DALTON, Ga. — For the first time in nearly 40 years, local college students got to see basketball on their own campus.

Due to a scheduling conflict with the Dalton Convention Center, where Dalton State College plays its home games at Mashburn Arena, the Roadrunners were forced to play two games at BJ Bandy Gymnasium in recent days. Dalton State won both games, defeating Loyola 77-74 on Thursday and Mobile 89-72 on Saturday.

Thanks to a well executed plan by the school’s athletic department in distributing tickets and setting up the venue to host as many people as possible, the result was an electric atmosphere that both spectators and players enjoyed.

“The atmosphere (Thursday night) was unbelievable,” Dalton State guard Isaiah Box said. “The (convention center) is so big, but it still gets loud because obviously more people are there. But I really enjoyed playing here.”

It was the first competitive college basketball games played at Bandy since 1978 when the then Dalton Junior College Roadrunners last played. Thursday’s game was standing-room only as every ticket was given out in a setup which had a 520-seat capacity.

For those that remember coming to the games back when the old Roadrunners were on the court, which included current Dalton State coach Tony Ingle, these two games were a welcome walk down memory lane.

“I thought it worked very well because there was so much excitement,” season ticket holder Gary Cole said. “It created a lot more noise playing in a smaller playing area. It was like everyone was anxious to get back into this gym where we used to come watch the junior college play. You had to get here early or you may not get a seat. It was that same kind of intensity (for these two games).”

Ingle recalled a not-so-fond memory of his experiences at Bandy, but agreed the atmosphere was tremendous for these two games.

“The last time I played here we got beat by Florida Gulf Coast,” Ingle said. “But being on campus, I think people enjoyed it. I think it’s a good thing. There was a lot of energy and people are close to the court. We actually had a few turnovers because the crowd was so loud and our players couldn’t hear people coming behind them.”

Dalton State interim athletic director Jon Jaudon said he was made aware of the scheduling conflict with the convention center when he first arrived at the school in July. After discussions with Ingle and consulting with several other parties, the decision was made to hold the two games at Bandy.

“I had a vision for how we could set it up and thanks to (assistant athletic director of administration) Erik Simpson and his staff, they executed it perfectly,” Jaudon said. “The fans came out and supported us and we needed every one of them in a close game (Thursday night).”

With limited seating at the gymnasium, Jaudon came up with a priority system for distributing tickets. He said the first group able to claim a ticket were season ticket holders who also gave to the annual athletic fund. Then other season ticket holders were chosen at random and offered the opportunity to purchase tickets because there wasn’t enough seating to accomodate them all.

“We only had about 200 seats downstairs for reserved seating and we have 400 season ticket holders, so it was tough,” Jaudon said. “We wanted to leave the upstairs for our students because it’s their campus and we wanted their support.”

The reviews from students at Saturday’s game were positive as well.

“I liked it because it was a lot closer and it saves time and gas coming here, it’s nice having it on campus,” Chelsea Ahrens said. “It was really loud (Thursday) and really crowded. It definitely got really hot, but I liked seeing the energy.”

The convenience of being on campus even brought in a new fan for the first time.

“This was my first time ever coming to a game,” student Trevor Hall said. “It’s just more convenient being here on campus. Usually I don’t have a ride.”

The Roadrunners will play the remainder of its home games at the convention center this season. But Jaudon hinted that there is an idea, albeit just an idea at this point, about possible rennovations to Bandy that could make it a viable home for basketball permanently. Regardless of where the Roadrunners play moving forward, this brief return back to Bandy went smoothly enough to provide an enjoyable experience.

“I think it was perfect this time of the year to get back over here,” Cole said. “Even though it had to be done, I think everyone was glad to get back here. And they did a great job of setting up and handling the event.”