GAME NOTES: Delta State (17-11/No.5) vs. Valdosta State (24-5/No. 1)
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CLEVELAND, Miss. - The Statesmen (17-11, No. 5 seed) of Delta State University will face the Blazers (24-5, No. 1 seed) of Valdosta State University in the semifinal round of the Gulf South Conference Men's Basketball Tournament on Saturday, March 9 at the Pete Hannah Center in Birmingham, Ala. Tipoff is set for 5 p.m. and the game will be streamed on ESPN3 with the Statesmen Sports Network offering radio coverage. Links to the broadcast and live stats are available online at GoStatesmen.com. Tickets for the event are $12 per person at the door or $9 online through Friday, March 8. Student tickets are $3 with a valid school-issued ID card. Tickets may be purchased at GSCSports.org/Ticketing today.    

Delta State is making its 32nd appearance, 11th consecutive and seventh straight under head coach Jim Boone, in the Gulf South Conference Men's Basketball Tournament. The Statesmen are 32-26 all-time in the GSC Tournament and own league postseason records for appearances (32), victories (32), semifinals (22), finals (13) and championships (5).

Three of the four top seeds in the 2019 Gulf South Conference Tournament advanced to the semifinals on Tuesday with Delta State (No. 5) pulling the lone upset, a 61-58 victory in Memphis, Tenn., at Canale Arena over Christian Brothers (No. 4). Brett Warner led the Statesmen with 18 points while Rasheide Bell turned in a double-double with 11 points and 10 boards. Top-seed Valdosta State cruised to a 92-76 victory over Union (No. 8) while West Alabama (No. 2) downed Lee (No. 7) 74-69 and Alabama Huntsville (No. 3) survived West Georgia (No. 6) 68-66.       

Saturday's game versus the No. 18-ranked Blazers is the 48th all-time between Delta State and Valdosta State and the ninth in postseason play. VSU owns a slight 24-23 edge in the series standings after both teams split their regular season meetings, but DSU claimed a 63-59 victory at the Hannah Center in last year's GSC Tournament semifinal. The series dates back to Jan. 8, 1983 when the Statesmen defeated the Blazers, 91-83, in Valdosta, Ga. A complete rundown of the series is available on page four.

Senior guard Brett Warner, who was named to the All-GSC Second Team on Tuesday, tied former GSC Player of the Year Kevie Dixon (1988-1991/1,386) for seventh on the career scoring list with 1,386 points after scoring 18 points versus Christian Brothers in the first round of the GSC Tournament on March 5.  The Collierville, Tenn., native also tied former two-time GSC champion Twentis Magee (1995-1998/195) for second on the career made 3-pointers list with 195. Warner also ranks second in attempts (556), seventh in games played (114) and needs five assists to crack the top 10 in that category. He is currently averaging 14.2 ppg, which ranks 10th in the GSC.  He is the fourth Statesmen to join the 1,000 point club under coach Jim Boone, joining Devin Schmidt, P.J. Davis and Jack Madgen.

@GULFSOUTH TOURNAMENT NOTEBOOK

• For the seventh year in a row, the Gulf South Conference Men's Basketball Tournament semifinals and championship will be played at Samford University's Pete Hannah Center in Birmingham, Alabama. Tickets for the event are $12 per person at the door or $9 online until Friday, March 8. Tickets may be purchased at GSCSports.org/Ticketing today.
   
• Three of the four top seeds in the 2019 Gulf South Conference Tournament advanced to the semifinals on Tuesday with Delta State (No. 5) pulling the lone upset, a 61-58 victory in Memphis, Tenn., at Canale Arena over Christian Brothers (No. 4). Top-seed Valdosta State cruised to a 92-76 victory over Union (No. 8) while West Alabama (No. 2) downed Lee (No. 7) 74-69 and Alabama Huntsville (No. 3) survived West Georgia (No. 6) 68-66.
   
• Saturday's semifinals at the Pete Hannah Center in Birmingham, Ala., features a rematch of last year's Valdosta State-Delta State matchup at 5 p.m. and a white-hot in-state rivalry between Alabama Huntsville and West Alabama at 7:15 p.m. Both games will be broadcast on ESPN3 while the Statesmen Sports Network will offer radio coverage of the DSU-VSU clash.
   
• The Statesmen are making a GSC-record 22nd appearance in the semifinals. Valdosta State is making its 11th semifinal followed by Alabama Huntsville (10th) and West Alabama (8th).
   
• Delta State also boasts a GSC-best five tournament championships, as the Statesmen hoisted the trophy in 1986, 1993, 1997, 1998, and 2006. Alabama Huntsville owns three GSC championships, claiming the trophy in 2012, 2015 and 2017. West Alabama earned its lone conference crown in 1982 while Valdosta State has yet to win a title in 23 trips to the GSC Tournament.       

INSIDE THE PAINT: @DELTASTATEMBB NEWS & NOTES

• Coach Jim Boone and the Statesmen are making their seventh consecutive appearance in the Gulf South Conference Tournament since the Wingfield, W.V., native took over the program in time for the 2012-2013 season. Boone is 6-5 in the GSC Tournament with three semifinals and one championship game appearance. The Statesmen fell 71-65 in double overtime in last year's title game to West Florida.
   
• The Statesmen (No. 5) advanced to Saturday's semifinal with a 61-58 victory over Christian Brothers (No. 4) on Tuesday at Canale Arena. Brett Warner led all scorers with 18 points for the Statesmen while Rasheide Bell turned in a double-double with 11 points and 10 boards. Joe Laravie and Luke Rudy paced CBU with 14 points apiece.
   
• Brett Warner has put together a phenomenal senior campaign, as the guard is averaging 14.2 points, 2.7 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game for the Statesmen. Warner tied Kevie Dixon (1988-1991/1,386) for seventh on the career scoring list with 1,386 points after scoring 18 points in DSU's 61-58 victory at Canale Arena in Memphis, Tenn., over Christian Brothers.
     
• Rasheide Bell, a senior guard from Evansville, Ind., enters the postseason averaging 12.3 points and 4.8 rebounds per game. Bell turned in a double-double with 11 points, 10 rebounds and three assists in DSU's 61-58 first round win at Christian Brothers.
   
• Senior guard Armon Benford is on the verge of cracking the career assists list at Delta State. The Chicago, Ill., native has 249 career assists and needs nine more to join the top 10 in DSU's storied history. Benford topped 100 assists in a season for a second year in a row after handing out three at Montevallo.
   
• Junior forward Justin Slocum enters this weekend's GSC semifinal versus Valdosta State averaging 10.4 points and 6.8 rebounds per game. He ranks sixth in the GSC in rebounding.
   
• Sophomore guard Matthew Wilson has proven to be one of the league's deadliest 3-point shooters, ranking 11th in the GSC in 3-pointers made per game (2.2). The Farmington, Ark., native is currently third on the team in scoring at 10.5 points per game. Wilson finished with nine points versus CBU in the opening round win in Memphis.
   
• Senior center Cedric Harper is currently averaging 9.6 points and 6.6 rebounds per game after the Tallahassee, Fla., native narrowly missed a double-double with 10 points and nine rebounds on Tuesday at Christian Brothers.
         
• The Statesmen enter the postseason ranked No. 21 in NCAA Division II in scoring defense (66.1 ppg). DSU is also holding opponents to 42.3 percent from the floor.