CLEVELAND – Cody Jones' layup with 1.8 seconds left helped lift the Alabama-Huntsville Chargers to a 73-70 win over Delta State on Saturday at Sillers Coliseum.

Jones broke free from the Statesmen's pressure defense in the final 10 seconds and received a pass from Josh Magette, who was being pressured by several Delta State players.

The Chargers improved to 4-1 with the victory. Delta State fell to 2-2 with loss.

Joe McCray (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla./Nebraska) led the Statesmen with 15 points. Chad Akins (Madison, Miss./Madison Central HS) scored 14 points and handed out nine assists, while Roderick Ollie (Indianola, Miss./UAB) added 12 points for the Delta State.

Derek Johnston led the Chargers with 15 points, while Jones added 13 points for Alabama-Huntsville.

The last-second victory by Alabama-Huntsville stunned the Statesmen, who used an 11-1 run in the final 2:53 of the game to erase a 10-point Charger lead.

Trailing 69-66, the Statesmen regained possession after Magette missed a 3-pointer with 30 seconds remaining. The Chargers tightened up their defense around the perimeter but ceded a layup to Akins with 24 seconds remaining.

The Statesmen immediately fouled Magette three seconds later, but he was only able to convert one out of his two free throw attempts, giving the Statesmen a chance to tie with the shot clock turned off. Delta State was able to do just that when Marqueys Brown (Memphis, Tenn./Crichton College) powered his way to the basket for a slam dunk off a pass from Earnesto Green (Jackson, Miss./East Central CC) with nine seconds left, tying the game at 70.

The announced crowd of 889 began preparing for overtime as the Statesmen trapped Magette at midcourt, but he was able to find Jones under the basket, and Jones sank the two-foot shot and got fouled.

Brown and Green scored eight points apiece for the Statesmen. Dmitry Pirshin led Delta State with seven rebounds.

The Statesmen had to play from behind for most of the game as the Chargers shot 56 percent (14-of-25) in the first half, compared to 30.3 percent (10-of-33) by Delta State.

Alabama-Huntsville's deliberate and precise offense yielded several good long-range chances, as the Chargers were 6-of-11 (55 percent) from behind the 3-point arc before halftime.

Delta State trailed 43-30 at halftime.

The Statesmen return to action Monday when they host North Alabama at Sillers Coliseum. Tipoff is scheduled for 8 p.m.