GAME NOTES: Statesmen Basketball at No. 15 Christian Brothers (1.24-28.12)
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CLEVELAND, Miss. - The Statesmen (4-13, 0-6 GSC) of Delta State University continue in Gulf South Conference action this week traveling to No. 15 Christian Brothers University (14-3, 5-1 GSC) at Canale Arena.  The game will be broadcast on the Statesmen Sports Network with Matt Jones, J.T. Webb and Clayton Coffman on the call.

Saturday, Jan. 28, the Statesmen will travel to take on No. 15 Christian Brothers University. The green-and- white hold a 49-33 edge in the all-time series.  DSU is 5-6 against CBU under the guidance of head coach Jason Conner.

Delta State will be playing against its second ranked opponent of the season this weekend. DSU fell last Thursday, Jan. 19 to No. 11 UA-Huntsville 68-84 and will look to rebound against No. 15 Christian Brothers on Saturday, Jan. 28.

The defending NCAA South Region Champion Alabama-Huntsville Chargers secured seven first-place votes en route to 49 points after also collecting a unanimous finish a year ago. Valdosta State finished nine points behind with 40 points and the other first-place nod. Christian Brothers came in at third place (35), followed by North Alabama (28) and West Georgia (22). Completing the eight-team poll was Delta State (19), West Florida (18) and West Alabama (13).

Mobile, Ala., native Cornel Knight has helped the Statesmen backcourt this season in a variety of ways. He's averaged 8.3 points per game, connected on nearly 27% from three-point land, has 2.2 steals per game is good for second ranked in the GSC and collected 5.6 rebounds per contest which currently places Knight at the ten spot in the GSC.

Terry Leake has stepped up his game since entering Gulf South Conference play averaging 18.3 points, 3.7 rebounds, and 28.5 minutes through the last eight games. Leake has also led the team in scoring in five of the last eight games for the Statesmen.  Junior forward, Terry Leake Jr. posted a career-high 34 points last week against the University of Alabama Huntsville.

Marqueys Brown has filled the role his coaches have asked of him through 17 games this season. He is second on the team averaging 11.5 points per game and first in rebounding with (5.7).

Jason Conner enters this week's contests with a 91-65 record in his six seasons as head coach of the Statesmen. The Lakeland, Fla., native needs just nine wins to top the 100-victories plateau.

The 2011-12 Statesmen basketball team returns just two players from a year ago. Seniors Rob Sikes, who played just one game after sustaining a season-ending injury last season, and Marqueys Brown return for Delta State to help form a solid frontcourt.

Through 40 seasons in the Gulf South Conference, Delta State is second in league history with 683 victories, 10 behind North Alabama (693). The Statesmen boast a .613 winning percentage during that time.

UP NEXT
DSU will start the month of February with a two game home stand against Gulf South Conference opponents Valdosta State University (2.2/8 pm) and the University of West Florida (2.4/6pm).