A strong first half offensively and defensively from Dalton State saw the Roadrunners take a big halftime lead and cruise in the second half to a 70-43 road win over Mobile (Ala.) in SSAC action at Pharr Gymnasium in Mobile, Ala. on Tuesday night.
It was all Dalton State early as they raced out to a 12-1 lead 5 minutes in. The lead grew to 17 points at 23-6 after a lay-in from Igor Stokic at the 9:29 mark of the half.
An 11-3 run from 8:02 on the clock to 3:45 remaining in the half grew the lead to 26 points (36-10).
Rodley Adjei went 2-for-1 on his own to end the half hitting two treys to put the Birds up 31 points (46-15) at the break.
The start of the second half was a stark contrast to the first half as Mobile opened on an 11-2 run to cut the Roadrunner lead to 22 points (48-26) with 14:22 remaining in regulation.
Gary Jefferson hit some big buckets for Mobile to twice cut the deficit to 18 points, the last of which came with 10:02 on the clock.
Good offense and strong defense down the stretch saw Dalton State widen the gap as they outscored Mobile 16-7 after the 10:02 mark to cruise to a 70-43 victory.
Dalton State (Ga.) improves to (7-5 overall, 2-1 SSAC) with the win, while Mobile (Ala.) falls to (5-8 overall, 0-3 SSAC) with the loss. Three Roadrunners scored in double-figures with Antares Gwyn leading the way with 13 points, 5 rebounds, and 4 assists.
C.J. Perry scored 10 points going 2-for-6 from distance in the game. Marquel Wiggins saw more action in his second game of the year and matched Perry with 10 points of his own. In all, 10 Roadrunners scored and 13 saw action in the game.
Gary Jefferson led Mobile with a 15 point, 3 rebound, and 2 assist stat line. Joshua Williams had 7 points and 6 rebounds while Tadeas Manas pulled down 7 boards.
The Birds shot 54.55% (18-for-33) in the first half while holding the Rams to 25% (4-for-16) in building a 31-point halftime lead. The second half was more even and saw Mobile carry a slight advantage form the floor shooting at a 42.86% (12-for-28) clip compared to 38.1% (8-for-21) for Dalton State.
DS hit two more shots from deep than UM (8-6) and outrebounded the Rams 29-25. Dalton State also committed a season low 8 turnovers and forced 13 from Mobile that turned into 19 points for the Roadrunners.
DS will stay in conference and head to Montgomery, Ala. on Saturday, December 18 to tangle with Faulkner (Ala.). Tip-Off from Tine Davis Gymnasium is scheduled for 12:00 p.m. (CT).