LIVINGSTON, Ala. – Cedric Harper went "above and beyond," shattering his point-per-game average by 16 to finish with a game-high 22 points to lead Delta State to a 72-67 Gulf South Conference men's basketball victory over West Alabama at Pruitt Hall on Thursday.
 
With the win, the Statesmen improve to 21-6 overall, moving to 16-5 in the league. The Tigers fall to 10-17, dropping to 5-16 among GSC competition.
 
"Losses like this have really been the story of the year," UWA head coach Allen Sharpe said. "Down the stretch, Delta State made their shots, and although we had some clean looks, we missed them."
 
"We don't really have that go-to guy we can count on to make those big plays down the stretch."
 
The Statesmen got off to a quick start from the opening whistle, jumping out to a 10-0 lead before a Johnny Stallworth three-pointer put the Tigers on the board six minutes into the contest.
 
West Alabama slowly clawed its way back, hitting 13-of-16 free throws (81%) in the first half before a Sean Cranney layup sent the Tigers into the locker room trailing 34-28.
 
Delta State took advantage of eight first-half UWA turnovers for 13 points, and out-rebounded the Tigers 11-4 on the offensive side of the ball for 11 second-chance points.
 
"Our plan was to foul Harper and send him to the line because he's a terrible free throw shooter," Sharpe said. "But then he comes away with nine field goals when he shouldn't have had the opportunity to get that many."
 
"I got pretty upset with the guys in the first half because there were several occasions where we let him drive to the basket and score when we should have been fouling him."
 
The Statesmen began to pull away early in the second frame, using six more Tiger giveaways and six missed field goals through the opening nine minutes to build a 17-point lead.
 
Trailing by 12 with 6:48 to play, West Alabama put together an 8-0 run behind another Stallworth three-pointer and back-to-back steals from Cranney, cutting the deficit down to four points.
 
After failing to convert a field goal on its next two possessions, UWA found itself down eight with 2:26 left on the clock. However, a 5-0 run culminated by a Gavin Robinson slam dunk put the Tigers back in striking distance with just three points separating the conference rivals.
 
West Alabama miscues down the stretch helped extend the DSU lead back to seven before Cranney drained a three-pointer to close the gap down to four with 11 ticks left on the clock.

Forced to foul with the hope of conserving the play clock, the Tigers sent Devin Schmidt to line where he would hit just 1-of-2, sealing the 72-67 GSC win for the Statesmen.
 
Harper hit 9-of-11 field goals while shooting just 4-of-9 from the line. Ravion Henry posted 20, while Schmidt finished with 14.
 
"It does no good to hold Schmidt below his average when someone else goes above and beyond what they normally do," Sharpe said. "It's a wash; we're still in the same boat."
 
Robinson recorded his eighth double-double of the season to lead the Tigers in both points and boards with 18 and 10, respectively. Cranney came away with a career-high 17 points while dishing out seven assists and grabbing three steals. Jahmal Lane contributed 15 points, while Stallworth rounded-out the double-digit scorers with 11.
 
"Our guys play hard and continue to work at it, and I really hate it for them," Sharpe said. "Thankfully we have one game left, and hopefully we can end on a good note on Saturday."
 
The Tigers will wrap up the 2016-17 season, facing off against Mississippi College in GSC play on Saturday. Tip off at Pruitt Hall is set for 4 p.m.