35 Points From Randy Bell Help Lift Dalton State To 2-Point Victory

  • Friday, February 15, 2019
  • Erik Simpson
Randy Bell scored 35 points and Dalton State needed every one of them as the Roadrunners survived a second half three-point onslaught from Florida College to come away with an 87-85 win in SSAC play at Conn Gymnasium in Temple Terrace, Fla. on Thursday night.

It was a great start for the Roadrunners as they jumped out to a 7-0 lead in the first minute and a half. The Falcons were quick to even the score at 7-7 after a Stefan Nakic-Vojnovic three-pointer at the 17:13 mark.
 
Dalton State responded with a 15-2 run that started with consecutive treys from Randy Bell to give the Roadrunners a 22-9 lead.
During the stretch, Bell had 10 of the 15 points for the Roadrunners. DS continued to hold a steady double-digit lead through the mid-way point of the first half. They drew it out to 15 points at 37-22 with 8:00 after a Raheem England bucket.
 
A second chance basket from England with 6:21 on the clock saw the lead grow to 18 at 41-23, but the Falcons began to knock down shots. A shot from distance from Jacob Roark with 3:52 remaining cut the lead to 13 points at 45-32. Florida College closed the half out-scoring the Roadrunners 9-4, but Dalton State held the lead, 49-41, at the half.
 
The Roadrunners quickly got the lead back to double-digits with a Sean Chislom basket to open the half. FC cut the lead to five at 61-58 after a Kent Hagerty basket in the paint with 14:29 on the clock. Dalton State answered with a 7-0 run to get the lead back to 12 at 68-56 with 12:30 to play.
 
The next six minutes belonged to the Falcons. They used a barrage of three pointers to out-score the Roadrunners 19-6 over the stretch and take a 75-74 lead. Situational basketball took over as Dalton State slowed the pace to limit the hot shooting Falcons possessions.
 
A drive to the hole from Bell gave the Roadrunners the lead, 76-75. A free throw from Andrew Voss tied the game at 76-76, but the Roadrunners put the ball in Bell's hands once again. He drove strong to the basket once again, making the hoop and drawing the foul. Bell made the free shot to put Dalton State up by three, 79-76, with 3:22 remaining.
 
Hagerty missed an attempt from three, which gave the Roadrunners an opportunity to extend the lead. They did just that as Bell nailed a trey to extend the lead to five points, 82-77. The Falcons quickly answered with a three ball from Ethan Smith. A foul on the play sent Smith to the line where he knocked down the free throw. In an instant the lead was cut to two points.
 
Dalton State caught a break on the next possession as Bell was fouled attempting a shot from distance. He converted on all three free throws as the Roadrunners a five-point lead, 85-81, with 1:37 left to play. Another miss from FC forced the Falcons to foul. The foul sent Bell back to the line where he hit 1-of-2 to make the lead six.
 
Two-straight buckets from the Falcons made things interesting as the score closed to a two-point advantage for the Roadrunners at 86-85 with 12 ticks on the clock. A chance to take the lead for Florida College missed its target as the rebound went to Sean Cranney. He made good on one shot, but it gave the Falcons one more shot. The attempt Ethan Smith hit the iron and bounced off as time expired, giving Dalton State a hard fought 87-85 win.
 
Dalton State improves to (17-10 overall, 12-7 SSAC) with the win, while Florida College falls to (12-15 overall, 6-13 SSAC) with the loss. Junior guard Randy Bell had an amazing night from the floor, pouring in 35 points and six rebounds. Bell was 12-of-18 from the field, including going 6-of-9 from behind the arc.
 
Two other Roadrunners scored in double-figures with Sean Chislom adding 15 points and five boards, and Sean Cranney notching 10 points, three rebounds, and three assists. Cranney did his damage from the charity stripe going 7-for-8, while Chislom got off to a slow start, but rounded into form in the second half.
 
Jacob Roark led Florida College with 21 points, going 5-of-12 from deep. Ethan Smith had 18 points and seven assists and also hit five treys on the night. Stefan Nakic-Vojnovic had 12 points and eight boards, with Kerwiken Morpas adding 10 points and five rebounds.
 
Florida College was tough on the boards as usual and held the advantage 36-32. Points in the paint went to the Roadrunners 38-32, while second chance points were a wash with each team having 12. The Falcons threw up 37 3-Pt attempts and knocked down 14. In contrast, Dalton State went 8-for-18 from distance.
 
The Roadrunners will continue their two-game road swing on Saturday, February 16 when they travel to Mount Vernon to battle with Brewton-Parker (Ga.). Tip-Off is scheduled for 3:00 p.m.
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