1. College basketball: Shoot to thrill
By Jeff Rancudo sports@daltoncitizen.com | Posted: Saturday, February 14, 2015 11:54 pm
This morning, and maybe for years and years to come, Dalton State College men’s basketball fans will
not only remember the way their team won but also the significance of the Roadrunners’ 66-61 last-
second home victory over Martin Methodist College on Saturday night at the trade center’s Mashburn
Arena.
Roadrunners guard Anthony Hilliard sank a 3-pointer to break a 61-61 tie and Dalton State grabbed
sole possession of first place in the Southern States Athletic Conference.
Dalton State’s victory was much more than a statistic, however. The 1,500 fans on hand witnessed a
step in the Roadrunners program that won’t soon be forgotten. For a program revived during the 2013-
14 school year after it reached legendary status in the 1970s — when the school was still known as
Dalton Junior College — only to be shut down soon thereafter, Saturday’s win was monumental.
Roadrunners coach Tony Ingle and Dalton State athletic director Derek Waugh were all about straight
talk as rowdy fans and clutch play late probably got many of Dalton State’s supporters dreaming of
national heights again.
“This win is huge in so many ways,” Ingle said as fans congratulated him walking off the court.
“Preston (Earle) wasn’t hitting his shots, but he played so well in other ways. LaDaris (Green) was so
good but the whole team played great.”
An excited Waugh, himself a head basketball coach at Stetson University for 12 seasons, said what
Ingle “has done with the program is nothing short of amazing.”
Dalton State — ranked No. 8 in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics Division I coaches
poll — improved to 22-3 overall and 12-3 in the SSAC this season, while the 12th-ranked Redhawks
dropped to 21-4 and 11-3. It took a full team effort for the Roadrunners to win as Hilliard poured in 22
points, including two free throws following a technical foul on Redhawks coach Scott Combs with 0.3
seconds left in the game. Senior point guard Sean Tate, who dished off to Hilliard for the winning shot,
broke a 58-58 tie with 32.2 seconds to play when he sank a layup, was fouled and made the ensuing
free throw.
The Redhawks tied the game again at 61 when Josh Watson drained a three-pointer with 17.4 seconds
to play. That’s when Tate, who had 11 points, five assists and two steals, worked his ball-handling
magic and found Hilliard, whose 3 put the Roadrunners ahead for good.
For the game, Green scoredseven points and ripped down 13 rebounds, and the 6-foot-10 center also
blocked two shots late in the game and drew a charge in the closing moments. Dalton State’s Jamaine
Burrey came off the bench to score 13 points and make three steals, while Jordan Bowling tossed in 11
points, six rebounds, a steal and one assist.

2. Late in the game, Tate’s quickness took over as he pulled the Roadrunners from a 54-52 hole to lead
61-58. The Redhawks went on a 9-0 run to start the second half and led 39-36 before Dalton State’s
Green tied the game at 39 with a 3-pointer.
Burrey hit a pair of 3-pointers, made a steal and raced in for a layup to help the Roadrunners build a
36-30 halftime lead. Burrey also drew a charge on Woods late in the first half before Hilliard closedout
Dalton State's first-half scoring with a 3-pointer.
Watson led the Redhawks with 20 points, including six 3-pointers, and grabbed five rebounds. Darius
Forrest poured in 15 points, nine rebounds and two steals for Martin Methodist, while Darius Woods
scored 14 points and Ryan Donald tallied 10 points.
Dalton completed a sweep of the regular-season series with Martin Methodist after winning 68-67 in
their first meeting on Jan. 22 in Pulaski, Tenn.