CLEVELAND, Miss. | The University of Alabama in Huntsville men's basketball team traveled to Delta State on Thursday, falling 86-76 to the host Statesmen. UAH slips to 17-7 (12-6 Gulf South Conference), while DSU improves to 13-11 (10-8 GSC).
 
The Chargers slip back into a tie for first in the GSC standings with West Georgia who was a winner at home over Shorter on Thursday night along with West Alabama who defeated Lee.
 
Freshman Justin Ward led the Chargers, coming off the bench to score 19 as he was 7-for-15 from the floor including five successful shots from beyond the arc. He was joined in double figures by Seab Webster who scored 15 and Troy Saxton who added 14.
 
Devin Schmidt paced the Statesmen with 33 points.
 
Delta State never trailed in the contest, going in front by as many as 17 points in the first half before the Chargers were able to narrow the gap to 11 at the break at 42-31. The Statesmen used a strong shooting performance in the half to hold that lead, hitting 53.3 percent of their attempts including an 8-of-12 showing from beyond the arc.
 
The DSU lead ballooned to as large as 20 in the second half when the Statesmen went ahead 69-49 at the 10:55 mark of the period, and though UAH would then reel off an 11-0 run over the next four minutes to pull back within single digits at 69-60, Delta State would prevent the Chargers from drawing any closer the rest of the way.
 
The Statesmen shot 51.6 percent from the field for the contest, while UAH hit 48.3 of its attempts. Delta State also held a wide advantage on the glass, outrebounding the Chargers 41-23.
 
Of the 41 rebounds for DSU, 13 came on the offensive end, and the Statesmen converted those into a 14-3 edge in second-chance points.
 
The Chargers will look to bounce back on Saturday when they travel to Mississippi College for a scheduled 4 p.m. tip. Earlier this season in Huntsville, the Choctaws defeated UAH 71-67.