CLEVELAND – The Delta State Statesmen gave undefeated No. 1-ranked Arkansas Tech a scare, but the Wonder Boys escaped Sillers Coliseum with a 76-66 victory Saturday.

Renard Allen scored 20 points to lead the Wonder Boys (25-0, 12-0 Gulf South Conference), who clinched the regular-season GSC West Division crown with the victory.

Jeremie Davis (Arcadia, La./New Orleans) scored a game-high 23 points to lead Delta State (18-6, 9-3 GSC). Davis was 7-of-10 from the field and drained four out of his five 3-point attempts.

Arkansas Tech raced out to a 12-2 lead less than five minutes in and kept their lead in double-figures for most of the first half. The Wonder Boys took a 46-29 lead into halftime.

The visitors found baskets hard to come by for first nine minutes after halftime, as they could only manage three points during that span. The Statesmen began chipping away at the lead and pulled to within 10 points when Marqueys Brown (Memphis, Tenn./Crichton College) knocked down a jumper with 11:11 remaining to make the score 49-39.

Spurred on by an announced crowd of 2,392 spectators packing the arena for the “White Out Sillers” promotion, the Statesmen kept chiseling away at the ATU advantage with a 17-5 run between the 9:50 and 6:04 marks in the second half. Davis' 3-pointer from the right corner off a pass from Eric Spencer (Marion, Ark./Arkansas-Fort Smith) pulled the Statesmen to within one point at 60-59.

But just as quickly as the Statesmen cut into the lead, the Wonder Boys began pulling away again. Jeremy Dunbar made the first of two free throws on ATU's next trip down the floor, and then drained a 3-pointer to stretch the lead to 64-59 after the Wonder Boys pulled in the offensive rebound.

Delta State would get no closer than four points away the rest of the game, and a 7-0 Arkansas Tech run between the 3:55 and 1:44 marks gave the visitors a 74-63 lead to help ensure the victory.

Brown scored 16 points for the Statesmen and Spencer added another 10 points for Delta State. Brandon Friedel scored 14 points for the Wonder Boys, and Dunbar chipped in 11.

The Statesmen return to action Thursday when they travel to Harding for the final road contest of the regular season. Tipoff from Searcy, Ark. is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.