College basketball: Dalton State competitive early in loss to NCAA DI school Western Carolina
Nov. 7—Through eight minutes of play, NAIA school Dalton State College hung with NCAA Division I program Western Carolina in the latter's season opener Tuesday night.
Dalton State trailed just 14-12 as the clock hit 12 minutes left before halftime in Cullowhee, North Carolina. Then, the DI program got hot and flexed that size difference in schools.
Western Carolina outscored the Roadrunners 37-18 the rest of the first half to pull out to a 50-31 halftime lead and cruise to a 106-65 victory over Dalton State.
Dalton State (2-3) couldn't match the size and firepower of Western Carolina (1-0), which outrebounded the Roadrunners 26-14 in the first half while shooting 58.8% from the floor and nailing 8-of-16 3-pointers in the first 20 minutes.
In the second half, Dalton State started the half strong but couldn't cut the lead any lower than 16 before Western Carolina pulled away for the 41-point victory. Western made the final margin what it was with a 14-5 run to close it out.
The Catamounts closed the game with a 57.8% shooting percentage and a 45.8% mark from 3-point range while outrebounding Dalton State 47-28.
The Roadrunners made just 5-of-22 from deep, but Harrison Eghan and Dalton High graduate Franklin Almonte each hit a pair. Eghan finished 2-for-5 behind the arc for six points and Almonte was 2-for-6 and had eight total points.
Dalton State's Matt Compas led the Roadrunners with 13 points and had the highlight of the night for DSC, a two-hand dunk over a Western Carolina defender early in the second half. Compas, a newcomer guard for Dalton State this season, has been in double-figures in points in four of his five games for Dalton State.
Leading Roadrunner scorer Donavan Miller scored the first basket of the game, giving Dalton State its brief and only lead of the night at 2-0, and finished with three points. Carterius Evans had nine points and led the Roadrunners with five rebounds before fouling out. Ellis Lee scored eight points, while Antonio Lewis scored five points and had four steals.
Western Carolina's Vonterius Woolbright, voted the preseason Southern Conference Player of the Year, led the game with 19 points, seven assists and eight rebounds. DJ Campbell scored 18, Bernard Pelote scored 14 and Tre Jackson added 12.
Western Carolina was picked to finish second in the SoCon in the preseason media poll. Western Carolina finished last season 18-16 and reached the semifinals of the SoCon tournament.
The Roadrunners return to NAIA on NAIA action on Friday.
Dalton State plays Florida National Friday at 6 p.m. in a game played at a neutral site in Mount Vernon, Georgia.
