Dalton State College Athletics

Roadrunners Get Ninth Win

Dalton State's basketball team jumped out to a 16 point first half lead and never trailed after that, but the visiting Auburn Montgomery Warhawks (3-6) kept coming back.

The Roadrunners (9-1) eventually won the contest by seven, 75-68, but not without a fight.

"I thought our kids competed; I thought they kept their composure," said Dalton State coach Tony Ingle. "I really liked the way we came out in the first half and established a lead and played well."

"We could have gotten a little more water out of the bucket," added Ingle. "They outscored us by four in the second half, but it's a 40 minute basketball game too. We told 'em at half-time that we had to come out with a good start, but we just didn't do it. Give them (AUM) credit."

Forward Brett Person of Auburn Montgomery, who DS coaches call a "big time athlete," was limited to only 11:19 of playing time. "It helped us when he went on the bench in the first half," said Ingle. "We were able to widen the gap."

"In the second half, he (Person) came up with a steal, he came up with a big rebound," said Ingle. "Just his presence on the floor gave them confidence."

Rebounding was close in the game with the Roadrunners taking a slight advantage on the boards at 40-34. DS hit 9 of 26 from three-point range for 27 points, while the Warhawks hit 3 of 17 for only 9 points. Dalton State only hit 10 of 22 from the foul line (45.5%) while AUM was 15 of 21 (71.4%).

The Roadrunner's Ricky Sears played all but 74 seconds in the game and led DS scorers with 26 points and nine rebounds. "Ricky had a great scoring night," said Ingle. "He kept his composure and he kept the team in the game."

Preston Earle scored 12 and added six rebounds. Anthony Hilliard put in nine point, Sean Tate and Raheem Mosley each scored eight, and Demetrice Jacobs seven.

"We're still working and striving to improve and that's all we can do," Ingle added. A crowd of 1,512 was treated to a battle to the finish.

LaShawn Murphy led Warhawk scorers with 13 points. Paul Harris scored 12 and Quay Davis 10. Dalton High graduate Tristen Harrell only played 3:48 in the first half, but finished the night with nearly 17 minutes of playing time and five points.

Dalton State will entertain Southern Poly Monday night, December 2, at the Northwest Georgia Trade and Convention Center. Tip-off is set for 7:00 p.m.