The Dalton State basketball Roadrunners ran their record to 8-1 Saturday with a satisfying 95-82 win at home against Voorhees College from Denmark, SC.
Voorhees (4-3) started the game strong. The Tigers jumped out to a 9-2 lead.
The Roadrunners bounced back to tie the contest a couple of times, but took the lead for the first time on a three-point shot by Demetrice Jacobs (27-25) with 6:50 left in the half. Dalton never trailed again. The hosts had a 13-point lead at the half, 48-35.
The Roadrunners continued to build on that lead. The largest margin of the night, 28 points, came when Raheem Mosley hit a couple of free throws at the 11:49 mark of the second half.
The Tigers made a couple of runs in the second half , but Dalton came away with the 13 point victory.
“It’s like that guy in the Xerox commercial who looks up and said ‘it’s a miracle’,” Roadrunner coach Tony Ingle said after the game.
Ingle was asked about starting the school’s first ever four-year basketball season with an 8-1 record and one blocked shot from being unbeaten.
“It’s a miracle,” he repeated. “We’ve worked hard in conditioning, in putting things in… we’re very fortunate, we’ve been very lucky.”
Of course, luck is when hard work and preparation meets opportunity. During the early season, the coaching staff is looking to the future. “We’re trying to build debt and getting some people playing time,” said Ingle.
Ricky Sears led Roadrunner scorers with 24 points. He was 9 of 10 from the free throw line. Anthony Hilliard scored 20; Sean Tate scored 17 and went 10 of 12 from the charity stripe; Preston Earle added 9 points; Demetrice Jacobs 8; Raheem Mosley 8; and three points each from Desmond Phillips, Dylan Smith, and Galen Smith.
Alan Dantzler of Voorhees had a game high 35 points and 13 rebounds. The Tigers out-rebounded Dalton 51-49.
In the early game of the Roadrunner Booster Club Founders’ Classic, Cumberland University (4-0) from Lebanon, TN got by Morris College (1-7) from Sumter, SC 73-69.
Alex Flagler from Atlanta led the winning Bulldogs with 26 points.
Dalton State travels to Jacksonville, AL on Friday afternoon to face NCAA Division I opponent Jacksonville State University at Pete Mathews Coliseum. Scheduled tip-off is 1:00 p.m. central. That is 2:00 p.m. our time.
The next home game for the Roadrunners will be on Tuesday, November 26 at 7:00 p.m. Auburn at Montgomery will visit the Trade Center. The Warhawks are members of the NAIA’s Southern States Athletic Conference.