Faulkner falls at Dalton State 77-60

Dalton State sprinted to a 19-point first-half lead then fought off numerous Faulkner rallies, eventually racing away for a 77-60 victory here Thursday night in a Southern States Athletic Conference battle at the Washburn Arena.

After the Eagles trimmed the big early deficit to five at the half and then got as close as three early in the second half, the Roadrunners steadily pulled away. Faulkner’s chances at a comeback slowly slipped away, as Scott Sanderson’s team struggled shooting and taking care of the basketball. Uncharacteristically, the Eagles shot just 36 percent from the field and turned the ball over 22 times. Dalton State out rebounded Faulkner 32-29.

“We didn’t shoot it, rebound it or take care of it, and we can’t beat good teams when we play like that,” said Sanderson, whose team dropped to 14-13 overall and 8-7 in the league. “To be honest I didn’t see that coming. Dalton State is a good team, and when they get it going they can be really good. Tonight, we just weren’t good at all for the most part.”

Di’mar Hill had 24 points for Faulkner, while Nick Drake added 14. Jalen Robinson paced Dalton State with 18 points and eight rebounds, with Rudy Winters chipping in 14 and Jordan Bowling 13.

The Eagles were slow getting out of the gate, not scoring their first basket until the 15:38 mark of the first half and their second not until five more minutes had ticked off the clock. Meanwhile, Dalton State was getting off to an excellent start, making eight of their first 11 from the field. Rudy Winters’ dunk off of a steal, followed by his long 3-pointer staked the Roadrunners to a 30-11 lead with 6:40 left in the period.

The Eagles then battled back, however, with Hill and Drake combining for 12 points in a 18-4 run to close out the half. The stretch brought Faulkner back to within 34-29 at the break.

Faulkner travels to Cochran, Ga., Saturday afternoon to face Middle Georgia State in another SSAC battle. The game tips off at 3.