FLORENCE, Ala. – The Statesmen of Delta State University traveled to defending Gulf South Conference Champions North Alabama on Wednesday night. DSU earned the win at Flowers Hall, 76-69, to improve to 8-6 overall and 5-3 in league play.
 
Cleveland, Mississippi native LaQuavius Cotton led four Statesmen in double figures with 19 points, 14 coming in the first half. The senior went 7-for-10 from the field, and 4-for-6 from behind the arc, and 1-for-1 from the line to lead all scorers. Jack Madgen posted 13 points, while Alister Chisholm tallied 12. Zelvin Smith Jr. chipped in 11 points and four rebounds.
 
Delta State came out firing on all cylinders to open the game, reeling off a tough conference loss to Alabama-Huntsville two days before.
 
The Green-and-White went a perfect 9-for-9 from the field and 2-for-2 from 3-point range to kick start a 22-10 run over the Lions. DSU did not miss a shot over the first 9:28 of the contest.
 
North Alabama quickly cut the lead from twelve to six in a little over one minute, but Delta State snatched the momentum back with seven unanswered points courtesy of buckets from Chisholm and Smith and a 3-pointer from Devin Schmidt to take the 33-20 advantage at the 5:18 mark.
 
DSU closed out the first half on a 9-4 run to lead the Lions 44-29. Cotton led all scorers at the break with 14 points on 5-of-7 from the field and 4-of-6 from beyond the arc.
 
The Statesmen continued to build on their lead in second-half action, as they gained their largest lead of the night at 18, 57-39, with 14:38 left on the clock on a Smith three.
 
From that moment on, North Alabama initiated a comeback. UNA began to close the gap late in the game, capitalizing on DSU turnovers. The Lions fought back from an 18-point deficit to inch within two, 71-69, with less than a minute to play. The Statesmen were able to hold on to take the 76-69 victory with key play at the free throw line.
 
Although Delta State gave up 29 points on 22 turnovers, the Green-and-White won the rebounding battle, 30-22. Each team dished out 14 assists, while UNA earned the advantage in steals 12-4.
 
As a team, DSU shot 60.5 percent (26-of-43) from the field, 57.1 percent (8-of-14) from downtown, and 84.2 percent (16-of-19) from the charity stripe.
 
Delta State returns home to Walter Sillers Coliseum on Saturday, Jan. 10 to take on Lee University. Tipoff is slated for 4:00 p.m.