THOMASVILLE, Ga - The Night Hawks fought until the end in their home conference opener against No.10 Dalton State keeping the game within reach but coming up just shy. The game was decided by a pair of free throws from the Roadrunners and a missed buzzer beater for Thomas in the last 1.5 seconds of the game.
Thomas quickly fell behind in the first and saw themselves down by 12 entering the second half 40-28.
Jonathan Goldson opened the scoring the in the second half with a made jumper at the 18:44 mark. Goldson then forced a turnover and assisted Micheal Smith to cut the deficit down to eight. After a pair of made free throws from Qualen Pettus and a three point play from Raylon Barrion the Roadrunners took a 13 point advantage.
Armani Thomas changed the momentum for the Night Hawks when he buried a triple just beyond the arc to cut the lead back to 10. Barrion made a layup to try and extend the Roadrunners lead but Smith answered by converting a layup and two free throws. Varan Danak had a two hand jam for the Roadrunners for their last double digit lead of the contest.
Goldson made a three off of an elbow pass from Thomas to cut the Roadrunner lead to seven. Thomas followed up with a made bucket of his own to bring the game within five. Danak answered with a three point play and a made free throw but Nhine Willis cut the lead to seven with a layup.
Eli Curry made a layup off of a
Shane Payne dish to keep the game close.
Tripp Beatty scored for the Roadrunners before the Night Hawks went on a 6-0 run to bring the game within one. Dalton State made four straight free throws to bring the score 59-54. Willis energized the Night Hawk offense with an emphatic dunk to bring the Roadrunner lead back down to three. After another successful trip to the line for the Roadrunners,
Ryan Williams made a three with 5:22 left in the game. Thomas made one of his free throw attempts to bring the game within one 61-60. Goldson gave the Night Hawks their first lead of the game with 2:39 remaining after a made layup in the paint. The Roadrunners responded back with a layup of their own but Thomas drew a three point play to pull ahead once again 65-63. Goldson converted both of his free throw attempts to build the Night Hawks advantage to four with 1:26 left to go. The Roadrunners went on a 5-0 run to take back the lead and win the game.
Thomas and Goldson led all scorers with 12. Willis and Smith lead the team with 10 rebounds each while Smith had a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds.
The Night Hawks return to action against Stillman College at home, next Thursday November 20th at 6:00 PM.
