William Carey's game-winner downs Dalton State

Daniel Mayes, The Daily Citizen, Dalton, Ga.
·2 min read

Jan. 9—A jumper as time expired by William Carey's Emile Kazeneza beat the buzzer and Dalton State on Saturday.

After Dalton State's Jacquez Fountain nailed a 3-pointer with 12 seconds left to tie Saturday's home game at 72, the late shot by the Southern States Athletic Conference opponent sunk the Roadrunners in a 74-72 defeat.

It's the second time this season that Dalton State (9-7, 4-4 SSAC) has lost to a conference opponent on a shot in the final seconds. Stillman hit a 3-pointer as the buzzer sounded to defeat Dalton State in a November game.

The latest buzzer-beating defeat gave visiting William Carey (6-10, 2-6 SSAC) a win after a back-and-forth final few minutes.

The game was tied at 64 until a Sean Cobb dunk gave Dalton State a two-point lead with 2:12 to go. William Carey knocked down a 3-pointer to put the visitors back in front. Dalton State answered William Carey baskets to knot the game in a tie two separate times — including on Fountain's late triple — but never got the lead back again.

Neither team led by more than six in the second half after the first period ended Dalton State leading 38-36. The lead was exchanged seven times overall.

The second half was played with razor-thin margins, but Dalton State had an early double-digit advantage.

A Jaelin Ferrell 3-pointer with 12:50 remaining in the first made the score 17-6 and marked the largest lead of the game.

William Carey eventually erased that deficit, going on a 13-1 run, capped by a 3-pointer by Arturro Bingham, to turn a 25-16 Dalton State lead into a 29-26 deficit.

Dalton State dropped the game despite holding a 32-22 rebounding advantage. The Roadrunners turned the ball over 15 times, just three more than William Carey's 12, but the Crusaders turned those opportunities into 21 points, while the Roadrunners managed just 10 points off turnovers.

Cobb led Dalton State in points and on the glass, scoring 13 and pulling down six rebounds. Ferrell scored 12, knocking down four 3-pointers, and Donavan Miller matched with 12. Fountain scored 11.

Casey Smith and Willie Moody both scored 17 for William Carey.

The Roadrunners resume play with a road game against Talladega at 3 p.m. Saturday.