CLEVELAND, Miss. –West Alabama handed Delta State University its first home loss of the season by a final 57-53 in a low-scoring game where both offenses struggled on Thursday at Walter Sillers Coliseum.

Inside the Matchup

• Score:  Tigers 57, Statesmen 53
• Records: Delta State (13-5, 8-4 GSC) | West Alabama (10-8, 6-6)
• Series: DSU leads series 40-29
• Location: Walter Sillers Coliseum | Cleveland, Mississippi | 7:30 p.m.
   
  How It Happened
• West Alabama got on the scoreboard first but then suffered a 3:03 scoring drought, long enough for Delta State to compile an 8-0 run to take the 8-2 lead at the 17:30 mark.
• The Tigers quickly answered with a 9-0 run on three consecutive 3-pointers to tie the game at 13-13 with 13:45 to play in the first half.
• Possession of the lead changed four times over the next 3:04, while each team struggled taking care of ball.
• DSU took advantage of a UWA scoring drought that spanned 7:34 and used an 8-0 run over that time to take a 25-21 lead with 4:36 to play before the break.
• Delta State took a 29-23 advantage into the locker room at halftime.
• The Statesmen held the lead since the 5:42 mark in the first half but could not get the offense going in the second half.
• West Alabama went on an 8-0 run out of the break. The score was deadlocked four times in the opening ten minutes of the second half.
• The breaking point went in favor of West Alabama. At the 8:34 mark, UWA's Acie Vance gave the Tigers the 43-41 advantage on a layup. West Alabama's scoring margin ranged from two to six over the next six minutes, but Devin Schmidt's jumper at the 2:38 mark notched the game at 53-53.
• West Alabama scored four unanswered points in the last 2:38, as the Tigers handed Delta State its first home loss of the season, 57-53
  
  Notables
• Three Statesmen scored in double-figures. Schmidt scored a game-high 21 points, followed by Jack Madgen and James Kilpatrick with 10 each.
• Junior Devin Schmidt moved into fourth place on the all-time scoring list at Delta State, passing Chris Sykes (1997-99) with 1,539. Schmidt now has 1,554 career points and needs 16 to move into third place.
• Both teams entered the game shooting over 44 percent from the field on the year. Tonight both squads shot below 39 percent. DSU's 33.3 percent shooting was a season-low.
• The 53 points put up by DSU is the second lowest output of the season. Delta State's second and third lowest offensive outputs came against West Alabama.
   

Game Changer

• Turnovers proved costly, as the Statesmen turned the ball over 15 times compared to UWA's eight.

 
Who's Next

• Delta State wraps up its home stand against West Georgia on Saturday, Jan. 23. Tip-off is scheduled for 4 p.m. at Walter Sillers Coliseum.