MEMPHIS, Tenn. – Joe Laravie (Kettering, Ohio/Alter HS) scored a career-high 37 points, including 24 in the second half, to help lead the Christian Brothers University men's basketball team to a 90-88 victory over Delta State, on Saturday at Canale Arena. The Statesmen entered the contest in first place in the Gulf South Conference standings.

HOW IT HAPPENED:

• The Bucs (12-6, 7-3 GSC) knocked down their first three triples to start the game, to help lead the Statesmen (12-5, 8-2 GSC) 11-9 with 15:41 in the opening half.
• The Bucs did not relent after the timeout, going on a 17-3 run after a Mitchell Mays (Cincinnati, Ohio/Lakota East HS) layup on an assist from Adam Dieball (Cincinnati, Ohio/Lakota East HS), to take a 28-12 lead with 10:52 left until halftime .
• Just before the final media timeout of the half, Laravie drew a foul on a three-pointer. After he sank all three freebies, Luke Rudy (Cincinnati, Ohio/Oak Hills HS) hit a three of his own the next possession to give the Bucs a 48-23 lead just before the half. The Statesmen did not go down quitely, closing the half with eight straight points to trim the deficit to 48-31 at the break.
• Both teams spent the first 10 minutes of the second half trading buckets, with neither team scoring more than five points without conceding on the other end. However, Rudy, Laravie and Nick Diefel sank three-pointers on consecutive possessions to push the Bucs lead back to 18 (74-56) with 7:01 remaining. Their lead blossomed to as many as 24 with 4:39 remaining before DSU made their run.
• After going on a 27-6 run over the final 3:46, DSU saw its shot at the buzzer fall short.  

KEY STATS:

• Laravie scored a career-high 37 points (12-for-19 FG, 7-for-11 3FG), to go along with four assists and two rebounds in 38 minutes. Laravie has now scored 30 points or more in four consecutive games, becoming the only player in the Mike Nienaber era to do so.
• Despite only taking eight shots for the Bucs, Dieball had a profound impact on the game. The senior forward finished with 16 points, 11 assists, seven rebounds and two blocks, despite fouling out with 2:18 remaining. 
• Freshman Nick Deifel (Cincinnati, Ohio/Oak Hills HS) had 14 points and five rebounds in his 37 minutes. The native Memphian has scored in double figures in four of the last six games for the Bucs.
• CBU shot 62 percent from behind the three-point line (16-for-26). With 11 points from Luke Rudy (Cincinnati, Ohio/Oak Hills HS) and four points from Mitchell Mays (Cincinnati, Ohio/Lakota East HS), the Bucs bench unit outscored Delta State's bench 15-3.
• Tonight's win marks the fourth consecutive win for the Bucs, their longest win streak of the season and the longest since CBU won 11 straight to start the 2018 season.

UP NEXT:

• The Bucs hit the road this week traveling to Georgia to face Shorter on Thursday, Jan. 24. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.