GAME NOTES: Delta State vs. Alabama-Huntsville/North Alabama/Lee (1.5-10.15)CLEVELAND, Miss. – Delta State University head men's basketball coach
Jim Boone and company look to begin 2015 with a two-game conference road swing. The Statesmen will take on Alabama-Huntsville on Monday, Jan. 5 at Spragins Hall and North Alabama on Wednesday, Jan. 7. DSU will turn around and host Lee University on Saturday, Jan. 10.
| STATESMEN GAME DAY INFORMATION |
|---|
| Date/Location: | Jan. 5, 2015 | Spragins Hall | Huntsville, Ala.
Jan. 7, 2015 | Flowers Hall | Florence, Ala.
Jan. 10, 2015 | Walter Sillers | Cleveland, Miss. |
| Tipoff Time: | Alabama-Huntsville 7:30 p.m.
North Alabama 7:00 p.m.
Lee 4:00 p.m. |
| Radio: | Statesmen Sports Network | Philip Tang (PxP) Scott Wyant (Color) |
| Series History: | 28th meeting with UAH; Statesmen lead series 16-11
82nd meeting with UNA: Lions lead series 42-39
3rd meeting with LU: Statesmen lead series 2-0 |
| Live Audio: | Listen Here |
| Live Stats: | UAH: Live Stats
UNA: Live Stats
LU: Live Stats |
| Live Video: | UAH: Watch Here
UNA: Watch Here
LU: Watch Here |
TIPOFF
The Statesmen basketball team improved to 7-5 on the season and 4-2 in Gulf South Conference play before the holiday break.
Delta State closed out the first half of the season with a 72-69 win over West Florida.
DSU will face three opponents, two on the road, to start the first week of games in 2015.
The Green-and-White will travel to Alabama-Huntsville and North Alabama and later host Lee University.
Last season saw the Statesmen sweep the Chargers of UAH in regular season play, while splitting with the Lions of UNA.
Delta State and North Alabama won at each team's home venue. The Lions went on to win the Gulf South Conference Championship.
In conference standings, Delta State, Lee, and Huntsville hold the No. 3, 4 and 5 spots, respectively. North Alabama ranks 10
th.
Since the first meeting between the Chargers and Statesmen, Delta State owns a 5-4 record at Spragins Hall, taking an 86-82 overtime victory in their last appearance in Huntsville.
Nationally, DSU ranks 21
st and 1
st in the league in total blocks, racking up 50 blocks in 12 games.
Freshman
PJ Davis is responsible for almost half of the team's total blocks with 23, ranking 19
th in Division II and 3
rd in the conference.
As a team, the Statesmen rank third in NCAA Division II in free throw percentage at 80.0 percent and sixth in free throws made at 244.
Senior
LaQuavius Cotton and sophomore
Devin Schmidt have contributed to those numbers.
Cotton ranks 20
th in NCAA and 1
st in the league in free throw percentage at 90.0 percent while Schmidt ranks 13
th and 1
st in the GSC in free throws made with 68.
A native of Sevierville, Tenn., Schmidt has scored in double figures in every game this season but one.
The 6-foot-4 guard currently stands at 718 career points and 194 career assists.
Jack Madgen continues to climb in the DSU record book in 3-pointers made and attempted. The junior owns the No. 5 spot in each category with 119 made 3-pointers and 291 attempts.
Four Statesmen are averaging double figures in Madgen, Schmidt,
Alister Chisholm, and
Zelvin Smith, Jr.
Smith also leads the team in rebounding, averaging 7.1 boards per game.
After the two-game road swing, Delta State returns home to host Lee University on Saturday, Jan. 10 and Shorter University on Monday, Jan. 12.
