Point guard Sean Tate hit four free throws in the final 32 seconds to lift Dalton State to a 92-90 victory over Bethel at McKenzie, Tenn., in a Southern States Athletic Conference basketball showdown matching two teams ranked in NAIA Division I.
The No. 6 Roadrunners (24-3, 14-2) trailed 89-88 when Tate was fouled with 31.9 seconds to go. He totaled 13 points, while Jamaine Burrey scored 24 on 4-of-5 3-point shooting, Ladaris Green combined 21 points and 17 rebounds and Jordan Bowling scored 19 points. Caleb Hardy led No. 22 Bethel (20-8, 10-6) with 23.
The Roadrunners' chartered bus left the roadway on the way to McKenzie and had to be towed. No one was injured.
* At Cleveland, Tenn., Emileigh Swafford scored 23 points as the Lee women began the Gulf South Conference doubleheader with a 57-46 win, despite shooting only 30.5 percent from the field as a team. Lee also won the men's game, 70-58, as Stedmon Ford scored 20 points on 4-of-5 3-point shooting and Cory Billingsley and Jervon Johnson scored 11 each. For the Lady Flames (16-8, 13-8), who made 15 of 16 free throws, Shelby Brown had 12 points and Christina Johnson grabbed 10 rebounds.
* At Tennessee Temple, the Lady Crusaders beat Bob Jones 70-65 as Angel Foster and Amanda Rector scored 16 points apiece, Foster with 10 rebounds and Rector with seven assists. Bree Smith scored 13 points and Kirsten Fowler contributed 10 rebounds and five steals. Kendra Jeffcott had 23 points and 13 rebounds for Bob Jones.
* At Athens, Tenn., 10th-ranked Tennessee Wesleyan secured another trip to the NAIA Division II women's national tournament in Sioux City, Iowa, by downing visiting Point 67-58 and clinching the Appalachian Athletic Conference regular-season title. Armeka Booker had 22 points, 10 rebounds and three blocks, Jenna Adams had 17 points and nine rebounds and Shira Buley added 15 points and five assists for the Lady Bulldogs (25-3, 17-3). Wesleyan won the men's game 87-53 as Stephen Kite Jr. and Dante Turnipseed scored 24 and 22 points and Devante Jenkins collected 10 rebounds.
Bryan College's AAC doubleheader at Truett-McConnell was moved from Saturday to today, starting at 4 p.m.
* At LaGrange, Ga., LaGrange swept the Covenant teams in a USA South doubleheader, 83-68 in the men's game and 78-49 in the women's. Mark Wagner scored 27 points for the men's victors, while Colton McGriff led the Scots with 14. Nate Frierson had five assists. Haley Soles and Liz Dougherty led the Lady Scots with 12 and 11 points, Dougherty adding four assists.
* At Oxford College of Emory University, the Georgia Northwestern Technical College Bobcats lost 81-50 to top-seeded Southern Crescent Tech in the semifinals of the GCAA Division III/NJCAA Region XVII tournament. The Bobcats led 38-36 two minutes into the second half, but the taller, deeper Tigers got their transition game going and cruised. Devin Watkins scored 18 points for GNTC, all in the first half on 8-of-8 shooting from the field, and Veshawn Bell added 13 points.
* Friday night in Atlanta, the Sewanee men's team edged Oglethorpe 60-58 on a Matt Tome 3-pointer at the final horn from a Brody Stone pass. Jorden Williams and Keshonn Carter scored 17 points apiece, Williams with eight rebounds, in the Southern Athletic Association win for the Tigers (15-9, 9-4).
Area College Summaries
LEE 57, DELTA STATE 46
Delta State (16-9, 14-7 GSC)
Ball 3, Walton 5, Rhodes 24, Keller 3, Jackson 5, Davis 2, Ruckes 4, Collins, Henry.
Lee (16-8, 13-8)
Johnson 7, Brown 12, Walsh 5, Swope 3, Swafford 23, Cheeks 2, Beavers 5, Neuharth, Smith.
