PENSACOLA, Fla. - For the second consecutive game, the Delta State University men's basketball team was outscored by nine or more points in the second half as West Florida bested Delta State 36-23 in that span to take the 71-54 Gulf Couth Conference victory on Tuesday night at the UWF Field House in Pensacola.

THE BASICS:

    Score: West Florida 71, Delta State 54
    Records: DSU (7-9, 5-3 GSC) | UWF (14-1, 6-1 GSC)
    Series: DSU leads the series 14-7
    Location: UWF Field House | Pensacola, Fla.
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TURNING POINT:
 

• With the Statesmen within one point at 48-47 with 10:18 to play, West Florida raced to a 23-7 run to close out the game and take the home win over Delta State 71-54.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE:
 

• Delta State shot 21 of 48 from the field, shooting a 44 percent clip for the game. DSU knocked down just 5-of-216 from three (31 percent) and posted a 7-for-9 mark from the free throw line (78 percent).
• The Argonauts went 27-for-48 from the floor, shooting 56 percent for the game. They hit nine of their 16 shots from three-point land, and went 8-of-10 from the free throw line as a team.
• The Statesmen out-rebounded the Argonauts 30-21 for the game, but UWF outscored DSU 27-14 in points off turnovers. 
• Each team scored 26 points in the paint, and Delta State had the edge in second chance points 11-4.
• West Florida forced the Green-and-White into 19 turnovers, while tallying 18 assists to 13 turnovers of their own. 
• Armon Benford tied his career-high with 11 points, while Cornelius McIntosh also tied his career-high with nine points on the night.
• Mitch Keller scored seven points and grabbed 10 rebounds for Delta State.
• Darryl Tucker scored 23 points and grabbed six rebounds, while dishing out a pair of assists and grabbing a block. 
• Marvin Jones (15 points), Moter Deng (12 points) and DJ Thorpe (11 points) joined Tucker in double-figures for the Argos.

 INSIDE THE FLOW:
 

• Both teams played the opening nine minutes within one possession of each other, and were knotted up at 14-14 with 12:54 to go in the first half. 
• West Florida used a quick 6-0 spurt, behind a jumper and a layup from DJ Thorpe, to take a 20-14 lead with 10:45 to go, but Delta State fought back with a 7-0 run to take a 21-20 lead on an Armon Benford layup with 6:54 left to go in the first half. 
• The Argonauts used another quick burst, this time an 8-0 run, to jump back out in front 28-21 with 4:16 left in the fist half. 
• DSU continued to battle, cutting the lead back down to one before Moter Deng hit a three-pointer with 35 seconds left in the half as UWF took a 35-31 lead into the break.
• The Green-and-White kept at it, keeping it tight and drawing within a point at 48-47 with 10:18 left to play in the game. 
• UWF had the answer, however, as they outscored the Green-and-White 22-7 the rest of the way to fortify the win.

NOTABLES:
 

• PJ Davis currently sits 10th in school history in rebounding, registering 656 rebounds for his career. He trails Keith Gardner (670), who sits in 9th place in Statesmen history.
• Benford totaled his fifth game of at least five points, five rebounds and five assists. 

UP NEXT:

The Statesmen return to Walter Sillers Coliseum to host Montevallo and West Alabama. The Statesmen and Montevallo tip-off at 4 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 13. DSU then welcomes West Alabama on Monday, Jan. 15 at 7:30 p.m.