MONTGOMERY, Ala. - Turnovers and costly mistakes ended up adding up as the Eagles fell 72-71 to Dalton State Friday night in Tine Davis Gymnasium in SSAC play.
Dalton State led for practically the whole game with the Eagles trailing by as much as 10 in the first half before chipping away with a quick 5-0 run to cut the difference to three. Faulkner kept it hovering in a reachable distance the whole half, but several times had an untimely turnover or mental miscue to either give the ball back to the Roadrunners without an effort up and allowed the Roadrunners to extend the lead again.
The final miscue was a timeout called with none remaining to send Dalton State to the line for two shots in a three point game with 13 seconds to go, the Roadrunners converted the second one and made it a four point game that proved to be the final difference.
Faulkner, who had turned the ball over just 16 times in the last two games, turned it over 18 times in the loss, including seven times while trailing by one possession.
The Eagles shot just 16-46 from inside the arc.
Tanner Vogel collected his third double-double in four games with 14 points and 19 rebounds. His board total is the 2nd most in the
Scott Sanderson era.
Gabriel Rivera led the team with 17 points.
Francois-Dony Baba had 13 points.
The bright spot for the Eagles was the continued dominance on the glass again with a 51-39 advantage, marking the fourth straight game with a double-figures advantage in rebounding.
Faulkner hits the road Thursday night for the first trip to Abraham Baldwin in the four-year era. Tipoff is set for 6:30 central.
