CLEVELAND, Miss.  – The University of West Alabama men's basketball team's bid to knock off nationally-ranked Delta State and remained undefeated on the season came up short against the No. 23 Statesmen, 72-67, on Monday night at Walter Sillers Coliseum.

DSU (2-1) held off a pair of UWA comebacks as sophomore guard Alquan Mendenhall drained a pair of three-pointers in the final minutes including a trey with 17 seconds left in the contest to get UWA (3-1) within a point at 68-67.  DSU's Jeremie Davis connected two free throws to keep the Tigers at bay.  UWA trailed by as many as 14 points in the second half as DSU extended a 38-33 halftime lead in the first six minutes of the final period.

Mendenhall, a transfer from High Point University, finished with a game-high 23 points, 12 from behind the three-point arc.  The Camden, Ala.-product finished the contest 8-of-16 from the field.  Senior Chris Davis posted 11 points in the setback while senior Brian Murphy came off the bench to add 11 points.  Senior forward Jason Swanson, who came into the contest averaging 16 points per game, was held to just four points.  UWA's leading scorer, Richard Sirju was held in check with just one basket in the affair.  The Fort Lauderdale, Fla.-native led the Red and White with six rebounds.  The Tigers were out-rebounded for the first time this season, 39-34. 

Roderick Ollie, a transfer from UAB, paced the Green and White with 18 points and three steals.  Marqueys Brown and Davis chipped in 12 points.

UWA will break for the Thanksgiving holiday before trekking to the state of Arkansas to face Arkansas Tech on Saturday, Nov. 28 and continuing on to Searcy, Ark. on Monday, Nov. 30 to battle Harding University.  Tip off with the Wonder Boys is set for 6 p.m.