HAMILTON SCORES 25 IN SECOND HALF TO POWER ROANE STATE PAST VOLUNTEER STATE

A young basketball player with dreadlocks and a headband, wearing a white jersey numbered 5 with red and blue accents and gray shorts, extends his arms to shoot or pass the ball toward the hoop during an indoor game. A defender in a blue jersey numbered 2 reaches out from the left, while a teammate in a matching white jersey numbered 13 stands to the right. In the background, a scoreboard displays 17 seconds on the clock, with cheerleaders and a blue wall featuring a large red
Jordan Hamilton advances the ball against the Volunteer State defense
Box Score
January 17, 2026

Roane State men's basketball overcame a halftime deficit and foul trouble to rally to an 80-71 victory over Volunteer State on Saturday. The dominant second half performance was led by guard Jordan Hamilton, who erupted for 25 of his game-high 28 points after the break.

The Raiders (11-7, 7-3 TCCAA) trailed 32-31 at intermission but exploded for 49 points in the second half, using a run-and-jump press to speed up the tempo and force turnovers that fueled transition scoring. Hamilton, a sophomore, led the charge with 10-of-15 shooting from the field, including 6-of-10 from beyond the arc, while adding four assists and two steals.

"I think we handled a lot of adversity," head coach Alan Holt said. "This is back-to-back games where Dashawn, who's our leading scorer, has been sitting on the bench for a lot the game in foul trouble. But I think we had guys really step up. I've been coaching Jordan hard, and really challenging him the last week or so, and he really stepped up. He just kept the game simple, played the way we want to play, and it really translated into a win today."

Roane State shot 48.3% from the field (29-of-60) and 37.8% from three-point range (14-of-37), dishing out 21 assists while committing 15 turnovers. The Raiders' defense, which has been a hallmark during their recent surge, generated 11 steals and two blocks, disrupting Volunteer State's rhythm in the decisive second half.

Mikey Carpenter contributed 17 points on 6-of-14 shooting, including 5-of-10 from deep, and added eight assists and two steals. Towan Siler came off the bench for 11 points, four assists and two steals, while Adonai Mussie grabbed a team-high 10 rebounds to go with two points, two assists, one steal and two blocks.

"I just think guys handled adversity a lot better than we have here," Holt said. "There was a lot of chances for us to, you know, they did a lot, scouting-wise, to throw us off our rhythm. They kind of responded and found a way still, despite that."

Defensively, the Raiders focused on accelerating the pace against a Volunteer State team that preferred a slower, grind-it-out style. Roane State's press created chaos, leading to errant passes and fast-break opportunities that flipped the script after a sluggish first half.

"We really tried to speed the game up late because that's what killed us in the first half - is that (Volunteer) is walking the ball up the floor, wanting to play slow," Holt said. "We don't want to do that. We love to play fast. I think we scored 49 in the second half as a team, which we were able to speed the game up. We pressed, and we went into our run-and-jump press and really gave them fits at times."

Jason Robinson added eight points and four rebounds for Roane State, while Jalen Davis and Chase McEntire chipped in five points each from the bench. Kenny Greenling contributed four points and four rebounds from the bench also.

Looking ahead to the remainder of the conference schedule, Holt emphasized maintaining the high-tempo style that has propelled the team's success.

"I think we've just got to keep tempo high, keep trying to play faster and faster," Holt said. "It's going to be difficult when you lack depth, and you've got guys in foul trouble at times, but really got to continue to speed the game up, play fast, and play free."