CLEVELAND, Miss. - Behind a 16-3 run in the second half, Delta State defeated Southern Illinois University Edwardsville 61-50 in men's college basketball action Saturday night.
       With the loss, SIUE falls to 1-5. Delta State improves to 5-0.
       SIUE and Delta State were tied 25-25 at halftime. SIUE took the lead early in the second half and was winning 44-39 at 9:58 on a three-pointer by Ron Jones.
       Delta State's defense then took over allowing the Cougars a field goal by Justin Ward and a free throw by Chris Salak in the next nine minutes of the second half.
       Ward led SIUE in scoring with 16 points off the bench. The Cougars also outrebounded Delta State 38-35.
       Ernie Ryan and Brandon Dickerson led the offense for the Statesmen with 13 points each.
       SIUE's next action is Dec. 16 at 7 p.m. when it takes on Greenville College at the Vadalabene Center. The game date and time are a change from the original schedule.
              -siue cougars-