LIVINGSTON, Ala. – Brett Hanson and the Florida Southern College Moccasins (1-0) built a 20-point halftime lead and cruised to a 92-74 victory over the Statesmen (0-1) of Delta State University in the opening game of the Gulf South Conference-Sunshine State Conference Crossover on Saturday, Nov. 9 at Pruitt Hall.
 
Hanson finished the night with a game-high 24 points and five assists.
 
Delta State, which outscored FSC 43-39 in the 2^nd half, placed four players in double figures led by Keyshaun Street's 21 points. Anderson McCoy added 13 points with Airen Brooks and Austin Laatsch chipping in 12 points apiece.     

THE BASICS:
Score:  Florida Southern 92 | Delta State 74
Records:  Statesmen (0-1) | Moccasins (1-0)
Series: Moccasins lead 8-3
Location | Time: Pruitt Hall | 6 PM
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HOW IT HAPPENED

• Florida Southern erupted out of the gates, building a 21-3 lead at the 13:50 mark of the 1^st half.
• Keyshaun Street's floater with 11:30 to play in the half finally got the Statesmen into double digits, as the Moccasins led 28-10.
• Seven points from Airen Brooks cut the DSU deficit to 16 points, 36-20, with 6:12 to play in the frame.
• FSC closed the 1^st half on a 12-6 run to lead 53-31 going into the locker room.   
• The Mocs connected on 19-of-32 shots from the floor and 11-of-15 at the free throw line in the 1^st half while the Statesmen were an icy 11-of-29 and just 3-of-9 from 3-point range.
• Brett Hanson led FSC and all scorers with 15 points at the break. Brooks had 11 points and Street 10 points to lead the Statesmen.
• A 12-3 run by the Mocs, fueled by three Jayln Hinton dunks, extened their lead to 65-34 with 16:34 to play in the second half.
• Austin Laatsch's personal 5-0 run got the Statesmen back to within 23, 71-48, at the under 12:00 media timeout.
• DSU used an 21-6 run over a 5:56 period to slash the deficit in half and make it a 74-57 game with 9:20 to play. During the run, Laatsch had eight points, including a pair of 3-pointers for the Statesmen.
• At the under 8:00 media timeout, FSC had extended the lead back to 20, 77-57, off of a Hinton free throw and E.J. Dambreville dunk.
• The two squads traded mini runs over the final 7:17 to make the final 92-74 in favor of the Mocs.
• FSC shot 50 percent (35-of-70) on the night while holding DSU to 40 percent (25-of-62). The Statesmen also made 11-of-22 shots from 3-point range.                           

 
STAT OF THE GAME

• The Moccasins scored 56 of their 92 points in the paint.

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE

• Delta State's first starting five in the Nienaber era included Keyshaun Street (G), Airen Brooks (F), Anderson McCoy (G), Michael Motley (G), and Cameron Burkett (F).
• Mike Nienaber, who was introduced as the 16th head coach of the Statesmen on May 6, 2019, came to DSU after a highly decorated run as head coach at Christian Brothers University, where he won two Gulf South Conference championships, made five trips to the NCAA Tournament and advanced to the 2009 NCAA DII Elite Eight. His 593 career wins, including a 351-224 record at CBU, rank 11th among active NCAA DII head coaches.

 
UP NEXT

• Delta State faces Eckerd College in the final game of the Gulf South Conference/Sunshine State Conference Crossover. Tipoff is set for 2 PM at Pruitt Hall on the campus of the University of West Alabama.