Delta State University

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – Delta State University's men's basketball team opened the regular season with a win against Florida Southern College at the Gulf South Conference/Sunshine State Conference Classic on Friday afternoon at McArthur Center.

Inside the Matchup

• Score:  Delta State 73 – Florida Southern 70  
• Series: 7^th meeting | Mocs lead the series 4-3
• Location: McArthur Center | St. Petersburg, Florida | 12 p.m. CDT

How It Happened

• PJ Davis opened scoring for the Statesmen by shooting two free throws after being fouled early on.
• Both offenses were slow to start early in the first half. Florida Southern only scored two free throw in the opening five minutes while Devin Schmidt scored off a jumper to double our lead.
• The Mocs gained momentum close to the midway mark of the first half from a three that gave them their first lead of the game.
• Both offenses were back-and-forth for the majority of the first half.
• Late in the first half, the Statesmen took back the lead from a layup by Schmidt making it 23-22 and then went on a 9-2 run going into halftime.
• The Statesmen held a comfortable lead over the Mocs 32-24 as they headed into the locker room.
• James Kilpatrick came out and opened scoring in the second half and the momentum carried on with the Statesmen leading by as many as 14, which was the largest of the game.
• The Mocs began to chip away at the lead throughout the second half, but were unable to conquer the lead.
• The Statesmen held on to the advantage through to the final buzzer, taking the victory 73-70.
• Schmidt, led all scorers with 33 points, three assists nine rebound while Kilpatrick also led the team with nine rebounds.

Notables

• DSU returners, Schmidt, Kilpatrick and Davis, combined for 49 out of the total 73 points in their first game of the season.
• The other 24 points came from a combination of Cedric Harper, Brett Warner, Ravion Henry and John Cornish.
• FSC earned the advantage in rebounds 42-39, while Delta State held the edge in turnovers with 19-to-18.

Game Changer

• Delta State used a combination of 18 free throws made (18-33) and five threes beyond the arc (5-13) to create the margin of victory over the Mocs.

 
Who's Next

• The Green-and-White will close out the GSC/SSC Classic against Eckerd College on Saturday, Nov. 12. Tip-off is set for 6 p.m. CDT.