BY JOEL SELLERS

FAULKNER SPORTS NETWORK

MONTGOMERY, Ala. – The No. 8 Faulkner Eagles upended No. 4 Dalton State Thursday night 100-97 to clinch the SSAC regular season title for the first time since 2007 and cut down the nets in front of a raucous home crowd at Tine Davis Gymnasium. Despite the Eagles taking a 51-44 advantage into halftime, the visiting Roadrunners opened the second half with a 20-6 run that gave them their first lead since the 15:19 mark of the opening period.

"Defensively we didn't have our best. That's a credit to them because they're so good offensively," Faulkner Head Coach Scott Sanderson said.

Trailing 72-70 with 11:09 left to play, C.J. Williamson (SO/Guntersville, Ala.) tied the score with two free throws after a technical foul on Sean Cranney of Dalton State. After receiving possession following the foul, Milan Skundric (SR/Negotin, Serbia) followed up by converting an and-1 opportunity to make the score 75-72 in Faulkner's favor.

After multiple lead changes, Nate Bradley (SR/Concord, N.Y.)'s reverse layup and C.J. Jones (SR/Port Richey, Fla.)' 3-pointer gave the Eagles a brief two-score cushion at 86-82 with 6:13 on the clock. Dalton State would regain the lead once again on a 3-point basket by Randy Bell. However, Williamson would then give the home team a lead it would not relinquish by scoring seven of its next nine points via three free throws, a bucket off of a Bradley steal and another score after a Dalton State offensive foul that stretched the lead to 95-90. With 1:34 remaining in the game, Skundric hit a 3-pointer to make it 98-92, but the Roadrunners made it a one-possession game again with two free throws and a slam dunk by Rodley Adjei.

"Down the stretch, we got the right shots by the right people," Sanderson said. "Nate drives it down there deep, collapses the defense, throws it back to Milan and he hits a big three. I've got to give our guys a lot of credit. They don't really care who scores. They just want to win."    

Clinging to a 99-96 lead with 10 seconds left, Adjei got the benefit of a foul call on Jones during a 3-point attempt, ending the latter's night with five fouls. However, Adjei missed the first two shots, which effectively ended the game. C.J. Perry missed a long-range shot as time expired, sending the Faulkner faithful into a frenzy.

The Eagles scored 12 points off of turnovers, compared to just three via miscues for Dalton State. Faulkner also won the turnover battle by a margin of 13-10. The visitors outrebounded Faulkner 36-32.

Bradley and Williamson led the Eagles with 21 points, two rebounds, and three assists, and 21 points, five rebounds, and two assists, respectively. Skundric contributed 16 points, three rebounds, and four assists to his team's output. Jones also scored 16 points, along with eight boards, two steals, and two assists. Garrett Sanderson (JR/Montgomery, Ala.) chipped in 10 points and six boards, and gave Faulkner its largest lead of the day at 47-35 by knocking down two threes in a row.

Bell paced the Roadrunners with 19 points and three rebounds before fouling out. Kevon Tucker was close behind him with 18 points and five boards. Dauson Womack racked up 17 points and 13 boards, while Perry registered 13 points, two rebounds, and two assists. Igor Stokic added nine points and 10 boards.   

Faulkner claims the conference title and increases its winning streak to 16 games.

"I think our fans have been terrific. We did the TV thing before the game. There were a bunch of folks in there. The student section in there was a pivotal part of what we were doing," Sanderson said. "I just can't say how much I appreciate their energy in the game they gave us. We just kept playing and kept playing. That's why, in the end, I wanted to take a team picture. That championship is not just for us. That's for the school That's for the university. That's for those students. That's why I wanted all those students in that picture. In my mind, they're part of that success that we've had because they sure have helped us along the way."

By defeating Dalton State, the Eagles avenge their only conference loss of the season. Tonight's win was the first for Faulkner over Dalton State since 2016, and just their third all-time over the Roadrunners. Faulkner (25-3, 16-1 SSAC) returns home on Saturday to face Martin Methodist for Senior Day and Homecoming.