Dalton State busted out of the gate hot and continued their strong play into the second half to cruise to a 73-52 road win over Middle Georgia State in SSAC play at Morris Gym in Cochran on Saturday afternoon.
Brice Martin of Middle Georgia scored the first bucket of the game for either team on the first shot attempt of the game, but Dalton State responded with a 14-0 run to take a 14-2 lead just under 5 minutes in.
A Champ Dawson layup cut the Roadrunner lead to 7 points (16-9) with 11:35 to go in the half, but DS responded as Darien Cone busted a trey along with buckets from Franklin Almonte and Boubacar Kamissoko to draw the lead out to 14 points (25-11) with just over 9 minutes remaining.
The lead stayed in double-digits for the majority of the period until Pierles Brown hit a three-pointer to get the Knight deficit down to 9 points (32-23) at the 4:15 mark.
Dalton State closed the half outscoring Middle Georgia 10-6 to take a 42-29 lead into the break.
Sean Cobb opened the second period with back-to-back baskets to extend the lead to 17 points (46-29).
Cobb's buckets were the beginning of a 15-3 run which Cobb capped with 15:22 on the clock as the lead stood at 25 points (57-32).
Brad Milliorn hit a trey with 13:04 to go to make the lead 27 points (64-37).
Later, Kamissoko hit a jumper to get the advantage to 29 points (68-39), the largest lead of the day for Dalton State with 11:14 remaining in regulation.
Dalton State kept a lead of 20+ points for the remainder of the contest as they cruised down the stretch for a 73-52 win.
Dalton State (Ga.) improves to (6-4 overall, 3-2 SSAC) with the win, while Middle Georgia State falls to (6-4 overall, 3-2 SSAC) with the loss. Jaelin Ferrell connected on 6 three-pointers to lead the all scorers with 18 points. Boubacar Kamissoko continues his stretch of great play running the point with 12 points, 9 assists, and 4 rebounds.
The front court of Sean Cobb and Carterius Evans combined for 23 points and 17 rebounds. Cobb went for 12 and 9 with Evans recording 11 and 8.
Two Knights scored in double-figures with Pierles Brown pacing Middle Georgia with 17 points and Brice Martin adding 11 points. Jayce Moore pulled down 11 boards and added 6 points in the losing effort.
Dalton State shot a healthy 49.2% (30-for-61) from the field overall and held MG to 30.4% (17-for-56) defensively. The Knights did outrebound the Roadrunners 34-29, but Dalton State doubled Middle Georgia's output in the paint, 32-16.
Middle Georgia turned the ball over 13 times in the contest which led to 16 points for Dalton State. Dalton State committed a season low 6 turnovers and held MG to 9 points off turnovers. The Birds also led in second chance points at 12-9.
A neutral site game is next on the horizon for the Roadrunners as they will travel to Waleska and Reinhardt University to take on Carolina University on Tuesday, December 6. Tip-Off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. at Brown Athletic Center.