CLEVELAND, Miss: After three straight wins at the friendly confines of Walter-Sillers, the Statesmen head out on the longest road trip of the year as they take on West Florida and Valdosta State. The three wins have pushed the Green and White's record to 7-6 on the year and 3-2 in GSC play. It is only the second time this season the Statesmen have been above .500. Tipoff against West Florida is set for 7:30 PM.on Thursday night. Tipoff against Valdosta State on Ssatruday is at 3 PM (CT). Philip Tang will have the call on the Statesmen Sports Network (WMJW 107.5 FM) and worldwide at GoStatesmen.com.   

INSIDE THE UWF SERIES: Thursday's matchup is the 25th all-time between the Statesmen and Argos, with Delta State owning a 15-9 edge in the series standings. In last year's meetings, the Statesmen split the season series with the Argos. DSU won at home 71-62 but fell on the road 70-73 in Pensacola. UWF is currently 12th in the conference in scoring at 63.9 points per game while holding opponents to only 68.0 ppg. The Argos's are the 8th best rebounding team at 36.2 rebounds per game. UWF has the worst field goal percentage in the GSC at 39.4%. Jon Brown leads the Argos in scoring and is second best in the GSC at 20.6 points per game. 

INSIDE THE VSU SERIES: Saturday's matchup is the 25th meeting all-time between the Statesmen and the Blazers, with the series tied at 24-24. Last year DSU won two out of three against the Blazers. The Green and White won at home 88-83, then lost at VSU 74-90. The Statesmen then defeated the Blazers in the GSC Tournament Semi-Finals 70-69 to advance to the championship game. The Blazers lead the GSC in scoring at 86.7 ppg while giving up 74.0 ppg. They are third in the GSC in field goal percentage at 46.5% and average a league best 41.4 rebounds per game. Clay Guillozet leads the Blazers with 15.8 ppg while Darrell Jones has 15.5 ppg.

STREET & BROOKS FUELING STATESMEN OFFENSE: Delta State enters Thursday's game with the Argos averaging 70.1 points per game thanks to the play of junior shooting guard Keyshaun Street and junior forward Airen Brooks. Brooks leads the team in scoring at 16.1 points per game followed by Street (15.0). Brooks also averages 10.4 rebounds per game

MR. DOUBLE-DOUBLE: Junior forward Airen Brooks has become an instant force for the Statesmen, averaging 16.0 points and 10.4 rebounds per game. The Phenix City, Ala., native and former Shelton State CC star is 6th in the Gulf South Conference in rebounding and 1st  while ranking 11th in FG percentage (46.7). In 12 starts, Brooks has recorded five double-doubles while narrowly missing out on three more.

INSTANT RESULTS: Freshman shooting guard Austin Laatsch has produced instant results for the Statesmen this season, averaging 8.8 points and 2.2 rebounds per game. The Birmingham, Ala., native, ranks 17th in the GSC in 3-point field goals per game (2.1) and is among the top freshman scorers in the league.  

FLOOR GENERAL: Graduate-transfer Anderson McCoy has helped maintain the poise of the Statesmen on offense. He is averaging 11.5 ppg while also giving out 4.4 assists per game as well. In 11 games played he only has 24 turnovers while averaging 38 minutes a game.

UP NEXT: After this weekend the Statesmen will return home to Cleveland to host Union University and Christian Brothers University. Union comes to Cleveland on January 16 at 7:30 PM and Coach Nienaber will take on his forner team on Saturday, January 18 at 4 PM.