CLEVELAND, Miss. – The Delta State University Statesmen basketball team wrapped up conference play before the Christmas break with a 72-69 win over West Florida on Saturday at Walter Sillers Coliseum.
The Statesmen and Argos traded baskets to open the game, but West Florida soon sparked an 11-1 run over 5:03 to lead 15-7 at the 12:34 mark.
First-half action was highlighted by UWF's offensive attack as the Argos shot 57.1 percent from the field to hold the edge in scoring. West Florida led by as many as 12 in the first half, a deficit Delta State could not overcome.
Jack Madgen used three consecutive free throws to close out the half, notching the score at 33-26 to head into the locker room.
The second half began with
LaQuavius Cotton,
PJ Davis, and
Jamal Hester using jumpers to kick-start a 9-0 run, closing the gap to 36-35 with 14:55 to go in the contest. The Statesmen executed on a UWF scoring drought that lasted 3:53.
Cotton tied the game for the fourth time of the night on an old-fashion three-point play before UWF regained the lead with a Sean Voss 10-footer.
The Green-and-White possessed the lead for the first time of the ball game at the 8:06 mark with a pair of free throws from
Zelvin Smith Jr. following an offensive rebound on a missed DSU free throw.
West Florida began to chip away at the lead in the closing minutes of the ball game. The score was deadlocked three times and changed hands twice in the final two minutes, leaving the score even, 60-60, at the end of regulation.
Overtime opened with the Statesmen going on a 6-0 run courtesy of a Schmidt jumper and Cotton capitalizing at the free throw line.
The Argos pulled within one with the final seconds ticking off, but a couple of made free throws from Schmidt with 1.7 seconds on the clock put the game out of reach for UWF. Delta State went on to win by a final, 72-69.
Schmidt tallied 20 points to lead DSU, going 7-of-15 from the field, including 2-of-4 from beyond the arc, and 4-of-5 from the charity stripe. Cotton tied his career-high 18 points, while grabbing five boards. The duo chipped in six points each to tally all 12 points for Delta State in overtime.
The Statesmen shot 39.2 percent on the night (20-for-51), 23.5 percent from three-point range (4-for-17), and 84.8 percent from the line (28-for-33).
Delta State will hit the hardwood again after the holidays on Monday, Jan. 5 in Huntsville, Ala. Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m. against the Chargers of Alabama-Huntsville.
