ITTA BENA, Miss. – The Mississippi Valley State University men's basketball program protected their Devils Den Wednesday evening, clipping the wings of the MUW Owls by virtue of a +10 rebounding margin, picking up five extra steals (13-8), and registering a dozen more assists (23-11) than the visitors in a 97-61 blowout.
 
The Basics: 
 

• Score
  • Mississippi Valley – 97
  • MUW – 61

 

• Records
  • Mississippi Valley (1-1, 0-0 SWAC)
  • MUW (0-1, 0-0 SLIAC)

 

• Location
  • Itta Bena, Mississippi – R.W. Harrison HPER Complex

 

• Series History
  • Delta Devils Lead 2-0 (100%)

 

• Winning Streak
  • Delta Devils (W2) / Owls' Last Win: N/A

 
Delta Devils' Top Performers: 
 

• Michael James has put the SWAC on notice with his torrid start to his tenure in Green and White, one-upping his previous performance with a 35-point masterclass in which he made eight three-pointers (8-of-17, 47.1%), brought in eight rebounds, handed out four assists, picked off two steals, made exactly half of his shot attempts (11-for-22), and played every second of game action with no rest.

 

• Daniel Mayfield had double-double vision for the first time at MVSU, cobbling together 13 points and a tied for game-high 12 boards as he shot 54.5% from the field (6-of-11).

 

• One of the team's two returners, Antonio Sisk, led the stat sheet regarding assists, dropping five on the Owls in addition to eight points and a club-most three steals.

 

• The other student-athlete with a trio of steals was Delkedric Holmes, who also notched a quartet of assists, five points and three rebounds in 22 minutes off the pine.

 

• Lamont Sams (13) as well as Samuel Murray (10) were the third and fourth players to eclipse the double-figure scoring plateau, the former of those rejecting two of the three blocked shots on the evening for Valley State.

 
Next:
  

• If you could not make it out to the game on Wednesday then it will be awhile before you get a chance to see the squad in-person again, as Friday kicks off an eight-game road trip spanning the next month-plus, beginning at Murray State for a 7 p.m. tip-off inside the CFSB Center.

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Follow the Mississippi Valley State men's basketball program on Twitter (@ValleyStateMBB) and Instagram (@ValleyStateMBB).
 
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