The Roadrunners were on point early and often as they built a 24-point halftime lead and never looked back in a 98-74 win over Brewton-Parker (Ga.) in Southern States Athletic Conference action at Mashburn Arena in Dalton on Saturday afternoon.
Two minutes into the game the score was tied at 5-5 after some good offensive play from both teams. The Roadrunners scored the next seven points to jump out to a 12-5 lead. Brewton-Parker got a bucket to cut the lead to 12-7, but Dalton State continued the run to stretch the lead to 12-points at 19-7.
When capped, it was a 14-2 run that lasted six minutes and featured stellar offensive and defensive play from the Roadrunners.
Brewton-Parker countered with four-straight points to cut the lead to seven at 19-11 when the horn for the under 12-minute media blew. Coming out of the timeout, the Roadrunners turned up the heat with a full-court press and extended the lead even further. Kingston Frazier and Randy Bell got after it on the defensive end and turned Baron turnovers into points for the boys in white.
The strong defensive play from Dalton State saw them extend the lead to 17 points, 35-18, by the second media break of the first half. During the stretch, the Roadrunners out-scored the Barons 16-7 and forced 4 turnovers that contributed to six Dalton State points.
Dalton State kept the intensity up as they extended the lead even further. With 2:19 left in the half, Timothy Green found Aaron Burress at the top of the key to get the lead out to 20 at 45-25. The Roadrunners tacked on four more points and held a 24-point lead, 49-25, at the half.
The Barons opened the second half with a three pointer from Myles White to briefly cut into the lead. Dalton State answered back with field goals from Sean Cranney, Sean Chislom, and Raheem England to stretch the lead to 30 points at 58-28. The lead would be the largest for Dalton State on the day.
The Roadrunners continued to be efficient from the field (52.4 %) and never allowed Brewton-Parker to get back into the game. For a short period, the Barons got the DS lead under 20 at 70-51, but the Roadrunners came right back with more buckets from Cranney, Bell, Burress, and Elijah Staley to get the lead back over 20.
Down the stretch, Dalton State kept their foot on the accelerator. Tyler Phillips capped the scoring for the Roadrunners with two free-throws with 37 seconds on the clock as Dalton State picked up their second straight victory with a 98-74 win.
Dalton State improves to (10-6 overall, 5-3 SSAC) with the win, while Brewton-Parker falls to (1-12 overall, 0-6 SSAC) with the loss. Four Roadrunners scored in double-figures led by Sean Cranney with 26 points. He added four assists and three rebounds, while going a perfect 13-for-13 from the charity stripe.
Randy Bell poured in 14 points along with seven rebounds. Aaron Burress equaled Bell with 14 points and added six boards. Sean Chislom was the last Roadrunner in double-figures with 11 points.
Brewton-Parker was led in scoring by Myles White with 14 points and six rebounds. Devon Briggs-White added 11 points, while Jakari McCombs was the last Baron in double-figures with 10 points.
The Roadrunners edged the Barons on the boards 38-36, but Brewton-Parker held the advantage in bench points, 39-33. Dalton State was efficient from the field connecting on 32-of-59 attempts from the field. The Roadrunners also forced 21 turnovers on the defensive side of the ball that turned into 29 points.
Dalton State will hit the road for three tough conference games next week. The first will be on Thursday, January 17 when they visit the Wolf Pack of Loyola (La.). Tip-Off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. (CT).
Fill the Feeder update:
For the second straight season, the Fill the Feeder game was a huge success for the Dalton State Birdfeeder with over 3,000 items donated as well as a monetary donation from Michael Hewatt and Farmers Insurance. Saturday's men's basketball game vs. Brewton-Parker totaled 775 items for the Birdfeeder.