CLEVELAND, Miss. – Delta State hosted the Lee Flames on Thursday night as the GSC standings continue to tighten. Both teams came into the game with six wins in conference play.
The Flames took an early 7-2 lead, but a 14-0 run by the Statesmen put them ahead 16-7 less than nine minutes into the game. Delta State held the momentum from there out for the remainder of the half, leading by as many as 17 in the first twenty minutes.
The Statesmen shot 66.7 percent from the floor in the half, including 2-of-6 from three-point distance, while their defensive play held the Flames to a 52.2 percent mark for the frame.

Lee slowly began to creep their way back into the game in the second half, cutting their eleven-point halftime deficit to just four points in the first five minutes. The Flames hit a three-pointer at the 13:13 mark and made a dunk on their next possession to take a 50-49 lead.
Delta State trailed 54-49 when they began a 13-2 run to regain the lead at 61-56 with just over seven minutes left. The Statesmen kept the lead down the stretch, but the Flames kept chipping into that advantage, taking the lead down to as few as one point twice.
The Flames made a lay-up in the paint with 45 seconds left to cut the lead down to one, but were forced to foul down the stretch with no timeouts. 
Lee regained possession, trailing by one with 10 seconds left, after a missed DSU free throw on the first half of a one-and-one attempt. The Flames took the ball down the court and found enough room for a three-point make at the buzzer to pull off the win.

Maalik Cartwright and Caleb Allen were tied for a team-high 15 points on Thursday. Cartwright shot 7-of-11 from the field with 5 rebounds and 5 assists. Allen hit 4 of his 5 three-point attempts to go with a rebound and a steal.
Chris Terrell finished with 13 points, shooting 6-of-12 from the floor with a three-point make. He also recorded 6 rebounds and 4 assists.
Keithean Brooks also reached double-figures with 10 points on a 4-of-9 shooting night. KB also recorded 5 rebounds, 3 steals, and an assist.

The TIP-OFF: 
Score: Delta State 71 | Lee 73
Records: DSU 8-5 (6-4 GSC) | Flames 9-2 (7-2 GSC) 
City | Venue: Cleveland, Miss. | Lloyd Clark Court at Sillers Coliseum
Get Social: Twitter - @DeltaStateMBB | Instagram – @DeltaStateMBB 
 
STATS OF THE GAME: 

• Lee shot 59.2 percent for the game compared to DSU's 56.9 percent
• DSU shot 52.9 percent from beyond the arc, hitting 9 of their 17 attempts
• Lee held a narrow edge in paint points at 36-34. 
• Delta State recorded 15 points off of Lee's 16 turnovers

UP NEXT:  
The Statesmen return to Sillers Coliseum on Monday, January 8 to host Mississippi College at 7:30 pm.