Usually when Delta State visits Walker Arena it is the Devin Schmidt show, but that was not the case on Saturday afternoon as sophomore Brett Warner stole the spotlight by hitting eight 3-pointers in the first half and leading the Statesmen to a 56-40 halftime lead.
 
The Flames fought back in the second half and cut a 20-point margin to only eight before Delta State pulled away for an 87-71 victory in the Gulf South Conference contest. Lee held Warner in check most of the second stanza but Schmidt and crew were simply too much to overcome.
 
Warner finished the game with 32 points and made 8-of-9 shots from beyond the arc. His team shot a remarkable 73 percent from 3-point range in the opening half and finished the afternoon by making 15-of-23 treys for the game. The Statesmen shot 59 percent from the field and made 20-of-27 free throws.
 
"We got off to a good start and with Schmidt not starting the game, our team might have relaxed a bit," said Coach Bubba Smith after his Flames slipped to 2-1 in GSC play and 6-3 overall. Delta State bounced back from a loss to Shorter on Thursday and improved to 2-1 in conference play and 7-2 overall.
 
"We didn't fight through their screens in the first half and that cost us," noted Smith. "Delta State has a lot of good athletes and I think Coach (Jim) Boone shook his team up a bit by not starting Schmidt and another starter."
 
The Statesmen's John Cornish was perfect from the field, going 5-of-5 from the field, 4-of-4 from behind the arc and 1-of-1 from the charity stripe, totaling 15 points. Schmidt finished with 13 markers and Ravion Henry had 12 points.
 
Rico Overall paced the Lee scoring attack and helped bring his team back in the second half, producing a 29-point effort. Delta State's tough defense held Keevin Tyus to 13 points but he led the Flames with a game-high eight rebounds. Ryan Montgomery was 5-of-5 from the charity stripe and tallied 11 points before fouling out. Jervon Johnson poured in three treys and finished with 11 points.
 
Lee shot 38 percent from the field and made just 6-of-27 3-point attempts. However, they marched to the free-throw line 17 times and canned all 17. They won the rebounding battle 32-29 and turned the basketball over just 12 times compared to 16 for the Statesmen.
 
"We will take a few days off and come back to get ready for two tough road games at West Georgia and West Alabama," added Smith. "After losing this home game we have to find a way to win a game on the road." The Flames will be at West Georgia on New Year's Eve and then travel on down to face West Alabama on January 2.