JACKSON, Miss. -- The national spotlight was on Mississippi Valley State.

And they responded accordingly.

The Delta Devils (18-11, 17-0 SWAC) defeated Jackson State 78-69 Monday night on ESPNU behind a career performance by senior point guard Kevin Burwell.

The Philadelphia, Pa. native scored a career-best 30 points on seven three's, also a career-high, to lead Valley to its 17th consecutive victory. Burwell accounted for half of the Delta Devils' 14 shots from behind the arc, and finished 11 of 16 from the field.

William Pugh also finished with a season-high 13 points while Paul Crosby put up 15 points and six rebounds. Brent Arrington, meanwhile, contributed 11 points.

Kelsey Howard paced the Tigers (7-21, 5-11 SWAC) with 27 points while Willie Readus poured in 20 off the bench.

The Delta Devils started the game off on fire from long range with Burwell making three trey's in the first six minutes. He accounted for 18 points -- including five 3's -- at halftime.

In a game that included only one lead change, Valley was in control throughout. The Delta Devils led 36-28 at halftime and outscored the Tigers 42-41 in the second half.

Valley finished 26 of 57 (45.6 percent) from the field and went 12 of 18 from the free throw line. JSU went 23 of 52 (44.2 percent) and hit 19 of 29 shots from the charity stripe.

MVSU will travel to Arkansas-Pine Bluff on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. for the final regular season game of the season.