Box Score
DALTON, Ga. – A monster day from Franklin Almonte mixed with a 21-point effort from Caterius Evans paced the way for the Roadrunners in a 73-44 rout of Middle Georgia at Mashburn Arena on Saturday afternoon.
 
THE FIRST HALF

• The first 4 minutes of play were even, but the Birds took control after a Sean Cobb jumper at the 15:26 mark for a 9-7 lead.
• Cobb's bucket keyed a 13-1 run that saw the Roadrunners extend the lead to 10 points just short of the midway point in the half.
• A jumper from Franklin Almonte with 8:19 left in the half stretched the lead to 13 points (25-12).
• MGA got their deficit back to single digits before an 8-0 spurt from the Birds capped with a three from Jaelin Ferrell got the lead to 17 points (33-16).
• Jayce Moore and Pierles Brown hit back-to-back three-pointers in the final seconds but the DS lead stayed in double-digits at 11 (33-22) at halftime.

THE SECOND HALF

• Brice Martin did all the work early in the second half for the nights netting 5 quick points to get the score within 6 points (33-27) 3 minutes into play.
• Dalton State's lead was 5 points when Trey Twa hit a three to kickstart a 13-3 run put the lead at 18 points with 11:22 on the clock.
• Middle Georgia kept fighting and cut the DS advantage to 11 points (53-42) after two Brown free throws with 7:23 remaining.
• The Roadrunner defense lockdown after that point closing the game on a 20-2 run that included 4 fastbreak buckets and an emphatic slam from Carterius Evans as they cruised down the stretch for a 73-44 win.

THE REST OF THE STORY
Dalton State (Ga.) improves to (14-8 overall, 9-5 SSAC) with the win, while Middle Georgia falls to (9-11 overall, 5-9 SSAC) with the loss. Franklin Almonte didn't lead the team in points, but had an impressive stat line with 15 points, 13 rebounds, 4 assists, and 3 big blocks in just 19 minutes of action.
 
Carterius Evans led all scorers in points with 21 while also pulling down rebounds and blocking 4 shots. Boubacar Kamissoko had a great day in the backcourt with 14, 7 boards, and 3 dimes. His backcourt mate, Donavan Miller, didn't have the points but set his teammates up in great positions with 9 assists.
 
Pierles Brown led Middle Georgia with 13 points and 6 rebounds. Brice Martin was having a nice game in the losing effort with 10 points in 13 minutes, but found himself in foul trouble and was given a technical foul while on the bench that accounted for his 5^th personal foul early in the second half.

BY THE NUMBERS
DS was 28-for-65 (43.1%) shooting on the day from the field which included a 3-for-20 (15%) statline from behind the arc. The defense did the majority of the work that enabled the 29-point victory, holding MGA to 24.6% (16-for-65) shooting and allowing just 5 three-pointers.
 
The Birds pulled down 49 boards compared to 33 for the Knights and got 17 second chance points and 10 fastbreak points. Dalton State also outscored Middle Georgia 42-16 in the paint.

UP NEXT
Dalton State will have a key two-game road swing up next that begins with a tussle against Blue Mountain on Thursday, February 2. Tip-Off from Blue Mountain, Miss. is scheduled for 8:30 p.m. (ET).
 
GET YOUR TICKETS BEFORE THE GATE! Single game tickets are $12 for reserved section or $5 for general admission and can be purchased online before the game or at https://dsroadrunners.com/sports/2021/2/3/hometown-ticketing.aspx.
 
FIND NEWS AND FOLLOW THE BIRDS: News and updates from Dalton State's men's basketball team is posted on dsroadrunners.com and on Twitter (@DStateBBall), Facebook (@DStateBasketball) and Instagram (dstatebball). Be sure to follow to keep pace with the Birds!
 
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