CARROLLTON, Ga. - The Delta State University men's basketball team allowed 44 percent shooting beyond the arc to see the University of West Georgia claim the 88-79 victory on Saturday evening at The Coliseum.

Inside the Matchup:
    Score: West Georgia 88 | Delta State 79
    Records: Wolves (10-18, 7-15 GSC) | Statesmen (21-7, 16-6 GSC)
    Series: DSU leads series 26-19
    Location: The Coliseum | Carrollton, Ga.
 
How It Happened:

• Delta State and West Georgia traded buckets early to start the game, but a Willie Evans three-pointer sparked a 16-0 run to give the Wolves a 20-5 advantage.
• James Kilpatrick broke up the run with a layup, but West Georgia continued to dominate shooting 5-for-9 from beyond the arc leading to a 13-5 run to extend the lead to 22 points.
• The Statesmen answered after a Ravion Henry jumper to ignite a 15-5 run of their own, but still trailed by double-digits with less than five minutes to go in the half.
• After almost a three minute scoring drought, Cedric Harper nailed a layup to narrow the margin to 12 points at the 1:48 mark.
• West Georgia closed out the half on a 7-2 run to maintain a 46-29 lead over the Statesmen as both teams go into the locker room.
• Delta State shot 12-of-29 (41.4 percent) in the opening half, while UWG was 17-of-33 (51.5 percent). Warner was 3-of-6 from the field as he led the team with seven points. Harper chipped in six points as well to combine for four assists and Schmidt only had five points and three rebounds. Keron Briggs led the Wolves with 13 points and one rebound.
• The Statesmen came out aggressive to start the second half scoring off a Kilpatrick jumper and Warner three to narrow the gap to 12 points.
• Stephaun Branch answered with a jumper and Briggs added a three to push the lead back 51-34 with 17:22 left in the game.
• Both sides went back-and-forth inside the final 10 minutes, but West Georgia maintained a double digit lead.
• A trio of Ravion Henry free throws sparked a 10-0 run to pull the Statesmen back to a four point deficit as well as locking down defensively not allowing a West Georgia point for over four minutes.
• West Georgia broke the drought after Branch nailed a pair of free throws and a Briggs three gave the Statesmen an eight point cushion.
• Late in the second half, both teams traded buckets to keep the margin in the single digits, but after two Branch free throws put the game back in the double digits as the Wolves led 80-69.
• The Statesmen brought it back to a five point game after going on a 7-1 run, however, the Wolves iced the game hitting seven free throws and claimed the 88-79 victory.
• Delta State finished 27-of-64 (42.2 percent) from the floor, including just 8-for-24 (33.3 percent) from three-point territory. DSU went just 17-of-35 from the free throw line. The Wolves shot 28-of-58 (48.3 percent from the floor), made 20-of-25 from the free throw line and knocked down 12-of-27 attempts from three. 
• Schmidt led the way with 23 points each for DSU, while Henry added 13, Warner with 11 and Harper tallied 10. PJ Davis and Kilpatrick finished with a combined 18 points.
• Keron Briggs led the way for UWG, scoring 33 points. Branch added 15 for the visitors. 

 
Notables:            

• Devin Schmidt needs 65 points to become the GSC all-time scoring leader.
• This loss snaps a nine-game winning streak that started on Jan. 28 against North Alabama.
• Delta State forced 17 turnovers and scored 27 points off those turnovers.

Who's Next:

• The Statesmen clinched the third seed and return to Walter Sillers on Tuesday night to host the GSC quarterfinal against sixth seed Shorter University. Time is to be determined.