By Eric Montgomery, Director of Sports Information & Marketing, Heart of America Conference

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – (Box score) No. 6-seeded Dalton State (Ga.) tipped off the 2015 Buffalo Funds-NAIA Division I Men’s Basketball National Championship with a 97-86 win over Wiley (Texas). The Roadrunners will take on the winner of No. 11-seeded Wayland Baptist (Texas) and Evangel (Mo.) on Friday, March 20 at 9 a.m.

Dalton State was led by Jordan Bowling, who posted game-high totals of 32 points and 17 rebounds to go along with a team-high five assists. Ladaris Green also posted a double-double with 10 points and 16 rebounds, while Preston Earle tallied 22 points and six rebounds. Sean Tate and Jamaine Burrey each added 12 points for the Roadrunners.

“Our team was excited to play in the national tournament, and once we settled down, we were able to play team basketball,” said Dalton State head coach Tony Ingle. “All in all, we thought our defense and rebounding were pretty solid.”

Dalton State used runs of 7-0 and 6-0 midway through the first half to claim a 27-15 lead with 8:33 until halftime. Bowling scored seven of the 13 points over the two spurts, including one of his two three-point connections to finish off the latter.

Michael White responded with a three-pointer of his own on the next possession as Wiley trimmed five points off the deficit. However, Bowling hit two free throws to start a 12-2 run, leading Dalton State to a 47-34 halftime advantage.

The Wildcats scored nine of the first 12 points of the second half to close within seven points less than four minutes into the second half. White hit another long-range shot before Michael White added a pair of buckets to draw within 50-43. The back-and-forth contest swung to the Roadrunners for good over the next 4:02, scoring 11-straight points to push the lead to a game-high 18 points and by double digits until the final minute of the game.

“This is our second year in a row (in getting to the national championship) and fourth trip ever for the institution,” said first-year Wiley head coach Jameus Hartsfield. “This is a good learning curve for our returners. We have four freshmen and two sophomores, so we’ll be back and see if we can win some games here next year.”

Dalton State shot 44.1 percent (30 of 68) from the field and converted 30 of 42 free throws (.714), while limiting Wiley to a 39.3 percent shooting clip (35 of 89). The Roadrunners also posted a 60-42 rebounding advantage that included 19 on the offensive end that led to 19 second chance points.

Phillip Miller led the way for Wiley with 27 points to go along with six rebounds and three assists. DaJuan Cooper posted 18 points, 10 rebounds and three blocked shots, while White finished with 14 points off the bench.

Wiley finishes its season with a record of 21-12.

Game notes:
Dalton State – The Roadrunners were the second-straight team from the state of Georgia (Emmanuel) to win the opening  … Dalton State is the first team to win its debut game in the national championship since Hope International (Calif.) won its 2013 opener … Green entered the game as the nation’s leading rebounder and reached double-digit rebounds before halftime … The Roadrunners improved to 53-8 in Tony Ingle’s two seasons leading the program, which is in its second season of varsity competition.

Wiley – The Wildcats lost in the first round for the third-straight trip to the national championship and fell to 1-4 all-time in the event … Miller was the leading scorer in NAIA Division I coming into the game with an average of 25.5 points … Wiley scored right at its average of 85.6 points, with the 86 points the most allowed by Dalton State since its season-opener against Life (Ga.).