Dalton State backed up its recent rise in the national rankings with a big in-conference road win, defeating #24 William Carey (Ms.) 75-67 at Clinton Gym in Hattiesburg, Ms. on Saturday.
THE FIRST HALF
- The first five minutes were to the Roadrunners advantage as they jumped out to an eight-point lead (13-5) with 15:17 to go in the half.
- William Carey was quick to respond with eight-straight to tie the game at 13-13 just 1:36 shy of the halfway mark of the first half.
- Igor Stokic nailed a basket on the ensuing possession to regain the lead for the Birds.
It began an 11-3 run for the Roadrunners as they extended the lead again to eight points, 24-16, with 4:41 to go.
- The rest of the half belonged to the Crusaders as they reeled off a 16-4 run to close the half and into the break up four, 32-28.
THE SECOND HALF
- Dalton State was quick to get the lead back after halftime with a 13-2 run, nine of which were scored by Randy Bell, to put the Roadrunners up 41-34 at the 15:46 mark.
- The lead crept to double-digits with 12:46 left (47-36) after two Rodley Adjei free throws and never got below eight points again.
- A final three-pointer from Ryan McRaney closed the Carey deficit to eight, but it was too late as the Roadrunners won a crucial SSAC matchup, 75-67.
Dalton State (Ga.) improves to (17-1 overall, 6-1 SSAC) with the win, while #24 William Carey (Miss.) falls to (13-6 overall, 3-4 SSAC) with the loss. Randy Bell once again came up clutch on the road with 31 points and eight rebounds. C.J. Perry (11) and Kevon Tucker (10) combined for 21 points and five of the Roadrunners eight three-pointers, while Dauson Womack picked 10 rebounds off the glass.
Jonathan Floyd led William Carey with 19 points in 27 minutes of play off the bench, including five made shots from distance. Javontae McDavid had 15 points, with Ryan McRaney adding 12 points.
William Carey carried the rebounding advantage, 37-34, but Dalton State forced the Crusaders into 31 turnovers and in turn scored 31 points off turnovers. The Roadrunners also held the advantage in second chance points 20-12.
Points from behind the arc were almost even as Carey hit nine shots and DS hit eight shots. The Crusaders held the edge in bench points (57-42) and points in the paint (30-20).
The most glaring stat of the night comes from the free throw line. In the first half, the Roadrunners did not have one attempt from the charity stripe. The second half was a different story, where the Birds hit 25-of-37 shots.
Another crucial top-25 SSAC matchup is on the horizon for #6 Dalton State as they will next head to New Orleans, La. to take on #17 Loyola (La.) on Monday, January 20. Tip-Off is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. (CT).