GAME NOTES: Delta State vs. Alabama-Huntsville/North AlabamaCLEVELAND, Miss. – Delta State men's basketball welcomes the University of Alabama in Huntsville Chargers and the University of North Alabama to Walter Sillers Coliseum this week for Gulf South Conference action. The Statesmen will take on the Chargers on Thursday, Feb. 12 at 7:30 p.m. and the Lions on Saturday, Feb. 14 at 4:00 p.m.
| STATESMEN GAME DAY INFORMATION |
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| Date/Location: | Feb. 12, 2015 | Walter Sillers Coliseum | Cleveland, Miss.
Feb. 14, 2015 | Walter Sillers Coliseum | Cleveland, Miss. |
| Tipoff Time: | Alabama-Huntsville | 7:30 p.m.
North Alabama | 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 |
| Live Audio: | Listen Here |
| Live Stats: | Live Stats |
| Live Video: | Watch Here |
TIPOFFDelta State University men's basketball (12-11, 8-7 GSC) welcomes the No. 1 team in the Gulf South Conference in the University of Alabama-Huntsville (17-6, 12-5 GSC) to Walter Sillers Coliseum on Thursday, Feb. 12. On Saturday, DSU will host the University of North Alabama (11-12, 8-9 GSC).
In the first meeting with the Chargers on Jan. 5, Delta State suffered a loss on the road, 73-61, at Spragins Hall. DSU's
Devin Schmidt led all scorers with 20 points, followed by
PJ Davis who posted a double-double, 14 points and 12 boards. Huntsville's Preston Herring led UAH with 17 points.
The first matchup with the Lions of North Alabama featured the Statesmen earning a road win at Flowers Hall, 76-69, on Jan. 7. Senior guard
LaQuavius Cotton led four Statesmen in double figures with a career-high 19 points. Four Lions also scored in double figures, led by Calvin Dade with 14 points. UNA held
Devin Schmidt to his second lowest scoring game of the season at eight points.
Delta State is slowly starting to come back from injuries. Junior
Zelvin Smith Jr. and senior
Alister Chisholm return to the starting lineup.
North Alabama holds the 42-39 advantage in the series with DSU, while the Statesmen lead the series with the Chargers 16-11.
Sophomore guard
Devin Schmidt ranks second in the GSC in scoring, averaging 19.7 points per game, behind Shorter's Dedric Ware. At Walter Sillers, Schmidt averages 19.9 points per game. The 6-foot-4 guard is just 47 points away from 1,000-career points. He currently 953 career points and 233 career assists in just 56 games.
Schmidt has now tallied 19 games scoring 15-plus points and has scored in double figures in every game but three. In the last nine games, he is averaging 24.7 points per game.
Freshman
PJ Davis was named the GSC Freshman of the Week for the sixth time this season. The 6-foot-5 forward posted his fifth and sixth double-doubles of the season over the weekend in the road swing with West Florida and Valdosta. He scored a career-high 18 points against the Argos.
Davis holds the No. 25 spot in NCAA Division II and No. 3 spot in the GSC in blocks, 1.9 blocks per game and 43 total blocks.
Delta State ranks first in the league in free-throw percentage (76.1%), and rebounding defense (31.4 rpg). DSU also ranks second in field-goal percentage (49.7%) and field-goal percentage defense (43.9%).
Alabama-Huntsville leads the league in scoring defense (66.9 ppg) and field-goal percentage (41.9%).
DSU owns the No. 1 spot in the conference in 3-point field-goal percentage (41.3%), as they take on the No. 1 team in 3-point field-goal percentage defense (31.0%) in Huntsville.
