Box Score CLEVELAND, Miss. – Steven Samuels' 18-foot jumper at the buzzer in overtime carried the University of West Alabama men's basketball team to a 62-60 overtime victory over Delta State University Thursday, Jan. 17 at Walter Sillers Coliseum.  The Tigers improved to 6-7 overall and 2-4 in Gulf South Conference play while the Statesmen slipped to 5-9 and 1-2 in league action. 

After leading by five at the break, UWA surged in the second half to outscore the DSU 26-21 and send the game into overtime tied at 52-52. 

In the overtime period, the Statesmen jumped out first on a quick basket by Terry Leake to go up 54-52.  UWA answered right back on a turn-around jumper by Mychal Bester with 4:29 remaining in overtime to tie it at 54-54. 

A Matt Allbritton jumper on the right wing pushed DSU back up 56-54.  UWA forced a tough shot and DSU cleared the rebound but an illegal screen gave it right back to the Tigers.  With 2:31 Samuels drained a 3-pointer at the top of the key to put UWA on top 57-56. 

Allbritton answered right back with a 3-pointer in the right corner to put DSU up 59-57 with 2:09 on the clock. 

Samuels nailed a 3-pointer with 1:46 to go to take a 60-59 lead over the Statesmen.

On DSU's next possession, senior power forward Ryan Smith drew a foul, but connected on just 1-of-2 free throws to tie it at 60-60 with 1:24 left in overtime. 

Both teams traded four possessions over the next 1:16.  With 6.5 seconds left and UWA with the ball on the baseline, the Tigers ran a play for Samuels to clear out at the top of the key.  The senior from Hartford, Conn., dribbled past heaved a contested shot toward the basket as the horn sounded.  The ball banked off the backboard and around the rim before falling into the bucket for the game-winning basket. 

The Tigers outscored the Statesmen 10-8 in overtime with Samuels scoring eight of their 10 points.  Allbritton had five for DSU. 

DSU struggled offensively in the second half shooting just 29,2 percent (7-of-24), but held a UWA offense to 12.9 points below their seasonal average and 41.1 percent (25-of-58) from the field for the contest.  The Statesmen finished the game shooting 40.7 percent on 22-of-54 attempts from the field. 

Allbritton finished with a career-high 18 points to lead DSU.  The Garland, Texas native connected on 6-of-12 shots from the floor, including 3-of-6 from 3-point range.  Jack Madgen and Leake, Jr. both added nine points and five rebounds.  Freshman Zelvin Smith, Jr., scored a career-high eight points and three rebounds as well. 

Samuels finished with a game-high 21 points for UWA with Jack Hill contributing 12 points.  

Led by Allbritton's 13 points, the Statesmen took a 31-26 lead into the locker room. Hill's seven points paced UWA. 

DSU shot 46.2 percent in the first half on 12-of-26 shooting, while UWA managed 40.7 percent on 11-of-27 attempts.  The Tigers out-rebounded the Statesmen 16-15, but DSU outscored UWA 7-4 off turnovers. 

The Statesmen return to the court on Saturday, Jan. 19 versus the University of West Georgia.  Tipoff is set for 4 p.m. and the game will be broadcast on the Statesmen Sports Network with Matt Jones and J.T. Webb on the call.