Tennessee Wesleyan 89 Dalton State 87 - Dalton State College Athletics

Dalton State College Athletics

Roadrunners Fall To Bulldogs in Athens

Athens, TN. – The Bulldogs of Tennessee Wesleyan College came from 13 points down in the second half to snap Dalton State's winning record, 89-87.

Tennessee Wesleyan opened up their largest lead of the night, 5 points twice at 17-12 and 24-19, early in the game. The Roadrunners took the lead back at 37-36. The Bulldogs led by three at the half, 50-47.

Dalton State took command early in the second half to go ahead by 13 (72-59) and maintain the lead at 80-67 with 13:01 remaining. TWC kept chipping away to tie the game at 84. They took a 87-84 lead on Dante Turnipseed's three pointer with 1:54 remaining.

The Roadrunners tied the game at 87 with 1:07 remaining. The Bulldogs then won the game on Preston Russell's shot with nine seconds remaining, his only points in the game.

"I couldn't be more proud of the effort and composure of our team," Coach Tony Ingle said after the game. "It was amazing how they battled back. We had a chance to win."

The game saw nine lead changes and eight ties. "We fought hard and hit big shots time after time," Ingle said. "That Shannon Smith kid made an unbelievable block on what would have been Ricky Sears second game winning shot at the buzzer in two of the last three games. If he doesn't block that shot, we win. These games on the road have been close and when you play with fire sometimes you will get burned."

Dalton State was out rebounded 45 (16 O - 29 D) to 34 (13 O – 21 D), but improved on their free throw shooting… 22 of 30 from the foul line (73.33%) compared to TWC's 63.33%. "It was great to see us shoot well from the foul line," said Ingle.

Tennessee Wesleyan's Tyler Burse led all scorers with 30 points and 12 rebounds. Turnipseed had 20 points and 8 assists.

The Roadrunner's Preston Earle had 21 points, 8 rebounds, and 4 assists. Ricky Sears scored 15 points. Dylan Smith scored 14 points, Nathan Terry and Sean Tate each scored nine. Demetrice Jacobs had eight points and six rebounds. Anthony Hilliard added seven points.

Dalton State (4-1) will now face Bryan College in Dayton, Tn. Saturday at 2:00 p.m. The game will be broadcast live on WBLJ, 1230-AM.

The Birds then return home for a 7:00 p.m. game against Carver College on Wednesday night at the trade center. Tickets are available at the box office.

Tennessee Wesleyan (2-1) is ranked #20 in the NAIA Division II Pre Season Poll. They will play at Trevecca Nazarine University Saturday at 4:00 p.m.

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