Halftime: Lee, 22-21.
TENNESSEE TEMPLE 70, BOB JONES 65
Bob Jones (15-13)
Hoefler 9, Jeffcott 23, Wright 5, Tompkins 6, Ford 8, Brunson 4, Delaney 8, Conover, Pack 2.
Tennessee Temple (13-15)
Foster 16, Fowler 4, Rector 16, Woodard, Purvis 6, Keller-Flanigan 2, Dukes 7, Smith 13, Kirby 6.
Halftime: Tennessee Temple, 37-29.
TENNESSEE WESLEYAN 67, POINT 58
Point (17-12, 12-8 AAC)
Blakely 3, Brown 13, McKenzie 2, Owens 25, Rhodes, Weatherspoon 7, Wimberly 6, Avant 2, Denby-Bland, Miller.
Tennessee Wesleyan (25-3, 17-3)
Adams 17, Barker 4, Booker 22, Buley 15, Gasper 7, Moreland, McWilliams 2, Smith, Young, McKinnon.
Halftime: Tennessee Wesleyan, 35-21.
LAGRANGE 78, COVENANT 49
Covenant (3-21, 2-13 USA South)
Price, Dougherty 11, Soles 12, Woodward 4, Bailey 7, Bell 8, Dirkse 2, Quimby, Nielsen 5.
LaGrange (15-9, 10-6)
Johnson 16, Barker 9, Howard 2, Mitchell 6, Butler 16, Newton 6, Pye 7, McNeil, Payne 7, Landers 6, Toxen 4, Williams, Johnson, Subat.
Halftime: LaGrange, 38-25.
Men's Games
LEE 70, DELTA STATE 58
Delta State (14-13, 11-10 GSC)
Smith 2, Harrick 1, Cotton 5, Chisholm 2, Schmidt 27, Davis 13, Hester 2, Madgen 2, Rowe 4.
Lee (14-12, 9-12)
Wilson 6, Lee 5, Cullen 6, Billingsley 11, Ford 20, Copeland 2, Roberts 3, Johnson 11, Burrows 4, Farley 2.
Halftime: Lee, 29-24.
TENNESSEE WESLEYAN 87, POINT 53
Point (4-25, 3-15 AAC)
Driscoll 7, Fields 9, Houston 2, Rogers 4, Manning 18, Pierce, Arnold 2, Rice, M. Brown 10, McNeal 1, C. Brown.
Tennessee Wesleyan (15-13, 9-9)
Triplett 6, Whitman 4, Kite 24, Beeler, Turnipseed 22, White 4, Jenkins 9, Robinson 3, Simmons, Mosley, Davison 4, Bass 3, Russell 2, Hayes 6, Richey.
Halftime: Tennessee Wesleyan, 38-20.
LAGRANGE 83, COVENANT 68
Covenant (9-16, 7-7 USA South)
Boyd 8, Ferguson 5, McGriff 14, Portlock 5, Cox 9, Turner 6, Burns 4, Engbers 5, Frierson 2, Bell 6, Sears 2, Garrett 2.
LaGrange (14-11, 7-7)
Wagner 27, B. Ford 4, Butler, Johnson, Mitchell 14, Olson 15, Bonner 2, Enwereama 11, Daniel 3, A. Ford 7, Gaetanos, White, Langston.
Halftime: LaGrange, 40-28.
Friday Game
SEWANEE 60, OGLETHORPE 58
Sewanee (15-9, 9-4 SAA)
Carter 17, Stone 7, Williams 17, Caldwell 9, L. Born, Tome 6, Brown 4, C. Born, Veal.
Oglethorpe (16-8, 7-6)
Kinney 6, Lawrence 16, Davis 10, Patrick 7, Wardlaw, Smith 3, Bates 15, Sigrist 1, Andino.
Halftime: Sewanee, 29-24.