Down 12 with under eight minutes to go, Dalton State used a 16-2 second half run to come from behind and defeat Life (Ga.) 83-78 in non-conference action at The Eagles Nest in Marietta on Wednesday afternoon.
Mike White got the scoring started with a three-pointer to give Life an early 3-0 lead. After trading buckets over the next few possessions, D'Anfernee Pugh got loose in the paint and tied the score at 8-8. The Running Eagles answered with a 5-0 run to take a 13-8 lead, but the Roadrunners would battle back.
Sean Chislom, Elijah Staley, and Sean Cranney all got in the mix with baskets as Dalton State took the lead, 17-16.
The game continued to go back and forth in a first half that featured six ties and 14 lead changes. Down 29-28, the Roadrunners looked to take control of the half. Junior Randy Bell would score five straight points to give Dalton State a 33-29 lead with 4:11 remaining in the half. Life responded back with a 6-0 run of their own to retake the lead, 35-33.
The Roadrunners took the lead back after two Cranney free throws with 44 seconds on the clock. An ensuing turnover from Devin Dorsett looked to set Dalton State up for the final shot of the half. Cranney got a look from beyond the arc, but it hit the iron and fell into the hands of Evan Milligan. Milligan passed off to Jay Jay Simpson who took off up court. Waiting for the rest of his troops, Simpson found Milligan on the wing open for three. He hit the shot right before time expired to send the Running Eagles into the half with a 40-39 lead.
The Running Eagles went up by six early in the second half after two Milligan buckets and a three from Dorsett. Dalton State once again chipped away at the lead and with two Bell free throws had cut the lead back to one, 47-46. Two more Running Eagle baskets drew the lead back out to five where it would maintain until the 10 minute mark.
A 9-1 run from Life extended the lead for the Running Eagles to the largest advantage of the game at 12. With the score 71-59 and under eight minutes to go, the Roadrunners started to gain the advantage. Two Kingston Frazier free throws got the deficit back to 10. On the next possession, Cranney found Staley down low to cut the lead to eight. Bell stole the ball two possessions later and cruised down court on a fast break to trim the lead to six.
Milligan converted two free throws to get the lead back to eight at 73-65, but Raheem England matched with a bucket on the next possession to answer. Staley took over down low with six straight points to tie the game at 73-73. Two more Frazier free throws capped the run at 16-2 and gave the Roadrunners a two point lead with 1:55 left to play.
Next trip down court, Milligan got by the defense and made a bucket with a foul. He converted the shot to put Life up one, 76-75. The lead would be short lived as Cranney was fouled while in the act of shooting from behind the arc and went to the line. He knocked down all three to give Dalton State a 78-76 lead. Milligan once again tied the game with another basket in the paint with 55 seconds to go.
Cranney hit a shot on the next possession to give the Roadrunners a two point lead, while Simpson turned the ball over for Life. Bell collected the foul and knocked down one of his two foul shots to extend the lead to three. Another turnover from the Running Eagles followed by a foul sent Bell back to the line to ice the game. This time he converted on both. The final seconds ticked off as Dalton State came away with an 83-78 victory.
Dalton State improves to (6-5 overall, 2-2 SSAC) with the win, while Life (Ga.) falls to (10-5 overall). Dalton State had four players score in double-figures, led by junior Randy Bell with 18 points and six rebounds. Elijah Staley tallied 16 points, while Sean Chislom and Sean Cranney notched 14 and 13 respectively. Chislom added seven rebounds to the stat line, while Cranney dished out four assists.
Evan Milligan led Life with 24 points and seven rebounds, while Devin Dorsett added 23 points and six rebounds. Mike White was the last Running Eagle in double-figures with 10 points.
The Roadrunners once again shot impressively from the field in the second half going a staggering 14-of-20 (70%). For the game, Dalton State shot at a 61.7% clip for compared to 53.4% for Life.
These two teams will see each other again soon, but next time it will be in Dalton as the Roadrunners and Running Eagles will lock horns on Saturday, December 29 at Mashburn Arena. Tip-Off is scheduled for 1:00 p.m.