After dropping its test against the best team in the Southern States Athletic Conference in UT Southern on Saturday, Dalton State bounced back Thursday by hanging on for a 65-63 home win over Loyola.
Dalton State (14-8, 10-5 SSAC) led by six with 34 seconds left and withstood two late shots to earn a two-point victory over Loyola (7-15, 6-9 SSAC).
Donavan Miller put Dalton State up 64-58 with a free throw with 34 seconds left. Loyola’s Leonard Jackson hit a 3-pointer to cut the lead to three. Dalton State’s Kevin Henry added a free throw at the 15 second mark. Loyola’s Zachary Lee hit a jumper to make the deficit two with eight seconds left, but the Roadrunners held on, even after two missed free throws gave Loyola another shot.
The close end came after a game that remained close throughout. Dalton State never led by more than seven, and Loyola never had a lead of more than two. Dalton state had a 33-32 advantage at halftime and led for 28:44 of the 40 minutes of action.
Miller, who became Dalton State’s all-time assist leader in DSC’s previous game, helped the Roadrunners to the win on Thursday with his scoring. Miller put in 23 points.
Matt Compas had 17 points, four rebounds and four assists, and was the only other Roadrunner to cross double-digits in points. Franklin Almonte had nine points and nine rebounds, and Harrison Eghan scored nine and added seven rebounds.
Milan Mejia led the way for Loyola with 22 points, while Alex Hammond and Jackson each scored 11.
The Roadrunners have five regular season games remaining. They’ll next be in action on Saturday against Faulkner in Montgomery, Alabama, at 3 p.m.