CLEVELAND, Miss.-The Christian Brothers University Bucs shot 14-of-23 from three-point range as they cruised to a 71-55 win at Delta State Saturday afternoon.

The Bucs (11-8, 8-7 GSC) set the tone early, scoring the game's first eight points on a Ryan Fleming (Cincinnati, Ohio/La Salle HS) layup and three-pointers by Trey Casey (Cincinnati, Ohio/La Salle HS) and Jeff Larkin (Cincinnati, Ohio/La Salle HS). The Bucs never allowed DSU (11-10, 8-7) closer than five points in the first half, ending the half on a 10-2 run capped by a Casey bucket at the halftime buzzer that gave CBU a 36-23 lead.

DSU opened the second half with a 17-5 run to pull within 41-40 on a Devin Schmidt three-pointer with 12:33 remaining, but CBU answered with another 8-0 burst. Fleming sparked it with a three-pointer and followed a Jordan Miller (Fulton, Ky./Fulton City HS) three-pointer with a dunk to give CBU a 49-40 lead with 9:11 remaining. DSU never came closer than five points again, with CBU stretching its lead to 16 points in the final seconds.

Casey scored a game-high 27 points with six rebounds, while Fleming scored 12 with seven assists. Charlie Oswald (Memphis, Tenn./Christian Brothers HS) and Larkin scored 11 each, with Larkin grabbing a game-high three steals.

Schmidt led the Statesmen with 18 points. Laquavius Cotton scored 16, and Alister Chisholm added 11.

For the game, the Bucs finished 52 percent (26-of-50) overall and 61 percent (14-of-23) from three-point range while holding DSU to 40 percent (19-of-48) from the floor. The Statesmen out-rebounded CBU 28-27, including an 8-5 edge in offensive boards, with each team committing eight turnovers.

The Bucs return to action Thursday night at 7:30 p.m. when the visit West Alabama. Their next home game is Thursday, Feb. 12, as they host West Florida at 7 p.m.