CLEVELAND, Miss. - West Alabama erased an eight-point deficit with 6:41 to play and outscored the Delta State University men's basketball team 6-1 in the game's final 2:27, and a last-second field goal attempt with seconds to play fell off the rim for the Statesmen as the Tigers stole a road victory in Gulf South Conference play on Monday night at Walter Sillers Coliseum.

THE BASICS:

    Score: West Alabama 66, Delta State 65
    Records: DSU (8-10, 6-4 GSC) | West Alabama (12-5, 6-3 GSC)
    Series: DSU leads the series 43-28
    Location: Walter Sillers Coliseum
    Get Social: Twitter - @DeltaStateMBB | Facebook - DSUStatesmen
 
TURNING POINT:
 

• The West Alabama Tigers outscored Delta State 6-1 in the final 2:27 of the game to grab their sixth GSC win and improve to 12-5 on the season.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE:
 

• Delta State shot 19-of-50 from the field, shooting 38 percent for the game. DSU knocked down 4-of-12 from three and posted a 23-of-28 mark from the free throw line. 
• West Alabama went 22-for-56 from the floor, shooting 39 percent. They hit 7-of-24 shots from three-point land, and went 15-of-25 from the free throw line as a team.
• The Green-and-White out-rebounded the Tigers 38-35, including 29-24 on the defensive glass.
• DSU tallied 16 assists to just six for West Alabama, and hit 23 free throws to UWA' 15.
• PJ Davis tallied a game-high 18 points for the Statesmen, and added two rebounds and one assist.
• Josh Fleming poured in 28 points, eight rebounds, two assists and two steals.

 INSIDE THE FLOW:
 

• West Alabama built an 8-4 lead in the opening five and half minutes of the game, using five early points from Josh Fleming to take the four point lead at the 14:34 mark of the first half. 
• The Delta State defense dug in over the next four-plus minutes, however, as they held the Tigers scoreless and stormed back in front with an 11-4 run to take the 15-8 lead on an Armon Benford jumper with 10:34 to go in the half. 
• With 6:53 remaining in the half and the Statesmen leading 23-13, West Alabama used a 10-0 spurt to tie the game, getting two more Josh Fleming three-pointers to knot the game up with 2:49 to go before the break.
• Fleming's third three of the first half gave UWA a 27-26 lead, but the Green-and-White got a driving layup from Cam Monix with just over a second to go in the half to steal the lead back 28-27 at the half.
• PJ Davis had 15 points in the first half for Delta State, including a 3-for-3 mark from three-point territory, and Fleming led the Tigers with 12 points at the halftime intermission.
• UWA opened the second half on a 15-8 run to open up a six-point 42-36 lead, their largest of the game, with 14:07 left to go in the game.
• The Green-and-White responded on the offensive end by outscoring the Tigers 20-6 over the next seven-plus minutes to take a 58-46 lead with 6:41 left in the game.
• West Alabama continued to battle, and with 2:27 to go in the game, Delta State held a slim 64-60 advantage. Fleming hit another three to pull within one point, 64-63, with 1:35 to go
• After Mitch Keller split a pair of free throws to make it 65-63, and Fleming tied it at 65-65 with two more free throws with 1:23 to go. 
• A loose ball foul called against the Statesmen put Fleming back at the line, where he split a pair of free throws once again.
• The Statesmen had a look at the win, as a driving layup by Cameron Monix with seconds remaining rolled off the rim as the Tigers slipped away with the 66-65 victory.

NOTABLES:
 

• Delta State held UWA's leading scorer Charles Eaton to a season-low 15 points on 5-for-15 shooting.
• Cornelius McIntosh posted a career-high 10 points and added a career-high four assists, going a perfect 8-for-8 from the free throw line.
• Mitch Keller also went for a career-high 12 points, and contributed seven rebounds, one assist and one block.
• Armon Benford tallied his seventh game of at least five points, five rebounds and five assists, totaling eight points, eight rebounds and five assists. He also added one steal.

UP NEXT:

The Statesmen hit the road in GSC action once again, traveling to Cleveland, Tenn. and Rome, Ga. to take on Lee University and Shorter University, respectively. The Statesmen and Flames will square off on Thursday, Jan. 18 at 7 p.m. at Paul Dana Walker Arena in Cleveland. DSU will then take on Shorter on Saturday, Jan. 20 at 3 p.m. at the Winthrop-King Centre in Rome.