CLEVELAND – The Delta State University men's basketball team used career-highs from
Arian Maliqi and
Stanley Copeland en route to a 93-66 victory over Southern Arkansas Thursday at Walter Sillers Coliseum. The victory was the eighth-straight for the green-and-white.
The Statesmen improve to 19-5 on the season and are currently tied for the Gulf South Conference West Division lead at 9-2. The Muleriders fall to 10-13 and 4-7 in league play.
Maliqi scored 23 points on 9-of-14 shooting, including 4-of-7 from three-point range. Copeland delivered 22 points off the bench, while connecting on 9-of-11 shots from the floor.
The Statesmen shot a blistering 64.8 percent on 35-of-54 shooting. DSU also connected on 10-of15 shots from three-point range and 13-of-19 from the line. SAU hit on 45.1 percent (23-of-51) from the floor, including 7-of-17 from three and 13-of-15 from the stripe. DSU out-rebounded SAU 27-25, and outscored the Muleriders in the paint 42-20.
Chad Akins just missed out on a double-double with nine points and 10 assists.
Dmitry Pirshin added 12 points and
Eric Spencer added 11.
SAU was led by Justin Stuart with 14 points.
The Statesmen could not miss in the first half, shooting 71 percent from the floor, including 5-of-7 from downtown, as the Statesmen led 51-35 at the break. Delta State dominated inside the paint, outscoring the Muleriders 22-6.
Southern Arkansas struggled in the early minutes, but did manage to keep up with the Statesmen shooting 44 percent in the first half.
Arian Maliqi closed out the first half with dunk at the buzzer, before being fouled. The junior from Pristina, Kosovo nailed the free throw with no time on the clock.
Stanley Copeland came off the bench and led all scorers at the break with 14 points.
The Statesmen travel to Arkansas Tech Saturday for a Gulf South Conference showdown at Tucker Coliseum in Russellville, Ark. Game time is set for 6 p.m. and the game will be broadcast on the Statesmen Sports Network starting at 5:45 p.m. with the “SouthGroup Insurance Locker Room Report.”
