CLEVELAND, Miss. - The Delta State University men's basketball team got 20 second half points from senior guard
Ravion Henry, who tied his career-high with 22 points, but it wasn't enough down the stretch as the Statesmen ultimately fell to the Florida Southern men's basketball team 75-67 to close out the Gulf South Conference/Sunshine State Conference Crossover Classic at Walter Sillers Coliseum on Saturday night.
THE BASICS
- Score: Florida Southern 75, Delta State 67
- Records: Mocs (1-1) | Statesmen (0-2)
- Date: Saturday, Nov. 11 | 7 p.m. Tip-off
- Location: Walter Sillers Coliseum | Cleveland, Miss.
- Attendance: 1,181
- Series: FSC leads the all-time series 5-3
- Get Social: Twitter - @DeltaStateMBB | Facebook – DSUStatesmen | Instagram – DSUAthletics
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Florida Southern jumped out to a 6-2 lead early, before Delta State got a six point spurt from PJ Davis, who hit a layup and got fouled, and converted the subsequent free throw. Davis then hit a three-pointer to give DSU a 10-8 lead with 13:56 to play in the first half.
- A 23-10 run to the 4:31 mark of the first half put the Mocs up eleven, 31-20.
- Florida Southern took a 36-26 lead at the break, bolstered by eight points from Jonathan Lawton. Lawton was perfect from the floor, going 3-for-3 from the field including a pair of three-pointers, and added an assist in two steals in the first half.
- The Moccasins ended the half holding a ten-point, 36-26 lead after shooting 54 percent from the floor (15-for-28). The Mocs were 4-of-9 (44 percent) from three-point land but were just 2-of-6 at the free throw line. The Statesmen shot 47 percent (8-for-17) in the first half. DSU was 3-of-8 from three-point land and went 7-for-12 from the free throw line.
- Davis led all scorers at halftime with 10 points, while Armon Benford added six points and four assists.
- A pair of Ravion Henry three-pointers out of the locker room cut the FSC lead to 38-32, with 17:34 left in the game.
- Florida Southern responded, however, as a pair of Lawton free throws and a Slinky Jones jumper pushed the lead back to 10 points, at 42-32.
- Down nine points with 14:49 to play, the Statesmen used a 12-2 run to roar back and take their only lead of the second half, 50-49, behind a three-pointer from Cameron Burkett and a pair of baskets and a free throw from Ravion Henry.
- That would be as close as Delta State would have it the rest of the way, however, as FSC took the lead on a layup by Tyler Ross and never looked back in closing out the game by outscoring the DSU 26-17 and taking the 75-67 victory.
- Florida Southern finished the game shooting 49 percent (25-of-51) from the field and went 21-of-28 from the free throw line (75 percent). The Mocs went 4-for-13 (30 percent) from three-point territory. The Statesmen shot 45 percent (23-of-51) from the field and 14-for-27 (52 percent) from the charity stripe. DSU shot 33 percent (7-of-21).
Notables:
- The Statesmen made just eight field goals in the first half of action.
- Delta State starts the season 0-2 for the first time since the 2010-11 season, when DSU dropped a pair of games to Rollins and St. Leo under then head coach Jason Conner.
- Ravion Henry tied his career-high with 22 points. The senior from Carthage, Miss. added five rebounds, an assist and a steal. He also went 3-of-6 from three.
Up Next:
- The Statesmen remain at home to take on Central Baptist College at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, November 14 at Walter Sillers Coliseum.
