By Eric Montgomery | NAIA Media Services

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – (Box score) No. 6-seeded Dalton State (Ga.) earned the first spot in the quarterfinal round of the 2015 Buffalo Funds-NAIA Division I Men’s Basketball National Championship with a 85-74 win over Evangel (Mo.), Friday morning in Municipal Auditorium. The Roadrunners will face the winner of No. 3-seeded Cal State San Marcos and Arizona Christian on Saturday, March 21 at 10:30 a.m.

Dalton State raced to a 45-28 halftime lead thanks to its play at the three-point line on both ends of the floor. The Roadrunners held the Crusaders without a long-range connection on nine first half attempts and hit seven of its 16 three-point tries (.438). The Roadrunners finished the game 12 of 25 (.480) from beyond the arc and shot 51.7 percent from the field (31 of 60) overall.

"Our team plays with so much heart and togetherness, and it inspires me as a coach, and they are busting their butts striving to make the college, the community and each other proud,” said Dalton State head coach Tony Ingle. "Ladaris (Green) and Jordan (Bowling) were sensational on the boards and scoring as well as Jamaine getting hot at the right time."

After an early 6-2 deficit, Dalton State took control of the game with a 16-2 run to post an 18-8 lead at the 13:13 mark. Jordan Bowling connected on a pair of three-point shots, while Ladaris Green also found the range from outside over a span of 2:30. Evangel trimmed the deficit to five on a pair of free throws by Billy Thompson II at the 8:07 mark, but the Roadrunners used a pair of threes from Sean Tate to help stretch the advantage to 45-28 at halftime.

Trailing by as much as 21 points early in the second half, Evangel closed to within seven points on two free throws by Brodie Wingert with 1:39 to play. However, the Crusaders made just one of nine shots down the stretch, and the Roadrunners made five of six free throws to seal the win.

“It was tough in our locker room,” said Evangel head coach Steve Jenkins. “This was a special group and I hate to see the year come to an end for them. They performed way beyond expectations and I’m really proud of them.”

Green led the way for Dalton State with 22 points, 12 rebounds and three blocked shots, hitting nine of 12 shots from the field. Bowling and Jamaine Burrey each recorded 17 points, while Tate chipped in with 13 points, six assists and four rebounds.

Korry Tillery posted a double-double 20 points and 10 rebounds for Evangel, while Thompson contributed 17 points and nine rebounds. Yocum hit five of the seven three-pointers for Evangel to provide all of his 15 points, and Brodie Wingert pitched in with 11 points and four assists.

Evangel finishes its season with a record of 21-13.

Game notes:
Dalton State – The Roadrunners improved to 29-1 when scoring at least 63 points this season … Dalton State is the first team since former NAIA member Shorter (Ga.) to advance to at least the quarterfinals in its debut trip to the National Championship … Green recorded his 13th double-double of the season … The No. 3-seeded team has played in the national championship game in each of the last two tournaments (SAGU (Texas), 2013; Vanguard (Calif.), 2014).

Evangel – The Crusaders fell to 0-4 all-time in the second round of the national championship and fell to 3-6 all-time in the event … Head coach Steve Jenkins entered the game fifth on the active coaches’ wins list with 631 victories … Tillery posted his 22nd double-double of the season, tied for the most in the NAIA this season … Thompson’s 17 points was a career-high, besting his previous high of 14 recorded on Feb. 8, 2014 against Culver-Stockton (Mo.).