GAME NOTES: Delta State at West Florida/Valdosta State (2.14-16.19)
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CLEVELAND, Miss. - After going 1-1 last week in Gulf South Conference play, the Delta State University men's basketball team looks to hold to on to fourth place in the league standings with two challenging road contests this week at the University of West Florida (10-14, 6-10 GSC) and Valdosta State University (18-5, 11-4 GSC). The Statesmen (15-8, 11-5 GSC), who trail the University of West Alabama (13-3 GSC), Christian Brothers University (11-4 GSC) and VSU (11-4 GSC) heading into the final four games of the regular season, square-off with the Argonauts on Thursday, Feb. 14 in Pensacola, Fla. Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m. Saturday's game at VSU is set for 3 p.m. start. Both games will be broadcast on the Statesmen Sports Network and streamed online at GoStatesmen.com.
Philip Tang will have the call.
Thursday's game versus the Argonauts is the 24th all-time between Delta State and West Florida. The Statesmen, who lead the series 15-8, after defeating UWF, 71-62, on Jan, 10, 2019 at Walter Sillers Coliseum.
Rasheide Bell led four Statesmen in double figures with 18 points.
Cedric Harper added 16 points while
Justin Slocum turned in a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds. UWF freshman Jon Brown led all scorers with 27 points.
Delta State travels on down I-10 to Valdosta, Ga., for a Saturday showdown with the previously-ranked Blazers. The matchup is the 47th meeting between the clubs with DSU owning a slim 25-21 edge in the series standings. In the last meeting, the Statesmen claimed an 88-83 victory on Jan. 12, 2019 at Sillers Coliseum, as
Justin Slocum scored a career-high 24 points and grabbed a season-best 17 rebounds.
Senior guard
Brett Warner passed Alvin Ratliff (1969-1971/1,308) for ninth on the school's career scoring list with 1,317 points after scoring 14 versus Christian Brothers on Feb. 7 at Sillers Coliseum. The Collierville, Tenn., native also ranks fourth in career 3-pointers made (180) and second in attempts (523). He is currently averaging 14.3 ppg, which ranks sixth in the GSC.
A founding principle of coach
Jim Boone's style of play is tenacious, grinding defense. As the Statesmen face UWF and VSU this week on the road, Delta State ranks second in the league in field goal percentage defense (41.7%) and ranks No. 20 nationally in NCAA DII in scoring defense (65.9).
INSIDE THE PAINT: @DELTASTATEMBB NEWS & NOTES
- Five Statesmen are averaging in double figures, as Delta State heads on the road to face West Florida and Valdosta State. Brett Warner (14.3 ppg) ranks sixth in the GSC in points per game and leads the team in scoring followed by Rasheide Bell (12.7 ppg), Matthew Wilson (10.5 ppg), Justin Slocum (10.4) and Cedric Harper (10.0 ppg).
- Delta State enters this week's match-ups versus West Florida and Valdosta State ranked 20th in NCAA Division II in scoring defense, allowing 65.9 points per game.
- Junior forward Justin Slocum (7.2 rpg) and senior guard Armon Benford (7.0 rbg) both rank in the top 10 in the GSC in rebounding. Slocum is currently sixth while Benford, who also ranks 10th in assists per game, is eighth.
- Senior forward Cedric Harper scored a career-high 21 points to lead the Statesmen past Auburn Montgomery, 71-62, last week at Sillers Coliseum. The Tallahassee, Fla., native currently leads the GSC in FG percentage (67.1%) and blocks (34) while averaging 10.0 points and 5.8 rebounds per game.
- Justin Slocum has continued his consistent play at the forward spot for Coach Boone and the Statesmen. The junior from Macon, Ga., is averaging 10.4 points, 7.1 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game. He currently ranks sixth in the GSC in rebounding and second in FG percentage (54.1%).
- Matthew Wilson has scored 20 or more points in three of his last five outings for the Statesmen. In last week's 71-62 win over AUM, Wilson turned in 20 points on 4-of-7 from 3-point range. He also had 22 points at AUM (1.31) and 21 points at Lee (1.26). The Farmington, Ark., native is averaging 10.5 points per game. He is second in the GSC in 3-point FG percentage (42.7) and 10th in 3-pointers per game (2.1).
- A founding member of the Gulf South Conference, Delta State leads the league in all-time victories with 1,334 and league wins with 812. The Statesmen also own six GSC championships during its storied history. The Statesmen claimed the league's first-ever team title in 1972 and followed suit in 1986, 1993, 1997, 1998 and 2006.
