SPORTS BRIEFS: Albany State volleyball finishes second in SIAC Tournament; Late free throw helps Albany State men’s basketball team top Georgia College

Albany State finishes second in SIAC Volleyball Tournament

The Albany State Lady Rams’ run through the postseason came to an end on Friday. ASU eventually ran out of gas physically and lost 3-1 (15-25, 25-21, 11-25 and 16-25) to Kentucky State in the 2015 SIAC Women’s Volleyball Championship game.

Albany State finishes the season with a 19-15 overall record. The Lady Rams’ title game appearance was their first since the 2012 season. It also marks the highest finish for ASU since 2012.

KSU, winners of two of the last three league tournament titles, improves to 25-12 and earns an automatic bid to the NCAA Division II National Tournament.

“I’m proud of the fight the ladies showed during the tournament,” ASU head coach Robert Skinner said. “We were good enough to win the tournament, but we ran out of energy at the end.

“The effort was definitely there, and we’re going to use this run to fuel the improvements were going to make for next season.”

Justice Howard had a game-high nine kills to lead Albany State. Kristen Randolph recorded eight kills and 10 digs, and Jahkishma Soto added seven kills. Setter Tiffany Roesler had 30 assists and 12 digs. Kaliah Carter was the top player in the digs category with 18.

Randolph, Roesler and Carter were all named to the 2015 SIAC All-Tournament team. Roesler was named the Setter of the Tournament and Carter took home the Libero of the Tournament award.

Micah Rogers, who won the Most Valuable Player award for the tournament, led a list of four players who had double figure kills with 13. Setter Angelique Kyle recorded 43 assists, and Kiara Rivera led the team in digs with 17.

Darton basketball defeats Hillsborough

The Darton State College Lady Cavalier basketball team defeated Hillsborough Community College Friday in the Tallahassee Community College tournament.

Darton was led by Desiree Corbin who finished with 23 points and nine rebounds. Tynicia McCoy finished with 15 points, Abrelyn Rackley added 14 and 11 rebounds, and Tyeshia Smith finished with 13. Patra Parris added 10 points.

The Lady Cavaliers will play host Tallahassee Community College Saturday at 6:30 p.m.

Late free throw helps Albany State top Georgia College

Lance Dixon converted a free throw with 1.4 seconds remaining in regulation to lift the Albany State Rams to a 55-54 win over the Georgia College Bobcats in the team’s season opener.

In the low-scoring affair, both teams found it difficult to generate offense in the first half. No team held a large advantage until Albany State used 12-4 run to take a 26-16 with 2:19 left in the first half. The Rams held a 27-20 edge at halftime.

In the second half, Khaliq Hughes made a lay up to give ASU its biggest lead, 33-20, with 18:28 left in regulation. The Rams continued to hold an advantage until Ryan Blumenthal scored for Georgia College to tie the game at 46 with 6:29 left. Georgia College took the lead, 48-46, on its next possession, but Brandon Hudson nailed a 3-pointer to put Albany State back in front, 49-48, with 5:03 remaining.

Less than a minute later, Terrell Harris gave to the Bobcats a 50-49 advantage with two free throws. Georgia College built a 55-49 lead with 2:59 left, and the home team seemingly had the game put away.

However, the Rams held the Bobcats scoreless for the rest of the game and generated a comeback in the process. Hudson made another 3-pointer to close the gap to 55-52 with 2:20 left in the game. For the rest of the contest, Dixon’s heroics produced a personal 4-0 run.

With 1:33 left, Dixon made the first of two free throws to cut the deficit to 55-53 at the 1:33 mark. Then, Hughes found him open under the basket for a lay up that tied the game at 55 with 42 seconds remaining in regulation.

Georgia College was trying to hold the ball for a final shot, but Dixon stole an errant Bobcat pass and was fouled. He made the second of two free throws to give the team the win.

ASU forwards Earl Farnum and Chris Wheeler led the team in scoring with 11 points apiece. Hughes added 10 points, and Hudson finished with nine points. Guard Michael Green grabbed a team-high eight rebounds.

The Rams shot 20-of-63 (31.7%) from the field, 4-of-16 (25%) from 3-point range and 12-of-17 (70.6%) from the free throw line. ASU also recorded 11 steals as a team.

Albany State returns to action on Monday when it travels to Americus to face the Georgia Southwestern Hurricanes. Game time is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.