ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Senior Devin Schmidt tallied 37 points and six rebounds as the Statesmen edged out Eckerd College 75-72 to close out the Gulf South Conference/Sunshine State Conference Classic held at McArthur Center. 


Inside the Matchup
 

• Score: Eckerd 72 - Delta State 75
• Series: 5th meeting | The Statesmen lead the series 5-0
• Location: McArthur Center | St. Petersburg, Fla.

How It Happened
 

• Sophomore Brett Warner got the Statesmen going early on, as he hit three threes in the first three minutes of the game.
• Eckerd came back and answered through the midway point of the first half claiming the lead 21-15.
• Cedric Harper grabbed two layups as well as one from Jaden Weldon to close the gap to 21-19 at the 08:27 mark.
• The Tritons continued scoring as they went on a 21-9 run going into halftime.
• Both offenses were back-and-forth in the second half, Harper opened scoring in the second half with a layup.
• The Tritons led by as many as 17 points in the second half. Schmidt hit five threes in a span of three minutes to close the gap to nine points.
• The Statesmen offense began to chip away at the lead in a back-and-forth contest late in the second half.
• Ravion Henry, Dietrich Taylor and Schmidt answered with made free throws to take the lead and claim the victory through the final buzzer, 75-72.

Notables
 

• The Statesmen and Tritons were even in the rebounding battle 36-36 on the boards, while Eckerd had 11 assists to DSU's 8.
• Delta State committed just 7 turnovers for the game while forcing 17 turnovers on defense. 
• Eckerd held the Statesmen to 43.8% shooting from the field, but outshot the Tritons from the three-point line 38.5% (10-of-26) to 31.6% (6-of-19).
• Schmidt led all scorers with 37 points, including 7-of-16 from three-point territory and two assists.
• Warner (13 points and four rebounds), Harper (eight points and 11 rebounds), PJ Davis (five points and 6 rounds) and Ravion Henry (seven points and two rebounds) rounded out the scoring for Delta State.

Who's Next
 

• The Statesmen open up the 2016-17 home campaign on Tuesday, Nov. 22, against LeMoyne-Owen College. The game will tip at 7:30 p.m. CT at Walter Sillers Coliseum in Cleveland, Mississippi.