CARROLLTON, Ga. – The Delta State University men's basketball team held the University of West Georgia to a season-low point total, as the Statesmen claimed a 74-51 victory on Monday, Jan. 7 at The Coliseum. Cedric Harper led DSU with 16 points and 11 rebounds while Matthew Wilson (13), Armon Benford (12) and Brett Warner (11) joined him in double figures.
 
Michael Zabetakis led West Georgia with 15 points. 

THE BASICS:
Score:  Delta State 77 | West Georgia 57
Records: Statesmen 9-4, 5-1 GSC | Wolves 9-4, 4-2 GSC
Series: DSU leads 28-21
Location | Time: The Coliseum | 7:30 PM EST
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HOW IT HAPPENED

• Points were hard to come by at the outset of the contest, as Delta State built a 6-5 lead with 14:21 to play in the first half.
• Michael Zabetakis ended a 4:09 scoring drought with a deep 3-pointer to give the Wolves an 8-6 lead with 12:57 to go.
• A quick four points from DSU's Cedric Harper and a lay-up by Zabetakis deadlocked the game at 10-10 at the under 12 media timeout.
• Over the next 4:41, the Statesmen went on a 13-2 run to take their largest lead of the night, 23-12, with 7:10 remaining in the first period. Cameron Burkett dropped in five points with A.J. Cockrell adding four during the stretch.
• UWG's Gerald Blount made it a nine-point game, 29-20, with a short jumper at the 3:01 mark.
• Matthew Wilson's 3-pointer and a pair of free throws helped give the Statesmen a 34-23 lead at the half.
• Harper paced the Statesmen with eight points at the break while Burkett led all players with seven rebounds. UWG was led by Zabetakis with nine points.
• Back-ro-back 3-pointers by Rasheide Bell and Brett Warner's first 3-pointer of the night forced UWG's Dave Brown to call timeout with 18:19 to go in the game, as the Statesmen built a 43-25 advantage.
• Justin Slocum's lay-up extended DSU's lead to 21 points, 46-25, at the 15:59 media timeout.
• Warner's four points over the next 4:29 kept the pressure on the Wolves, as DSU led 56-34 at the 11:58 media break.
• Jared Simmons' jumper with 10:51 to play ended a 3:45 field goal drought by West Georgia. The basket cut the DSU lead to 20, 56-36.
• Coming out of the media timeout, a short jumper by Armon Benford and a monster dunk by Harper put the Statesmen back up by 24, 64-40, with 7:29 to go.
• Wilson's second 3-pointer of the night grew DSU's lead to 29 points, 69-40.
• Willie Barnes ended a 6:41 field goal drought with a lay-up at the 4:10 mark of the half.  
• With the game no longer in doubt for DSU, UWG outscored the Statesmen 7-3 in the waning moments of the game to make the final margin. 23 points, 74-51.       

TURNING POINT

• An 12-0 run by the Statesmen during th first 3:16 of the second half allowed the Statesmen to take nine point lead and extend it to 21.

 
STAT OF THE GAME

• The Statesmen held the Wolves to a season-low 51 points. UWG's previous low came in an 88-62 loss at Montevallo.  

 
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE

• Harper, a senior from Tallahassee, Fla., turned in his first double-double of the season with 14 points and eight rebounds.
• The Statesmen held UWG to 31 percent (18-of-59) and 14 percent (3-of-15) from 3-point range.
• DSU forced 15 Wolves turnovers, leading to 17 points.
• The Statesmen handed out 19 assists on 27 made field goals.  
• Delta State entered the game ranked second in the GSC in scoring defense, allowing 66.1 points per game.   

UP NEXT

• Delta State returns to Walter Sillers Coliseum on Thursday, Jan. 10, as the Statesmen host the Argonauts of the University of West Florida for "Pack the House" night. Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m.