GAME NOTES: Selma/Bethel @ Delta State (12.8-10.18)
Complete weekly release with notes, stats, rankings & more in PDF

CLEVELAND, Miss. - The Delta State University men's basketball team will host a pair non-conference games over the course of the next week, as the Statesmen (4-3, 1-1 GSC) welcome Selma University (1-10) to Walter Sillers Coliseum on Saturday, Dec. 8 at 4 p.m. and Bethel University (5-3) on Monday, Dec. 10 at 7 p.m. The games mark the final two non-conference home dates of the year for the Statesmen, who have one non-Gulf South Conference matchup remaining on Dec. 19 at Miles College. Series capsules on each of this week's opponents are available on page four. Both games will be broadcast on the Statesmen Sports Network and streamed live on GoStatesmen TV. Philip Tang will have the call.   

As the Statesmen prepare to face Selma, Delta State is coming off a split last week to open Gulf South Conference play. The Statesmen dropped their league opener to the University of West Alabama, 62-54, before defeating the University of Montevallo, 77-68, this past Saturday. Rasheide Bell's 20 points paced the Statesmen, as coach Jim Boone earned his 450th career NCAA Division II victory.
 

INSIDE THE PAINT WITH @DELTASTATEMBB:

• Delta State enters the week ranked fourth in the GSC in scoring defense, as the Statesmen allow 67.1 points per game. DSU held West Alabama to just 62 points and Montevallo to 68 in last week's GSC matchups.
   
• Senior guard Brett Warner, a preseason All-GSC selection, comes into this week ranked 10th in the league in points per game (14.6). The Collierville, Tenn., native became the 18th player in DSU history to top 1,000 career points with his 22 point effort versus Fisk on Nov. 15, 2018, at Sillers Coliseum. He is currently 17th on the career scoring chart with 1,091 points. He joins former All-American Devin Schmidt, DSU's all-time leading scorer with 2,594 points, to accomplish the feat under coach Jim Boone.
   
• Justin Slocum has proven to be a major force on the glass, ranking fifth in the GSC in rebounds per game (7.3). The junior from Macon, Ga., is also averaging 11.3 points per game in 23.9 minutes of action per game.
   
• Senior forward Cedric Harper and sophomore guard Matthew Wilson are averaging double figures for coach Jim Boone and the Statesmen. Harper is currently turning in 10.4 points and 5.6 boards while Wilson chips in with 10.3 points per game.
   
• Delta State steps outside Gulf South Conference play this week, as the Statesmen host Selma on Saturday, Dec. 8 and Bethel on Monday, Dec. 10 at Walter Sillers Coliseum. The Statesmen are 7-0 all-time versus the Bulldogs of Selma while owning a 15-8 mark against the Wildcats of Bethel. DSU defeated Selma, 108-75, in its last meeting on Nov. 22, 2014, but fell last year to the Wildcats, 66-61, at Sillers Coliseum on Dec. 17, 2017.
   
• The Bethel series is one of the oldest in school history, dating back to a 31-23 loss for the Statesmen at Crisp Arena in McKenzie, Tenn., on Feb. 2, 1929, in the second organized season of basketball for DSU.
   
• Senior guard Rasheide Bell is averaging 9.9 points per game for the Statesmen this year, but 17.0 in his last two games. The Evansville, Ind., native scored a career-high 20 points and six rebounds in DSU's 77-68 win over Montevallo and chipped in 14 points and three assists versus West Alabama.
   
• Armon Benford, a senior point guard from Chicago, Ill., enters the week ranked fifth in the GSC in assists per game (5.0) and assist-to-turnover ratio (2.2). In DSU's win last week over Montevallo, Benford dished out seven assists with six points and four boards in 31 minutes on the floor.
   
• Senior forward Cedric Harper is on pace to set a new DSU record for career field goal percentage (72.8%). The Tallahassee, Fla., native currently leads the GSC in FG percentage and blocks (14) while averaging 10.4 points and 5.3 rebounds per game. He also ranks fourth in steals (1.9).
   
• Delta State is allowing 67.1 points per game to rank fifth in the GSC in scoring defense. Using the Pack Line, the Statesmen are actually even deadlier in league games, allowing 65.0 points per game.
   
• Matthew Wilson is currently ranked 12th in GSC in 3-pointers made per game (2.1).