CLEVELAND, Miss. – Brett Warner's season-high 22 points led the Delta State University men's basketball team to its first victory of the season, 76-58, over Fisk University on Thursday, Nov. 15 at Walter Sillers Coliseum. Justin Slocum (13) and Cedric Harper (10) joined Warner in double figures. Montreal Nabors and A.J. Hassell led the Bulldogs with 13 points each.

THE BASICS:
Score:  Delta State 76 | Fisk 58
Records: Statesmen 1-2 | Bulldogs 1-5
Series: DSU leads 1-0
Location | Time:  Sillers Coliseum | 7 PM
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HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Statesmen jumped out to a quick 10-3 lead at the 16:59 mark of the first half.
• Matthew Wilson's deep 3-pointer and Armon Benford's 10-foot floater extended DSU's lead to 15-6 with 14:29 to go in the opening half.
• Two quick 3-pointers from EJ Galloway cut the Statesmen lead to 18-12 with 11:10 to play in the half.
• A 6-0 run on baskets from Rasheide Bell, Justin Slocum and Brett Warner extended the lead to 24-12 at the under-eight media timeout for the Statesmen.  
• Delta State built its largest lead of the half, 26-14, on Slocum's jump hook in the paint with 6:19 to go.
• Fisk's Montreal Nabors connected on a pair of 3-points and a quick four points from Howard Smothers slashed the DSU lead to 30-21 with 3:10 to play in the first.
• A Cliff Fernandez tip-in and a buzzer-beating 3-point by Warner ended the half with DSU leading 35-24.
• Slocum and the Statesmen rushed out of the gates in the first four minutes of the second half, building DSU's lead to 16 points, 44-28, at the 15:25 media timeout. Slocum was 3-of-3 from the floor during that stretch.
• Three straight baskets by Fisk, including back-to-back 3-points from Carlos Sandifer and Smothers, cut the DSU lead to eight, 44-36, with 12:45 to go in the game.
• DSU answered with an 13-0 run to take a commanding 57-36 lead with 9:54 remaining.
• A.J. Hassell's driving lay-up for Fisk ended a 3:17 scoring drought.
• Three monstrous dunks by Cedric Harper, a jumper from Bell and Warner's 22-footer gave the Statesmen their largest lead if the night, 68-44, with 6:12 to play.
• Fisk outscored DSU 14-8 over the remainder of the game to make the final, 76-58.     

TURNING POINT

• Delta State's 13-0 run in the second half allowed the Statesmen to take control of the game for good. The Statesmen held the Bulldogs scoreless for 3:17 during the stretch.

 
STAT OF THE GAME

• The Statesmen dominated play in the paint, outscoring Fisk 34-10.  

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE

• Delta State shot 61.2 percent (30-of-49) from the floor on the night while holding Fisk to 35.1 percent (20-of-57) from the floor.  
• The Statesmen out-rebounded the Bulldogs 38-24 as well, including a game-high nine boards by Harper.
• Warner made three 3-pointers to push his career total to 149. The Collierville, Tenn., native ranks fifth on the Delta State career 3-pointers made chart. His 422 attempts are fourth all-time at DSU.
• Slocum finished the night 6-of-9 from the floor for 13 points. He also grabbed seven rebounds.
• Harper, who missed a double-double by one rebound, was 5-of-6 from the floor, including four monster dunks.
• Benford dished out a season-high eight assists in the win.
• Fisk connected on 11 shots from beyond3-point range.

UP NEXT

• Delta State welcomes Miles College to Walter Sillers Coliseum on Saturday, Nov. 17 for a key NCAA Division II South Region contest. Tipoff is set for 4 p.m.