DALTON, Ga. – Faulkner used a hot-shooting second half to outrun Dalton State Tuesday night and remain unbeaten in SSAC play. The Eagles knocked down only 35 percent of their shots in the first half including a paltry 25 percent from beyond the arc. Still,
Jordan Hamlette's continued assertion of himself as one of the top players in the conference vaulted Faulkner in key moments.
Hamlette knocked down a three with 9:41 left in first half to give the Eagles their first lead of the night at 21-19. After an 8-0 Dalton run put the Roadrunners back on top, Hamlette snagged an offensive rebound and worked his way to the free throw line where he cashed in both looks to put Faulkner back on top with 2:21 to go in the half. The Eagles never lost the lead again.
Hamlette dished to
C.J. Williamson for the first Faulkner bucket of the second half before himself scoring the next six Eagle points on consecutive and-1 plays. The Lynchburg, Va. native then assisted on the next three Faulkner field goals, helping push the lead to 13 points with 16:18 to play.
Faulkner got the lead as high as 18 with 12:09 remaining in the contest before Dalton began to close the gap. The Roadrunners got to within eight on a Marquel Wiggins put-back with 5:35 left before Faulkner ran it back into double digits to ice the game.
The Eagles hit 64 percent of their shots from the floor in the second half including 44.4 percent of their three-point attempts. Faulkner also knocked down an astounding 91 percent of its second half free throws to help finish with game with an 84 percent mark from the line on 25 attempts. Conversely, the Eagles limited Dalton to 44 percent shooting from the floor and 25 percent from three.
Hamlette finished his night with 25 points, three rebounds and six assists. The outing gives him a total of 97 points in his last four contests, during which time he has produced the top three scoring games of his career. Williamson finished his night with 17 points and three steals.
Garrett Sanderson added 11 points and five assists.
Trace Hill added nine points, seven rebounds, three assists and two steals.
Faulkner returns to action Friday when it travels to Middle Georgia State for a weekend series in SSAC play.
