PENSACOLA, Fla. – The Valdosta State men's basketball team picked up a much-needed win in Pensacola, Fla. on Saturday after defeating the rival West Florida Argonauts in a thrilling Gulf South Conference victory at the UWF Fieldhouse.
 
The win snapped a five-game skid for the Valdosta State Blazers and improved the team to 8-9 overall, 3-8 in Gulf South Conference play, while the Argonauts fell to 6-11 and 2-9 in league play.
 
The Blazers got off to a slow start in the first half and trailed 29-14 midway through the frame, but Head Coach Mike Helfer's squad came roaring back late in the period, thanks in large part to the shooting effort of Jacob Obande. The guard stuck 4-of-7 attempts from the field, all three pointers, to collect 12 points in the first half alone.
 
By halftime, the Blazers had trimmed UWF's lead to eight points at 33-25, and VSU slowly closed the gap throughout the course of the first 12 minutes of the second half. Colin Cook buried a 15-foot jumper from the baseline to close the gap to one point with 8:31 remaining in the game, and VSU claimed their first lead of the night after a nifty reverse layup from freshman Shaun Jones with 7:21 to go.
 
The Blazers put up a 16-7 run over the course of the next six minutes to open up a seven-point, 65-58 lead. But the offensive surge came to a halt with 1:34 to go in regulation. UWF promptly took advantage and cut VSU's lead to four with a three pointer at the 1:19 mark from Justin Williams for his first and only points of the night. Twenty seconds later, Lendward Griffin was fouled and converted both attempts to narrow the Blazers' lead to 65-63. Griffin earned another trip to the line at the 0:30 mark, but VSU held on to a one point lead after Griffin missed the second attempt.
 
With less than 35 seconds to go, the shot clock became a non-factor and the Argonauts were forced to foul. James Spencer was the first Blazer to attempt the crucial free throw shots down the stretch, and the senior extended VSU's lead back to two after he drained the first of two attempts. On the ensuing possession, West Florida tied the contest at 66-66 with a pair of free throws by Terrence Townes. After the second free throw, UWF's Sean Voss committed a costly foul on Valdosta State's inbound attempt, which sent Blazer guard Josh Lemons to the charity stripe, where he hit the deciding free throw with seven seconds remaining on the first of two attempts. Williams set his feet from well beyond the arc on an attempt at a game-winner for West Florida, but the shot went long, resulting in the victory for the red and black.

Spencer finished the night with a team high 20 points on 8-of-15 shooting from the field and a 4-of-6 effort from the free throw line. The senior forward flirted with a double-double after pulling down a team high eight rebounds in the game. Cook added 14 points on the night, while Obande scored 13. Obande's point total marked the sophomore's highest since VSU's home opener against Lane on November 14^th, when he scored 21 points.

Saturday's contest wrapped up a long road stint, and the Blazers finally return to The Complex on Thursday night at 8:00 p.m. to host the visiting Chargers of Alabama-Huntsville.