CLEVELAND, Miss. – P.J. Davis scored a game-high 22 points, but it was not enough as the Delta State University men's basketball team fell to the University of West Georgia, 70-64, in Gulf South Conference action, on Thursday, Feb. 1 at Walter Sillers Coliseum. The loss drops DSU into a three-way tie for fifth place in the GSC race with six games remaining in the regular season.  

THE BASICS:

    Score:  DSU 64 | West Georgia 70
    Records: Statesmen (9-13, 7-7 GSC) | Wolves (10-11, 5-9 GSC)
    Series: Delta State leads 27-21
    Location | Time: Sillers Coliseum | 7:30 p.m.
    Get Social: Twitter - @DeltaStateWBB | Facebook – DSUStatesmen | Instagram – DSUAthletics
 
TURNING POINT:
 

• After the Statesmen tied the game at 57-57, West Georgia held DSU scoreless for the next 3:44 on the clock while building a 65-57 lead.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE:
 

• P.J. Davis paced the Statesmen with 22 points, moving past Mark Easley (1982-1985) into 12^th place on the career scoring chart with 1,194 points. The senior finished the night 9-of-18 from the floor with five rebounds and four assists.
• Armon Benford dropped in nine points while handing out six assists. Brett Warner had eight points and seven assists.
• William Sides led four Wolves in double figures with 20 points. Marquill Smith added 19 points.
• UWG connected on 9-of-20 from 3-point range.
• DSU out-rebounded UWG 37-27 and outscored the Wolves 28-12 in the paint in the loss.  

 INSIDE THE FLOW:
 

• In the first eight minutes of the contest, West Georgia raced out to a 17-9 lead behind Smith's 11 points. UWG used four DSU turnovers during that stretch to fuel their run.
• DSU closed the gap to two points with 7:12 remaining in the half, as Benford knocked down a short jumper to make it 20-18.
• Corneilus McIntosh gave Delta State its first lead at 21-20, canning a deep 3-pointer with 6:36 to go in the first half.
• The Wolves closed the first half on a 17-8 run to lead 37-29 at the break.
• Cameron Monix's 3-pointer with 15:19 to go in the second half slashed the UWG lead to four, 43-39.
• After forcing back-to-back misses for the Wolves, DSU's Davis flushed an easy lay-up, off a Monix assist, with 11:23 to make it 48-45 with 11:43 to play.
• Davis's driving layup with 9:36 remaining in the game gave the Statesmen a brief 51-50 lead, but back-to-back baskets by the Wolves, including a 3-pointer by Paul Turner, put UWG back on top 55-51 with 9:03 to go.
• DSU fought back to tie the game at 57-57 with 5:23 to play on a Dietrich Taylor layup.
• West Georgia built the lead back to eight, 65-57, on Turner's long jumper with 2:03 to go in the game.
• Delta cut it to a three-point game, 65-62, on Matthew Wilson's 3-pointer with 59.2 seconds left.
• UWG answered on Smith's corner 3-pointer with 31.2 on the clock to go back up 68-62 and free throws by William Sides iced the victory, 70-64.     

NOTABLES:
 

• Senior forward P.J. Davis made his 113^th consecutive start for the Statesmen. The Cleveland, Miss., native, has scored 1,194 points in his four-year career at Delta State, which ranks 12^th in school history.  
• Delta State, which leads the Gulf South Conference in scoring defense, has held opponents to less than 80 points in its last eight games.
• Delta State downed West Georgia, 76-56, at The Coliseum in Carrollton, Ga., in the first meeting of the season on Dec. 18, 2017.

WHO'S NEXT:
 

• The Statesmen wrap-up the week on Saturday, Feb. 3, as Delta State hosts Auburn University of Montgomery. Tipoff is set for 4 p.m. at Sillers Coliseum.   
• Tickets can be purchased online in advance using the following link, DSU Basketball Tickets, and will also be available at the door one hour prior to tip-off.