ITTA BENA, Mississippi – The Miss. Valley State Delta Devils used a balanced scoring attack to gain their first win of the season – a 102-56 win over the visiting Tigers of Champion Baptist College.
The first half saw MVSU score 60 points on the strength of 18 forced turnovers and 59.5 percent shooting from the floor. In the opening 20 minutes of action, Julius Cheeks led all scorers with 11 points while Tashan Newsome added nine. Both Shannon Behling and Jason Holmes each had eight in the opening period.
The second half saw both teams pick up their aggressiveness on both ends of the court. Michael Mayo scored nine of this points off the bench going 3-for-6 from beyond the arc. D’Angelo Jackson tallied seven points and two assists in 14 minutes of second-half action.
For the game, the Delta Devils handout out 29 assists while forcing 25 turnovers. MVSU dominated in the paint – outscoring the Tigers 66-16 in the paint and getting 33 points off turnovers.
For Champion Baptist, James Manthe came alive in the second half, finishing the game with 23 points, five rebounds and two assists. Jesse Byrd added nine while both Tommy McGonagle and B.J. Linkins each tallied eight. Linkins also pulled down 11 rebounds.
For MVSU, Cheeks and Jackson each had 13 points to lead six players in double figures. Newsome and Cor-J Cox each scored 11 points while Jason Holmes and Shannon Behling finished with ten points. Behling had nine rebounds while Holmes added seven rebounds and four blocks.
The Delta Devils (1-2) will take to the road to participate in the 2009 Chicago Invitational. Action begins November 22 at Iowa State and November 24 at Saint Louis. The team then goes to the UIC Pavilion in Chicago to face Liberty and either Kennesaw State or Tennessee State.
