SOUTHAVEN – The Statesmen of Delta State University survived dunks, NBA-range 3's, and the kitchen sink, dodging everything Alabama-Huntsville had to throw including a wide open three-point attempt as time expired to escape with a hard-fought, well-deserved 46-45 victory over the Chargers in the quarterfinals of the Gulf South Conference Men's Basketball Tournament at the DeSoto Civic Center. The Statesmen improved to 21-7 on the year, while the Chargers slipped to 17-11. 

Delta State led 23-15 as the second half began, but the Chargers went on an 11-2 run to start the period, quickly erasing the deficit with a long three-point shot with 14:53 remaining in the game by Josh Magette to take a 26-25 lead. 

The Chargers looked to be in full control over the next several minutes, leading 37-30, but it was at that point the Statesmen showed that they were not ready for their stay in Southaven to end. Oliver Mansour made a stiffly contested layup, followed by an Arian Maliqi steal that led to a Chad Akins layup. A forced UAH turnover led to a Mansour jumper from the free-throw line, cutting the lead to 37-36. 

The Statesmen reclaimed the lead 41-39 on two free throws from Spencer at the 6:18 mark. They never trailed again. 

Neither team got off to a quick start, but solid defensive play helped the Statesmen build a 10-1 lead with less than 14 minutes left in the first half. It was over seven and a half minutes into the game before the Chargers sank their first field goal. 

The made basket seemed to settle the boys from Huntsville, Ala., as the cut the lead in half at 10-5, but the Statesmen kept things tight on the defensive end of the floor and stretched the lead back to ten, 15-5, with just over nine and a half minutes to play in the first half. 

The Chargers scored just ten more points in the first half as the Statesmen smother the ball handler and quickly covered recipients of passes, holding UAH to a mere 24-percent from the field, 0-for-9 from three-point range. 

The Statesmen went into the locker room with a 23-15 halftime lead, with Akins leading the scoring with seven points. Brad Skipper added five more, and led the Statesmen with five rebounds at the half.
Spencer led the Statesmen with 13 points, with nine coming in the second half, and grabbed five rebounds. Akins joined Spencer in double-figures, adding 10 points and five assists. 

Magette led the Chargers with 14 points, and Cody Jones added 12 points, but the Chargers were held to just 31.8-percent from the field. 

The Statesmen advanced to the semifinals, where they will face the East No. 1 seed Valdosta State. The Blazers advanced after defeating Arkansas-Monticello 66-53. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Saturday, March 7.