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Dalton State College Athletics

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Franklin Almonte
63
Loyola LOYOLA 7-15, 6-9
65
Winner Dalton State (GA) DALTON S 14-8, 10-5
Loyola LOYOLA
7-15, 6-9
63
Final
65
Dalton State (GA) DALTON S
14-8, 10-5
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Loyola LOYOLA 32 31 63
Dalton State (GA) DALTON S 33 32 65

Game Recap: Men's Basketball | | Erik Simpson, Sports Information Director

Birds Hold Off Late WolfPack Charge For Tenth Conference Victory


DALTON, Ga. – Dalton State was challenged throughout but got some key stops late with some stout defense to hold on for a 65-63 win over Loyola (La.) in SSAC action at Bandy Gym on Thursday night.
 
THE FIRST HALF
  • Dalton State got off to a good start with buckets from Donavan Miller, Matt Compas, and Harrison Eghan early, but Loyola stuck around catching the lead on four occasions in the first 10 minutes as the score stood 15-14 Roadrunners at the 10:30 mark.
  • An and-1 play from Alex Hammond briefly gave Loyola the lead again (19-17) just under two minutes later, but Compas answered with a jumper that keyed an 8-0 Roadrunner run that included back-to-back treys from Miller to make it a 25-19 game.
  • Over the next 6 minutes, the Pack outscored the Birds 13-5 to re-take the lead, 32-30.
  • Compas and Eghan managed to get to the foul line in the final minute, hitting 3-of-4 shots to give DS a 33-32 lead at halftime.
THE SECOND HALF
  • Great defensive play was on display as neither team allowed the other to get away as it remained a four-point game in favor of the Roadrunners (45-41) with 12:35 remaining.
  • Minutes later, Eghan hit a clutch three-ball to make it a 7-point game before Loyola reeled off six-straight to make it a one-point game (48-47) with 7:47 to go.
  • For every Loyola basket, Dalton State would answer as the Birds maintained a slim lead (58-56) with 3:17 left.
  • Three-straight free throws from Miller made it a 6-point game with 34 ticks on the clock.
  • Things got interesting in the closing possessions as Leonard Jackson hit a key three-pointer for the WolfPack to make it a 3-point game.
  • DS missed their next 3-of-4 from the line leading to a situation where Loyola had a chance to tie or win the game in the final 7 seconds.
  • Franklin Almonte stepped up to cut off a drive into the paint that caused the Pack to throw the ball away with the buzzer sounding as the ball hit the painted area.
THE REST OF THE STORY:
Dalton State (Ga.) improves to (14-8 overall, 10-5 SSAC) with the win, while Loyola (La.) falls to (7-15 overall, 6-9 SSAC) with the loss. Donavan Miller led the Birds with 23 points and 3 assists. Matt Compas added 17 points and 4 rebounds as the only Roadrunners in double-figures. Miller played all 40 minutes with DS limited in the backcourt.
 
Franklin Almonte and Harrison Eghan also had key statistics, each scoring 9 points. Almonte pulled down 9 rebounds, 6 of which came on the offensive glass, while Eghan had 7.
 
Three WolfPack players scored in double-digits, with Milan Mejia leading the way with 22 points and 5 rebounds. Alex Hammond and Leonard Jackson each had 11 points, with Hammond grabbing 4 boards, and Jackson 2.

BY THE NUMBERS
In almost every way, the matchup between the Roadrunners and WolfPack was even. Both squads hit 22 field goals, DS 22-for-54 and LU 22-for-51, and 6 three-pointers. Each team also had 20 points in the paint.
 
The biggest differences in the game were points off turnovers and free throw shooting. Dalton State managed 15 points off 14 Loyola turnovers while holding the WolfPack to 7 points off turnovers. The Birds sit at the bottom of the league in shooting from the charity stripe but hit 15-of-20, with the Pack going 13-for-19. It proved to be the difference in a two-point win.

UP NEXT
DS will be on the road for their next matchup when they travel to Montgomery, Ala. to take on Faulkner (Ala.). Tip-Off from Tine Davis Gymnasium is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. (CT).
 
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