GAME NOTES: Delta State at North Alabama (GSC Tournament | 3.1.16) CLEVELAND, Mississippi – The No. 5 Statesmen of Delta State University travel to Florence, Alabama to take on No. 4 University of North Alabama in the opening round of the Gulf South Conference Tournament.
| STATESMEN GAME DAY INFORMATION |
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| Date/Location | March 1, 2016 | Flowers Hall | Florence, Ala. |
| Tip-off Time | North Alabama – 6 p.m. |
| Records | Statesmen (18-10, 13-9 GSC) | Lions (16-12, 13-9 GSC) |
| Series History | UNA leads series 43-42 |
| Audio | Listen Here |
| Video | Watch Here |
| Live Stats | Follow Here |
| Tickets | Click Here |
| Tournament Information | Click Here |
TIP-OFF
Delta State University men's basketball enters the Gulf South Conference Tournament seeking its sixth GSC title. The Statesmen won five under legendary head coach Steve Rives ('93, '97, '98, '06) and the other in 1986 under Coach Ed Murphy. The most recent GSC crown was won in 2006 when DSU defeated Montevallo 71-67. Since then, Delta State has only made it to the semifinals twice, in 2009 and most recently 2014. DSU entered the 2014 tournament with a No. 1 seed and was upset by Christian Brothers 67-64 in the semifinals.
DSU travels to Florence, Alabama, as the No. 5 seed to face No. 4 North Alabama in the opening round of the conference tournament. The Statesmen are 14-24 all-time at Flowers Hall.
The two squads split the series in the regular season, as Delta State picked up a 97-74 win at Walter Sillers on Jan. 2 before losing the rematch in Florence on Feb. 13 in an 81-80 overtime loss. In the first meeting, four Lions recorded double-figure nights with Dimarrio Jackson leading the way with 19. Schmidt led both teams and four Statesmen in double figures with 32 points. Delta State put up a hard-fought battle at Flowers Hall three weeks ago but fell to the Lions 81-80 in overtime on Feb. 13, despite Schmidt's game-high 34 points.
Junior
Devin Schmidt was named Delta State's ninth GSC Men's Basketball Player of the Year. The accolade marks DSU's second Player of the Year honor in three years under Coach
Jim Boone. Chelsey Rhodes of women's basketball also earned the honor, as Delta State swept Player of the Year honors for the eighth time in school history, the most in the GSC. Schmidt won the conference scoring title with 25.3 points per game, beating out Shorter's Phil Taylor by one point (708-707).
With a win at North Alabama, Delta State will advance to the semifinals at the Pete Hanna Center in Birmingham on the campus of Samford University. The Statesmen will play the winner of No. 1 Alabama Huntsville/No. 8 Shorter on Friday, March 4 at 5 p.m.
