By Stan Caldwell
stanmansportsfan.com
HATTIESBURG – Dalton State College of Georgia came into Clinton Gymnasium Saturday afternoon carrying a No. 6 ranking in this week’s NAIA Top 25 poll, and looked every bit like a Top 10 team.
The Roadrunners stormed out of the locker room for the second half and ran past the Crusaders 75-67 in a Southern States Athletic Conference men’s game.
Dalton State (17-1 overall, 6-1 conference) won its 10th consecutive game and remained in a first-place tie with Faulkner in the SSAC standings. Carey, which just returned to the Top 25 this week at No. 24, fell to 13-6 and 3-4.
“We had some tough spots in the game where they outplayed us,” said Crusaders head coach Steve Knight. “And one of them was the start of the second half. I think we only had one basket in the first six minutes of the second half.
“They’re really good defensively, and they took us out of all of our (offensive) sets.”
The perplexing thing about the start of the second half for the Crusaders was that they went to the locker room at halftime with the momentum after finishing the first half on a 16-4 run to lead 32-28 at the break.
But the Roadrunners made short work of the Carey lead, outscoring the Crusaders 13-2 in the first five minutes of the second half, extended the run to 20-6, and they did it primarily at the foul line.
Dalton State did not shoot a foul shot in the first half, but finished the game converting 25 of 37 free throws as Carey was whistled for 21 fouls in the second half.
“They frustrated us with their defense,” said Knight. “They’re long, and they were in the gaps. I knew they would bother our smaller guys on the perimeter because of their length.
“We had a couple of charge calls go against us, then Cam (Douglas) got a couple of quick fouls. They did a really nice job taking him out of the game.”
Douglas, a 6-foot-4 senior, came into Saturday’s game as Carey’s leading scorer with 13.9 points per game. But he picked up his fourth foul with 13:55 to play and was a non-factor in the game, finishing with just 2 points.
In fact, none of the Carey starters played well, totaling just 10 points.
“It was hard to find five guys together on the floor at the same time who were playing hard and executing,” said Knight. “I was disappointed. I just felt like we did not have some guys show up today.”
Senior guard Javontae McDavid came off the bench to provide a spark for Carey’s surge in the first half, as the Crusaders rallied from an eight-point deficit.
With WCU trailing 26-18, McDavid hit a 3-point shot, got a fast-break layup and a layup off a drive down the lane, and junior guard Jonathan Floyd also came off the bench to hit a trey with 20.7 seconds left in the half to give Carey its four-point halftime advantage.
Dalton State got the ball to start the second half, and the Roadrunners worked to get a layup by Aaron Burress. On the other end, Carey was called for a shot-clock violation, then a defensive foul that resulted in Burress hitting a pair of free throws to tie the game 32-32.
Marques McGee got a putback layup to briefly give Carey the lead again, but the Crusaders then went almost six minutes before getting another field goal, on a baseline drive by senior Ryan McRaney.
By then, Dalton State led by nine points, 47-38, and the Crusaders never got closer than eight points the rest of the game. DSC led by as many as 13 points in the second half, and any time Carey threatened at all, the Roadrunners either hit a 3-pointer or drew a foul.
The Crusaders also took poor care of the ball, committing 31 turnovers.
Floyd finished with 19 points to lead the Crusaders. McDavid added 15 points and McRaney scored 12 points. Randy Bell led Dalton State with 31 points, including three 3-pointers and 14 of 20 foul shots.
“I think we have an opportunity to be a good team,” Knight said. “But we’ve got to come ready to play every game.”
Carey will return to action Monday for a Martin Luther King Day matinee against Martin Methodist. The Lady Crusaders – who had Saturday off – tip off at 3 p.m., with the men to follow at 5 p.m.
Carey Basketball Summary
Saturday at Clinton Gymnasium
MEN
Dalton State (Ga.) 75, William Carey 67
DSC 28 47 – 75
WCU 32 35 – 67
DALTON STATE (17-1, 6-1 in SSAC): Aaron Burress 6, Kevon Tucker 10, C.J. Perry 11, Sean Cranney 6, Randy Bell 31, Rodney Adjei 2, Dauson Womack 5 (10 rebounds), Igor Stokic 4. TOTALS – FG 21-53 (3FG 8-21), FT 25-37 (75).
WILLIAM CAREY (13-6, 3-4 in SSAC): Cameron Douglas 2, Jartavious Dobbs 1 (8 rebounds), Anthony Jones 3, Dalen Dotson 2, Rodney Mallett 2, Brandon Cranford 3, Jonathan Floyd 19, Marques McGee 4, Ryan McRaney 12, Javontae McDavid 15, Jvari Thigpen 4 (7 rebounds). TOTALS – FG 25-56 (3FG 9-27), FT 8-13 (67).
