[February 21, 2008]

By: Houston Taylor

CLEVELAND, Miss. – Making their move late in the first half, Delta State (12-10, 6-4 GSC) went on to an 88-63 win over Southern Arkansas (11-12, 2-8 GSC) Thursday at Sillers Coliseum. The win kept the Statesmen in the hunt for a berth in the Gulf South Conference tournament, while the loss eliminated the Muleriders’ chances.

With DSU leading 46-34 at the break, both teams got off to a slow second half start as neither team could find a bucket. Cory Green finally got someone on the board with a three-pointer at 16:52, cutting SAU’s deficit to nine. Southern Arkansas kept kicking, pulling to within 49-41 on Darnell Manuel’s lay-up at 14:33 and trailed by the same margin at 13:57 (51-43) on Channin Harden’s jumper. Delta State then scored seven unanswered points to push it back to a 15-point game when Jason Elzie hit two free throws at 11:49. The Muleriders then made a last gasp, getting consecutive treys from Brandon Williams for a 58-49 game at 10:37. But the Statesmen regrouped and rattled off a 12-0 run for a 70-49 advantage with 6:28 remaining. SAU was never in it after that and DSU went on to a 26-point advantage with 1:04 left before Manuel hit one of two freebies for the final margin.

Southern Arkansas led 14-8 at 14:33 in the first frame on Cameron Butler’s lay-up and free throw. Delta State came back from that with a 20-8 run and was up 28-22 at 7:18. It was still a six-point game at 2:43, but the Statesmen closed the half with an 8-2 spree to set the score at the break.

DSU shot lights out and used a big rebound advantage in tying up the win. They were 32 of 54 from the floor for 59.3 percent, including hitting 6 of 11 (54.5) from beyond the arc, and converted 18 of 25 (72.0) free throws. A 43-21 edge on the boards helped them outscore the Muleriders 38-12 inside.

SAU was 20 of 53 (37.7) from the field, 6 of 15 (40.0) on treys, and 17 of 21 (81.0) at the charity stripe.

Southern Arkansas suffered just 11 turnovers, while forcing 15.

David Clark led all scorers with 22 points and added seven rebounds for Delta State. Justin Duke added 12 points, and Earnesto Green and Eric Spencer each contributed 11. Brad Skipper pulled down a game-high 13 rebounds.

Butler put up 16 points off the bench for the Muleriders. Harden extended his string of double-figure games to five with 12 points, and Manuel chipped in 11. Leon St. Rose grabbed six boards.

The top five teams from each of the two GSC Divisions advance to the post-season tourney. Coming into Thursday’s games, Harding (8-2) and Ouachita Baptist (7-3) sat atop the West Division, with Arkansas Tech, Christian Brothers, and Delta State all at 6-6. At 2-8, Southern Arkansas had to have won their remaining four games just to reach the six-win figure and have a chance for the tournament. With Thursday’s loss, the best the Muleriders could get to now is five league wins.

SAU returns home Saturday to host Ouachita Baptist in a scheduled 7:30 p.m. tip-off.