CLEVELAND, Miss - The Delta State University men's basketball team is set to host a pair of National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) opponents in Central Baptist College and Cumberland University (Tenn.) this week at Walter Sillers Coliseum. The Statesmen and Mustangs of CBC will tip on Tuesday, Nov. 14 at 7 p.m., and Delta State will throw it up against Cumberland on Saturday, Nov. 18 at 4 p.m.
 

STATESMEN GAME DAY INFO
Date	Nov. 14: DSU vs. Central Baptist College  Nov. 18: DSU vs. Cumberland (Tenn.)
Tip-Off Location/Time	Nov. 14: Walter Sillers Coliseum - 7 P.M.  Nov. 18: Walter Sillers Coliseum - 7 P.M.
Series History/Last Meeting	- CBC: DSU leads series 1-0  - 12.3.16 - DSU W, 77-66  - CU: DSU leads series 1-0  - 11.30.13 - DSU W, 64-49
Audio/Video	Listen/Watch Here
Live Stats	Nov. 14: Follow Here  Nov. 18: Follow Here
Game Notes	Delta State vs. CBC/Cumberland

TIP-OFF NEWS AND NOTES:

• STATESMEN, CENTRAL BAPTIST MEET FOR SECOND TIME: The Statesmen and the Central Baptist College Mustangs will meet for the second time, with DSU winning 77-66 last season at Walter Sillers Coliseum on December 3. Devin Schmidt led all scorers with 28 points, and PJ Davis had 12 points and eight rebounds. Brett Warner also added seven points, three rebounds and three steals for the Green-and-White.
• STATESMEN SLIP TO 0-2: Falling 61-55 against Eckerd and 75-67 against Florida Southern in the Gulf South Conference/Sunshine State Conference Crossover Classic, the Delta State University Statesmen are off to the program's first 0-2 start since the 2010-11 campaign, when DSU dropped a pair of games to Rollins and St. Leo to open the season under then head coach Jason Conner.

ABOUT DELTA STATE:

• HENRY TIES CAREER-HIGH: Senior Ravion Henry scored 22 points in Delta State's loss to Florida Southern College, tying his career-high in a Statesmen uniform. After scoring just two points in the first half, Henry poured in 20 second-half points and also added five rebounds, one assist and one steal. Henry was 9-of-15 from the field and knocked down 3-of-6 attempts from three-point territory. 
• BENFORD SETTLING INTO POINT GUARD ROLE: Transfer guard Armon Benford has been a welcome addition to the Statesmen lineup this season. The junior point guard from Chicago has averaged 7.5 points, six rebounds, 4.5 assists and one steal per game and has shot 50% from the field through the first two games of the season for DSU. 
• PJ DAVIS STEPS UP IN FIRST TWO GAMES: Senior PJ Davis has stepped up for DSU through two games. The Cleveland, Miss. product is averaging 13.0 points, 8.0 rebounds, 1.5 steals and two blocks per game and has already shot 18 free throws, making 11, to the start the campaign for head coach Jim Boone and his team.

ABOUT CENTRAL BAPTIST:

• STATESMEN, CENTRAL BAPTIST MEET FOR SECOND TIME: The Statesmen and the Central Baptist College Mustangs will meet for the second time, with DSU winning 77-66 last season at Walter Sillers Coliseum on December 3. Devin Schmidt led all scorers with 28 points, and PJ Davis had 12 points and eight rebounds. Brett Warner also added seven points, three rebounds and three steals for the Green-and-White.
• ANDRE NIKITA PACES MUSTANGS IN SEASON OPENER: Central Baptist won their opening game of the season 109-78 over Crowley's Ridge College on November 7, getting a game-high 20 points from guard Andre Nikita. The San Diego, Calif. native and Angelo State transfer scored 20 points on 8-of-11 shooting, and also added six rebounds, two assists and two steals.
• BALANCED ATTACK LEADS CBC TO WIN: The Mustangs had five players in double figures in their season-opening 31-point victory. Ashford Golden (15 points), Victor Dukes (14 points), TeShawn Sims (11 points) and Sammie Elem (10 points) all poured in double-digit points, and eleven of the twelve players that saw action in the game scored at least four points. The Mustangs were 12-of-17 from three-point land as a team, and shot 53.8% from the floor (35-of-65) in the victory.

ABOUT CUMBERLAND:

• PHOENIX ALREADY FIVE GAMES IN: The Cumberland (Tenn.) Phoenix are already five games into their 2017-18 season, scoring a 69-62 come-from-behind win on the road at Freed-Hardeman. Cumberland has wins against #25 Martin Methodist and Oakwood University, and have fallen to Fisk University and Oakwood, and fell to Western Kentucky in exhibition action.
• DIONDREY HOLT JR., JUANDRICO WALKER LEAD THE WAY FOR THE PHOENIX: Senior guard Diondrey Holt, Jr., a Louisville, Ky. native, is leading the offense for the Phoenix through the first handful of games. Holt is averaging 16.2 points per game, 4.0 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.1 steals per game. Walker, a senior forward from Chesapeake, Va., has cleaned up the boards well for CU. Walker has pulled down 8.8 rebounds per game and has scored 11.4 points per game.

UP NEXT:

Delta State will continue non-conference action against Cumberland (Tenn.) on Saturday, Nov. 18 at 4 p.m. at Walter Sillers Coliseum.