GAME NOTES: Statesmen Basketball vs. UA-Huntsville/North Alabama (2.16-18.12)
Complete Game Notes with stats, standings and rankings in PDF 

CLEVELAND, Miss. - The Statesmen (5-17, 1-10 GSC) of Delta State University continue Gulf South Conference action this week traveling to the University of Alabama-Huntsville (19-3, 10-1 GSC) and return to Sillers to face the University of North Alabama (14-9, 6-5 GSC).  Both games will be broadcast on the Statesmen Sports Network with Matt Jones, J.T. Webb and Clayton Coffman on the call.   

Delta State takes to the road to play against the University of Alabama-Huntsville on Thursday, Feb. 16, looking to pick up its second conference win of the season. The Statesmen and Chargers have met only 20 previous times with the green-and-white leading the all-time series 12-8. The last time the two teams met the Chargers walked away with an 84-68 win over the Statesmen inside Sillers Coliseum.

Saturday, Feb. 18, the Statesmen return home to Sillers Coliseum to take on the University of North Alabama. Delta State holds the lead in the all-time series over the Lions 39-37. The green-and-white let UNA claim a 74-58 win inside Flowers Hall back in January.

Since, sophomore guard, Aaron Cooper's return to action for the Statesmen he has provided a spark for the offense. Cooper is 13-for-31 from the floor and 7-for-20 from behind the arc totaling 57 points. He is averaging 32.8 minutes of playing time in the five games since his return including playing the complete 40 minutes the last two games against West Georgia and West Alabama. Cooper is averaging 11 points per game on the season, and despite being out, is third on the team in assists with 43.

Rob Sikes, 6-foot-8 senior from Biloxi, Miss. showed that he's not just a big body inside the paint this past week against the University of West Alabama as he showed his knack for shooting the three-ball connecting on 3-of-4 of his shots and posting a total of 11 points in the contest. Sikes so far on the season is 5-of-9 (55.6%) from behind the arc.

Freshman guard Caleb Miskelly has settled into his role for the Statesmen providing key support off the bench. Miskelly is averaging 23.4 minutes of playing time and has 44 assists on the year which is a good for second on the team. The Flowood, Miss. native provided a spark defensively grabbing six rebounds for the green and white in the 72-70 overtime win against West Florida (2.4).

Terry Leake has stepped up his game since entering Gulf South Conference play averaging 16.2 points, 3.9 rebounds, and 29.5 minutes through the last 11 games. Leake has also led the Statesmen in scoring in seven of the last 13 games.

Mobile, Ala., native Cornel Knight has helped the Statesmen backcourt this season in a variety of ways. He's averaged eight points per game, connected on nearly 27% from three-point land, has 1.9 steals per game and collected 5.7 rebounds per contest.

Jason Conner enters this week's contests with a 92-67 record in his six seasons as head coach of the Statesmen.  The Lakeland, Fla., native needs just eight wins to top the 100-victories plateau.

Through 40 seasons in the Gulf South Conference, Delta State is second in league history with 684 victories, 14 behind North Alabama (698). The Statesmen boast a .613 winning percentage during that time.

UP NEXT
DSU welcomes in the University of New Orleans (2.23/6 p.m.) and Christian Brothers University (2.25/4 p.m.) to close out the regular season next week.  DSU will host “Senior Day” and “Staff Appreciation Night” on Feb. 25.