GAME NOTES: Delta State at West Florida/Valdosta State (2.5-7.15)
 
CLEVELAND, Miss. – Delta State University men's basketball hits the road this week for Gulf South Conference play against West Florida and Valdosta. The Statesmen will make their first stop in Pensacola, Fla. to face off with the Argos of West Florida on Thursday, Feb. 5 at 7:00 p.m. The final stop will be in Valdosta, Ga. on Saturday, Feb. 7 when DSU takes on the Blazers of Valdosta State at 8:00 p.m. Eastern.
 

STATESMEN GAME DAY INFORMATION
Date/Location:	Feb. 5, 2015 | UWF Field House | Pensacola, Fla. Feb. 7, 2015 | The Complex | Valdosta, Ga.
Tipoff Time:	West Florida | 7:00 p.m. Valdosta State | 8:00 p.m. (EST)
Radio:	Statesmen Sports Network | Philip Tang (PxP)
Series History:	15th meeting with UWF; Statesmen lead series 11-4 38th meeting with VSU; Blazers lead series 19-18
Live Audio:	Listen Here
Live Stats:	UWF: Live Stats VSU: Live Stats
Live Video:	UWF: Watch Here VSU: Watch Here

 
TIPOFF
The Statesmen of Delta State University continued their losing streak to four this past week with losses against Union and Christian Brothers.

Injuries are plaguing DSU with three of the five original starters coming back from injuries.

Delta State claimed a 72-69 victory at Walter Sillers Coliseum in its first meeting of the season with West Florida on Dec. 20. Devin Schmidt and LaQuavius Cotton led the Statesmen with Schmidt putting up 20 points and Cotton tacking on 18. UWF's forward Erin Straughn led all scorers with 29 points.

The series with West Florida is still pretty new, as DSU holds the 11-4 advantage in the series. On the road at the UWF Field House, the Green-and-White are 4-1. The only loss, 84-67, came on Jan. 7, 2012.

Valdosta leads the series with Delta State 19-18. DSU is 4-11 at The Complex. In their first meeting of the season, the Blazers defeated the Statesmen at Walter Sillers 74-71. Four Statesmen recorded double figures with Schmidt chipping in 18 points. VSU's guard Blake Justice led all scorers with 24.

The Argos and Blazers are in the last two spots in the Gulf South Conference.

Sophomore Devin Schmidt eclipsed 900-career points against Christian Brothers on Jan. 31. The guard is on track to break the all-time scoring record at Delta State held by Carl Brown (1983-86) with 1, 799 career points.

In 17 of DSU's 21 games this season, the Sevierville, Tenn. native has scored 15-plus points with the season-high also coming in the form of his career-high 35 points against West Georgia on Jan. 24. He ranks third in the league in scoring offense with 19.2 points per game.

Senior LaQuavius Cotton holds the top spot on the team at the free-throw line, going 64-of-76 from the charity stripe for an 84.2 percent average. The senior has scored double-figures in seven of the last eight games and averages 10.6 points per game.

Freshman PJ Davis has stepped up on the defensive side of the court as he leads the team in rebounds (6.9 rpg). The 6-foot-5 forward ranks third in the GSC in blocks with 1.8 blocks per game and has 38 of the team's 80 total blocks. Valdosta's Colin Cook leads the league with 2.4 blocks per game.

As a team, the Statesmen hold the top spot in free-throw percentage (77.4%), rebounding defense (30.8 rpg), and 3-point field-goal percentage (41.8%).

Delta State also ranks second in field-goal percentage (49.7%) and third in blocked shots (3.81 bpg).

Up next for the Green-and-White is a home stand with Alabama-Huntsville on Thursday, Feb. 12 and North Alabama on Saturday, Feb. 14.