Box Score

CLEVELAND, Miss. – Devin Schmidt's performance Monday night was beyond anything he could have imagined, as the freshman point guard scored 35 points and handed out seven assists to lead No. 15 Delta State University to a 92-70 victory over the University of West Alabama in Gulf South Conference men's basketball action.  The victory avenged DSU's lone loss since the season-opener, a 71-51 decision to UWA back on Dec. 4 at Pruitt Hall. 

With the win, the Statesmen improved to 18-2 on the year and 11-1 in Gulf South Conference play.  The Tigers slipped to 10-8 overall and 7-5 in the league.

"Our guys were absolutely not going to be denied tonight," DSU head coach Jim Boone said.  "Our effort was outstanding, especially at the end of the first half, where we got nine consecutive stops.  Devin Schmidt and Willie Readus provided an offensive spark, while we got some big minutes out of Zelvin Smith and Mike Washington."     

Behind's Schmidt career-high 26 points, the Statesmen built a 16-point halftime lead, 49-33, over the Tigers.  The 6-foot-4 freshman point guard hit on 9-of-12 shots, including 5-of-7 from 3-point range in the frame. 

After trailing 14-10 with 12:10 to go in the half, the Statesmen outscored the Tigers 39-19 over the final 9:52 to lead at the break. 

DSU hit on 57.1 percent of its attempts in the half, making 16-of-28 from the field and 7-of-13 from 3-point range.  UWA was a solid 41.4 percent from the field, but the Statesmen held the Tigers without a basket over the final 6:25 of the half.

After a quick 8-0 run to open the second half, both teams settled into a quicker offensive tempo. 

The Statesmen built their largest lead of the night to 30, 69-39, with 12:15 to go in the game, but over the next 7:55 UWA would explode for a 26-10 run to cut it to 70-65 with 4:20 to play.

With the media break coming up, coach Boone took a quick timeout to settle the team.  The quick huddle worked, as DSU ended the game outscoring UWA 13-5 to make the final 92-70. 

DSU ended the game shooting 53.8 percent (28-of-52) after connecting on 50 percent (12-of-24) of their shots in the second half.  The Statesmen were 9-of-17 from 3-point range and 27-of-36 at the free throw line.

UWA made just 38.8 percent on the night after hitting on 26-of-67 attempts.  The Tigers attempted 36 shots from 3-point range, but made just 12 of them. 

The glass belonged to the Statesmen as well, as DSU out-rebounded UWA 43-30 and dominated scoring inside the paint 35-22. 

Schmidt just missed out on tying the GSC's high for points in a game this season, as the Sevierville, Tenn., native finished with a career-high 35 points.  He closed out the best game of his career at DSU by making 11-of-17 shots from the field, and a career-high 5-of-7 from 3-point range.

Readus, a 6-foot-8 power forward from Morton, Miss., collected his 11th double-double of the season and his second in a row with 25 points and 11 rebounds.  Smith, Jr., and Jack Madgen, who also had five assists, finished with eight points each.  Mike Weems added six points on two key 3-pointers and Mike Washington finished with four points.

UWA was led by Desmond Raymond's 23-point effort.  Jared Woolfork added 22 points while Sandy Underwood finished with 12.        

Delta State hits the road for a pair of road contests to wrap up the week.  The Statesmen begin their two-game road swing through Georgia on Thursday, Feb. 6 at the University of West Georgia.  Tipoff is set for 6:30 p.m. CST at The Coliseum in Carrollton, Ga. 

The Statesmen defeated the Wolves 76-59 on Jan. 4 at Walter Sillers Coliseum. 

DSU will close out the week at Shorter University on Saturday, Feb. 8., in Rome, Ga.  Game time is set for 5 p.m. CST at the Winthrop-King Center. 

The Statesmen clipped the Hawks 91-81 in their first meeting of the season.