The Dalton State men's basketball team got the season off on the right note and on the road no less as they jumped out quick on Bryan and held it together late for an 87-79 win over Bryan (Tenn.) at Summers Gymnasium in Dayton, Tenn. on Wednesday night.
Ian Johnson hit a deep three for Bryan for the first bucket of the game, but the Roadrunners reeled off a 16-0 run over the next 4 minutes to take a 16-3 lead at the 14:47 mark.
Bryan stabilized, but Dalton State continued to play tight defense and make the Lions work for it as they stretched the lead out to 19 points (31-12) after an Antonio Lewis lay-in with 6:20 left in the half.
Solid ball movement and two three-pointers from Dalen Gayles chipped into the lead, but DS ended the half with the Kyoya Sasaki show as he scored 6 of the final 8 points of the 1st period to carry the Birds into halftime with a 41-27 lead.
Two treys and another bucket out of the half keyed an 8-0 Bryan run to start the half and quickly cut the lead to 6 points 41-35. Antonio Lewis answered back with a three-ball of his own to cool the run and mixed with an Omarion Smith layup got the lead back to 9 points (46-37) with 16:39 on the clock.
The Roadrunner steadily built the lead back up and with 11:30 left to play, held a 16-point lead (65-49) following a Kawasiki Ricks three. Sasaki hit free throws, Smith had a rim rocking jam, Lewis got a steal and went all the way for a lay-in, and Qualen Pettus hit a three-ball and before you know it, DS had a 24-point advantage with 8:21 left in the second half.
Bryan managed to whittle away and make it a 15-point game (84-64) with 2 minutes on the clock and tried to make it interesting, getting the deficit to 10 with under a minute left, but Dalton State held on for an 87-79 win.
Dalton State (Ga.) improves to (1-0 overall) with the win, while Bryan (Tenn.) falls to (1-1 overall) with the loss. Three Roadrunners scored in double-digits led by Matt Compas with a game-high 24 points, 5 rebounds, and 2 assists. Antonio Lewis added 19 points and 6 rebounds with Kyoya Sasaki going for 13 points, including 6-of-8 from the charity stripe.
Only two Lions scored in double-digits with Dalen Gales leading Bryan with 16 points. Xavier Fisher scored 15 points as the two combined for 5 rebounds as well. The Roadrunner defense did a great job keeping Josh Baugher and Ian Johnson in check. The two had 45 points and 15 rebounds last season in a 75-71 Bryan win but managed just 17 points and 10 boards this year.
The smaller Birds got it done in the paint, outrebounding the Lions 39-31 overall and grabbing 11 offensive boards, which led to 17 second-chance points. They also outscored BC in the paint 38-34.
DS created 15 turnovers that led to 22 points at the offensive end. Continuing with offense, the Roadrunners shot 49.3% (33-for-67) from the field and hit 10 triples at a 38.5% clip.
The Birds open the home season at Bandy Gym on Monday, November 4 when they host Oakwood (Ala.). Tip-Off is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.