Roadrunners win seventh straight

Published 10:44 pm Monday, December 7, 2015

Dalton State College basketball kept its hot streak alive at the trade center on Monday night, winning its seventh consecutive game with an 85-70 victory over Hiwassee College. The Roadrunners (7-2) also stretched their home winning streak to eight games, dating back to last season.

Jordan Bowling was the leading scorer with 24 points, but saw his streak of six consecutive double-doubles come to an end as he grabbed six rebounds. Bowling started the game very hot, making his first four 3-point attempts and scoring 19 points in the game’s first 10 minutes. As he cooled off in the second half, the other starters stepped up and all five ended up scoring in double figures.

“It took a while to get used to playing without Ladaris Green and Sean Tate and Preston Earle,” Bowling said of three senior starters from last year’s team. “But I think everyone has figured out their role and we’ve started playing really good. I got off to a really good start tonight but I didn’t score any more and we probably would have lost if those others guys didn’t step up.”

Hiwassee (4-8) jumped out to an early lead thanks to some hot shooting. The Tigers shot over 65 percent through the first eight minutes, but Bowling kept Dalton State within five. Hiwassee led 21-20 at the first media timeout, but from there the Roadrunners went on a 14-3 run to take a 10 point lead and led 39-32 at the half.

“They played well and shot the ball very well in the first half,” Dalton State coach Tony Ingle said. “Our guys have final exams this week so they have been studying hard and I thought their focus wasn’t quite as sharp in the first half. We got a lot better in the second half and we shot the ball really well to build a lead.”

Dalton State opened the second half on an 15-6 run to quickly stretch the lead out to 16, but the key was defensive pressure. The Roadrunners forced 21 turnovers, which led to 20 points.

Taking the lead on the defensive side of the ball was senior guard Jamaine Burrey, who came into the game ranked sixth in the nation in steals per game (2.63). Burrey had five steals in this game — while he also added 16 points and seven rebounds — and the Roadrunners had 14 as a team..

“They average around 10 steals per game and they only got seven tonight,” Ingle said. “We thought that would be one of the keys of the game. For us to get 14 steals was a big difference.”

Bowling said Burrey has taken on a role that one of his other former teammates excelled at last season.

“Jamaine has been our go-to defender this year,” Bowling said. “We needed someone to step into that role because last year Anthony (Hilliard) was the guy who always guarded their best player. This year that’s Jamaine and he’s been incredible.”

Easy points in transition and making 11 of 21 from 3-point range allowed the Roadrunners to build the lead as high as 24 points in the second half. Hiwassee got the margin back down as low as 14 late in the game, but the Roadrunners were able to cruise to an easy victory.

Forward Marcel Hawkins had 14 points and five rebounds, while Corey McDonald added 11 points. Point guard Deshawn Ruffin had a very good game and notched 11 points, five assists and three steals.

Bowling pointed out that Ruffin has exceeded his expectations throughout the season and that Monday night was the latest example.

“He’s one of my best friends and even I didn’t realize he was going to be as good as he’s been,” Bowling said. “Replacing Sean Tate is tough and I wouldn’t wish that on anyone. He still has some things he’s working on but he’s done great so far and was big for us tonight. He does a good job of leading the team.”

The Roadrunners have an 11-day break as they finish final exams before welcoming Cumberland University (Tenn.) and University of the Cumberlands (Ky.) to the trade center for the Roadrunner Booster Club Classic Dec. 18-19.