Complete Statesmen Basketball GSC Tournament Notebook [PDF]

SOUTHAVEN, Miss. – The Delta State Statesmen (19-7, 10-4 GSC West) have their sights set on the program's seventh Gulf South Conference championship when they open play at the 2010 GSC Tournament at DeSoto Civic Center in Southaven, Miss. The men's basketball tournament will run from March 5-7.

Delta State finished second in the GSC West behind division champion Arkansas Tech Wonder Boys, who won their first 25 games of the season before falling 58-51 at Arkansas-Monticello.

The Statesmen begin their run Friday when they meet the East Division's No. 3 seed North Alabama Lions (12-15, 4-6 GSC) for a 5:30 p.m. tipoff. The Statesmen defeated the Lions 75-70 at Sillers Coliseum on Nov. 30, and lead the all-time series with North Alabama 39-35.

There will be no mysteries for the Statesmen in any of their potential tournament matchups, as Delta State was the only team in the GSC West to face all six teams in the East Division. The Statesmen went 2-2 against the four East Division teams that qualified for the tournament.

The Statesmen are no strangers to GSC Tournament success, having won five previous titles, more than any other team in conference history, Delta State's last championship came in 2006; the Statesmen were also victorious in 1986, 1993, 1997 and 1998. The Statesmen have also played in the GSC Tournament final on 12 occasions, four more times than any other team.

All-GSC First Team selection Chad Akins leads the Statesmen by scoring 10.2 points per game in addition to a GSC-leading 7.25 assists per contest.

Every game at the 2010 GSC Tournament will be featured on the Statesmen Sports Network. Coverage begins 15 minutes prior to tip-off with the “SouthGroup Insurance Locker Room Report.” DSU fans can also follow the action on Facebook.com/dsustatesmen or Twitter.com/dsustatesmen.