Box Score

 
The Dalton State basketball team came out on fire Saturday afternoon, then held on for a 74-68 victory over Brewton-Parker (7-14, 3-9) at Mashburn Arena. The defending NAIA National Champion Roadrunners (14-7, 6-5) are now on a two-game win streak.

Rudy Winters hit a bucket in the paint with 8:57 left in the half to put Dalton State up by 21.  He then connected on the first of two free throws to give the Roadrunners a 41-19 advantage with 8:20 to go before intermission. The Barons outscored the hosts 9-2 the remainder of the half, but Dalton State led at the break, 43-28.

In the second half, back-to-back scores by Winters and Marcel Hawkins put the Roadrunners back up by 19 (47-28) before the Barons scored 11 straight to make the score 47-39. The visitors continued the come back until pulling to within two at 68-66 with one minute remaining. Two Deshawn Ruffin driving layups only seconds apart gave Dalton State a 73-66 advantage. Malik Wright scored the final Barons basket with 19 seconds left (73-68). Reed Dungan then put the icing on the cake with a free throw.

Dalton State hit 10 of 18 shots from beyond 3-point range including Jordan Bowling's 7 of 9. Bowling scored a game high 26 points and added seven rebounds. Marcel Hawkins was Mr. Inside, scoring 19 points and grabbing eight boards. Winters scored 11. Ruffin and Dungan added seven and six points respectively.

"Jordan really got us going offensively," said Coach Tony Ingle. "He was shooting the lights out. We just kept calling his number and they started cheating out. Then we went to Marcel. He was a great counter when he started scoring in the paint. Defensively, Marcel was really a hero today particularly in the first half. He really had a tough matchup, but he really responded. Jalen Robinson, our normal five man who starts and plays for us, wasn't able to play because of an ankle injury, but Marcel really stepped up big."

Ingle said the slow Brewton-Parker start could also be a result of their trip up from Mount Vernon, Ga. "I was very proud of the lead and I think a lot of it was because of their bus ride up here today. They just got here about 45 minutes before game time so I think they still had a little bus ride in 'em. They are a good basketball team and I'm glad we took that lead because in basketball you have game slippage and you have spurtability. We had way too many turnovers for us. A lot of it is self-inflicted, but all in all the guys found out how to win and finish the game when it was really tight at the end."

The Roadrunners out rebounded the Barons 39-29, but Brewton-Parker's Thierry Lynn pulled down a game high 11 rebounds. Add his 19 points for a double-double. Wright scored 17 and Sayquan Chambers, 15. Dalton State hit 71.4% from the foul line (10-14) to the Barons' 40% (4-10). Brewton-Parker only hit 30.8% from outside (4-14).  

Voorhees (SC), an NAIA independent, will invade Mashburn Arena Tuesday for a 6:00 p.m. tip-off against Dalton State.
 
NAIA Saturday Night NAIA Basketball Scoreboard:
Dalton State 74, Brewton-Parker (Ga.) 68
(19) William Carey (MS) 86, Blue Mountain (MS) 66
Faulkner (AL) 81, Auburn-Montgomery (AL) 71
Martin Methodist (TN) 89, (RV) Mobile (AL) 58
Bethel (TN) 87, Loyola (LA) 77
Middle Georgia State 81, Coastal Georgia 76
(9) Talladega (AL) 94, Edward Waters (FL) 70
(5) Georgetown (KY) 90, (18) Campbellsville (KY) 69
(RV) Cumberlands (KY) 75, Life (GA) 58
(24) Dillard (LA) 115, Tougaloo (MS) 97
(17) Tennessee Wesleyan 89, Bryan (TN) 86
(2) LSU Alexandria 79, (22) Our Lady of the Lakes (TX) 76


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