CLEVELAND, Miss - Fresh off of their first Gulf South Conference win, the Delta State University men's basketball team plays host to the Arkansas-Monticello Boll Weevils on Saturday, Dec. 9, with the two teams tipping off at 4 p.m.
TIP-OFF NEWS AND NOTES:
- TOYS FOR TOTS DRIVE: Delta State University Athletics and the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee will be collecting new, unwrapped toys this Sunday, Dec. 10 and Tuesday, Dec. 12 as part of the annual Toys-For-Tots campaign. Special drop-off locations are just inside the main concourse at Walter Sillers Coliseum.
- STATESMEN LOOK TO AVENGE LAST SEASON'S LOSS: The Boll Weevils of Arkansas-Monticello knocked off the Statesmen at Steelman Fieldhouse last season 77-66. Delta State had four players in double-figures, led by Brett Warner's 17 points and seven rebounds. Devin Schmidt added 16, Cedric Harper had 11 points and PJ Davis added 10 points. Karim Mawuenyega led the way for UAM with 23 points,and Cobe Goosby added 15 points, five rebounds and four assists. Hunter Daley was the other Boll Weevils player in double-figures, scoring 11 points in 12 minutes of action.
ABOUT DELTA STATE:
- STATESMEN NOTCH FIRST GSC WIN: The Statesmen grabbed their first win in Gulf South Conference play last weekend, dominating the second half en route to defeating Union (Tenn.) 71-53. Delta State outscored the Bulldogs 46-27 in the second half and were paced by 19 points from PJ Davis. Davis tallied 19 points, seven rebounds, two assists and one block, and Brett Warner added 17 points, five rebounds and four assists. Senior Cam Monix added a career-high 13 points on 4-of-5 shooting, including going 2-of-2 from three and 3-of-4 from the free throw line, and added two rebounds, two assists and two steals on the night.
- BRETT WARNER PACES STATESMEN OFFENSE: Brett Warner leads the charge for the Statesmen offense to open the season. The Collierville, Tenn. native is averaging 15.6 points in 34.0 minutes per game for the Green-and-White. Warner is shooting 37% from three-point territory (17-of-46), and is adding 2.1 rebounds and 2.1 assists per contest. He is also shooting 82% from the free throw line (14-of-17), and is shooting 46% from the floor (47-of-102).
- BENFORD DOING IT ALL: Junior transfer Armon Benford has done a little bit of everything for the Statesmen so far this season. The Chicago, Ill. native and South Suburban CC product is averaging 5.5 points, 5.0 rebounds, 4.3 assists and 2.0 steals in 30.1 minutes per night.
ABOUT ARKANSAS-MONTICELLO:
- GOOSBY LEADING THE CHARGE: Led by Cobe Goosby, Arkansas-Monticello is averaging almost 87 points per game. The Elba, Ala. native and Gulf Coast State College product is averaging 17.1 points per game. Goosby is adding 5.1 rebounds per night, and also averraging 3.1 assists and 1.9 steals. The 6-foot-5 senior guard is shooting 52% from the floor (49-of-94) and 48% (12-of-25) from three-point territory.
- MAWUENYEGA, HILL AND JONES CHIPPING IN DOUBLE-FIGURES: Karim Mawuenyega, Derylton Hill and Tyrin Jones are all chippiing in double-digit points for the Boll Weevils. Mawuenyega, a senior guard from New Orleans, La., is adding 15.3 points, 4.6 rebounds, 5.1 assists and 2.9 steals on the year. Hill, a senior from Palm Bay, Fla., is also averaging 15.3 points and leads the team with 6.5 rebounds per game Jones rounds out the double-digit scorers for UAM, as the 6-foot-3 Duck Hill, Miss. native is averaging 14.1 points on the year.
UP NEXT:
Delta State will play its final non-conference game of the season, as they host Bethel (Tenn.) on Dec. 12 at 7 p.m.
