MONTGOMERY, Ala. – Dalton State held off William Carey in a battle of No. 1 seeds to win the 2026 SSAC Men’s Basketball Championship. 
 
William Carey and Dalton State both receive automatic bids to the 2026 NAIA National Championship First & Second Rounds due to winning the Regular Season and Tournament Championships. Other SSAC teams will await word on possible at-large selections. 
 
Individual Leaders

• Dalton State’s Qualen Pettus led everyone with 28 points on 13-of-24 shooting, to go along with nine rebounds, five assists and three steals
• Teammate Raylan Barrion added 24 points and four steals, shooting 10-of-17 from the floor
• For WCU, Makeem Roberts led with 23 points and 10 rebounds, shooting 8-of-11. Anthony Robinson finished with 18 points and five steals

 
Inside The Box Score

• The Roadrunners out-shot the Crusaders 53% to 40% from the floor, while both teams shot 33% from distance
• WCU held a large advantage at the FT line, knocking down 30-of-36 compared to 7-of-18 for the Roadrunners
• Dalton State also held a 17-10 edge on the offensive glass

 
More Info

• The teams traded buckets to start the second half until Dalton State went on a 7-0 spurt ot build a 62-55 lead with 10:16 to play on Tyshan Kelley’s 3-pointer
• DSC pushed the lead to as many as 10 until and held the lead until a Roberts bucket tied it at 76-76 with 4:04 to go
• After the score moved to 78-78 with 3:08 to play, Barrion converted a layup to give the Roadrunners an 80-78 lead with 2:58 to go, and they would never trail from there