GAME NOTES: Statesmen Basketball vs. OBU/Harding (1.13-15.11)
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CLEVELAND - The Statesmen (7-7, 1-0 GSC) of Delta State University continues Gulf South Conference play this Thursday, Jan. 13, as the Tigers (5-8, 0-1 GSC) of Ouachita Baptist University travel to Cleveland. Tipoff is set for 8 p.m. at Walter Sillers Coliseum. DSU wraps up the week Saturday, Jan. 15 at Harding University (11-2, 1-0 GSC). Game time is set for 7:30 p.m. at Rhodes Fieldhouse.

The Statesmen were picked to finish second in the Gulf South Conference West Division this season by a vote of the league's 14 coaches. Both game will be broadcast on the Statesmen Sports Network starting 15 minutes prior to tipoff with Jimmy Smith and J.T. Webb on the call.

Delta State and Ouachita Baptist will be meeting for the 40th time in series history on Thursday. The two long-time GSC foes will be meeting for the last time as conference rivals at Sillers Coliseum. OBU is joining the Great American Conference in 2011-2012. The Statesmen have dominated the series, boasting a 29-10 edge in the standings. Harding is also joing the GAC and Saturday's clash marks the 21st game all-time. DSU leads 13-7.

Jamarkus Holt (6-9/F) has been a near unstoppable force of one this season. The Alcorn State transfer has already tied the school's single-game rebounding record with 26 at Victory University (11.16) and his offensive skills have been equally impressive. The Vero Beach, Fla., native is averaging nearly a double-double with 10.4 points and 9.8 rebounds per game, which ranks second in the GSC.

Senior guard Phil Turner (6-3/G) leads the Statesmen in scoring heading into this week at 14.7 points per game. The Grenada native ranks 10th in the GSC scoring and second in steals at 2.82 per game.

Freshman point guard Jay Murphy is making the most of his opportunity as DSU's starting floor general. The former Bolivar Central star is averaging 4.14 assists per game, ranking fifth in the GSC, to lead the Statesmen. He also ranks third in the all-important assists/turnover ratio (2.23).

The Statesmen lead the GSC in offensive rebounding, pulling down 16.6 per game. In 14 games, DSU has collected 224 offensive rebounds, led by Jamarkus Holt's 4.2 per game.

Complete game notes, statistics and more are available at the link above.