CLEVELAND, Miss. – Matthew Wilson scored a team-high 21 points to lead the Delta State University men's basketball team to a 70-56 victory over Lee University at Walter Sillers Coliseum on Saturday, Jan. 26. The Statesmen (13-6, 9-3 GSC) held the Flames to their lowest point total of the year and 14 below their season average of 70.6 points per game.
 
Rasheide Bell, who scored 14 points, grabbed seven rebounds and handed out five assists, and Justin Slocum (11) joined Wilson in double figures.
 
Ryan Montgomery led Lee and all scorers with 29 points.    

THE BASICS:
Score:  Delta State 70 | Lee 56
Records: Statesmen 13-6, 9-3 GSC | Flames 11-9, 8-4 GSC
Series: DSU leads 9-3
Location | Time: Sillers Coliseum | 4 PM
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HOW IT HAPPENED

• Points were at a premium to start Saturday's contest at Sillers Coliseum, as the Statesmen and Flames were tied 3-3 at the 15:18 media timeout. Lee was 0-of-5 from the floor at that point, but 3-of-4 at the free throw line.
• Matthew Wilson's four-point play with 11:11 remaining in the first half gave the Statesmen an 11-7 advantage. Wilson's 3-pointer was the first of the game for either team and just the fourth field goal of the game for the Statesmen.
• Colton Blevins cut Lee's deficit to four, 13-9, on a perfectly executed pick-and-roll with 9:13 to go in the half. It was just the third field goal of the game for LU.
• After Blevins cut the DSU lead to two, 13-11, Justin Slocum scored four straight points to put the Statesmen back up six, 17-11, with 5:55 to play.
• Lee answered back with 6-3 run over next 2:08 to cut the Statesmen lead to 20-17 at the 3:47 media timeout. Daaron Maston's 3-pointer and Parker Suedekum's layup powered the run.
• Brett Warner nailed his first 3-pointer of the game from the left corner to extend DSU's lead to seven, 25-18, with 1:23 to play in the half.
• Neither team added to their totals, as the Statesmen carried a 25-18 lead into the locker room.
• Slocum led the Statesmen with seven points and four rebounds at the break while Ryan Montgomery led Lee with seven points as well.
• The Statesmen and Flames started the second half with a little more offensive firepower than the first, as DSU led 32-25 at the 16:00 media timeout. Both teams combined to score 14 points in the first 4:00 of the half after notching six in the same time frame in the first.
• Rasheide Bell's fadeaway jumper on the block extended DSU's lead to 10, 37-27, with 13:59 to play.
• Lee cut it to seven, 37-30, with 11:42 to go on a layup by Montgomery and a Blevins free throw.
• A 5-0 run by Montgomery got the Flames to within five, 40-35, with 10:44 remaining.
• Delta answered with five straight points on a Wilson 3-pointer and a pair of Bell free throws. The Statesmen led 45-35 with 9:48 on the clock.
• After the Flames had cut the DSU lead to six, the Statesmen countered with a 5-0 run on Wilson's third 3-pointer and a tip in by Armon Benford to go back up by 11, 50-39, with 7:21 to play.
• Back-to-back Benford baskets forced Lee to take a timeout with 5:55 to go, as the Statesmen had extended their lead to 14, 54-40.
• Out of the timeout, Lee canned back-to-back 3-pointers to get the deficit back to single digits, 54-46, with 4:27 left in the contest.
• After Warner made 1-of-2 free throws, Cedric Harper cleared the glass and put back the shot to give the Statesmen an 11-point advantage, 59-48.
• DSU closed out the game outscoring the Flames 11-8 for a 70-56 victory.    

TURNING POINT

• After Lee cut the deficit to five points, 40-35, with 10:44 to play in the second half, the Statesmen answered with a 5-0 run of their own to get back to a double-digit lead.

 
STAT OF THE GAME

• Delta State outscored Lee 21-4 on second chance points behind 16 offensive rebounds.  

 
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE

• DSU held Lee to 18 first half points, their lowest output of the year to date.
• Lee came in to the game second in the GSC in scoring defense (64.5 ppg) while the Statesmen were ranked fourth (65.7 ppg).
• Benford, a senior from Chicago, Ill., grabbed 10 rebounds while scoring x points. It was his ninth game of the season with at least seven rebounds.  
• Warner, who scored seven points to tie Don Cooper (1970-1973/1,279) for 10^th on the career scoring list with 1,279 points. 

UP NEXT

• The Statesmen face a two-game road swing next week, as Delta State travels to Auburn-Montgomery on Thursday, Jan. 31. Tip-off is set for 8 p.m. Following the AUM matchup, DSU will drive up to Huntsville, Ala., for a Saturday shootout the Chargers of Alabama-Huntsville. Game time is set fior 4 p.m. Philip Tang will have the call for both games on the Statesmen Sports Network (WMJW 107.5 FM) starting 15 minutes before tipoff.