Dalton State made it two-in-a-row with a 77-59 win over Brewton-Parker (Ga.) in SSAC basketball action at Bandy Gym in Dalton on Saturday afternoon.
THE FIRST HALF
- Marquel Wiggins got the scoring started and a quick 2-0 lead for the Roadrunners.
- Two-straight buckets from B-P gave them the lead at 4-0, but the Birds tied it back up with an Antares Gwyn basket at the 17:10 mark.
- The Barons tied it up three more times before taking the lead back briefly at 13-12 with 12:25 remaining in the half.
- Back-to-back trey's from Aleksandar Pantelic and Igor Stokic saw the Birds pull out a five-point lead (18-13), but the Barons answered with two-straight three's of their own retake the lead, 19-18 with 8:12 on the clock.
- The lead swapped hands three more times over the next five minutes before the Roadrunners ended the half with a 6-0 run to take a 29-23 into halftime.
THE SECOND HALF
- Brewton-Parker opened the half with five-consecutive points to cut the lead to one, 29-28.
- DS maintained a small lead, but a 6-0 run from the Barons saw them pull ahead by three (40-37) with 14:28 left to play.
- An 8-0 run keyed by the play of Wiggins was the response as Roadrunners gained back the lead (45-40) and began to take control of the game.
- A second three-ball from A.J.
Hassell coupled with a three-point play from Aaron Burress extended the Dalton State lead to 11 points (55-44) just past the halfway mark of the half.
- B-P cut the lead to six with 7:19 left, but Hassell hit two more from distance, while Wiggins owned the paint to get the lead up to 18 points (69-51) with 3:55 remaining.
- DS cruised down the stretch to move to 2-0 in SSAC play with a 77-59 victory.
THE REST OF THE STORY
(RV) Dalton State (Ga.) improves to (2-4 overall, 2-0 SSAC) with the win, while Brewton-Parker (Ga.) falls to (2-8 overall, 0-2 SSAC) with the loss. Marquel Wiggins had a monster 22-point second half the lead the Roadrunners with 26 points and 3 rebounds.
A.J. Hassell hit 3 three's in the second half to collect 14 points and 6 rebounds of his own. Igor Stokic was the last Roadrunner in double-figures with 10 points and pulled down 7 boards.
John Allen led Brewton-Parker with 15 points and 6 assists. Nic Pullum added 11 points and 4 rebounds as the last Baron in double-figures.
BY THE NUMBERS
The Roadrunners owned the lane after being outrebounded on Thursday. Dalton State pulled down 37 boards compared to just 24 for Brewton-Parker. The Birds also held a 10-point advantage in points in the paint, 32-22.
DS scored 18 points off 13 B-P turnovers while the Barons scored 16 points off 18 Dalton State turnovers. The Roadrunners took control in the second half by going 18-for-33 (54.55%) from the field and 7-of-8 (87.5%) from the charity stripe.
UP NEXT
(RV) Dalton State will be back in action on Tuesday, January 12 when they start a three-game road swing with a matchup against #16 Faulkner (Ala.). Tipoff at Tine Davis Gym in Montgomery, Ala. is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.
Seating capacity at Bandy Gym remains at 20% and is limited to family members and guest of participating Dalton State student-athletes and coaches. No tickets are allotted for sale to the general public.