VALDOSTA, Ga. – For the second straight game, the Valdosta State Blazer men's basketball team forced an overtime contest at The Complex in Valdosta, Ga. This time, however, the Blazers were unable to overcome the No. 19 Alabama-Huntsville Chargers in a 102-96 defeat.
 
The contest remained very close throughout the duration of the night, but Valdosta State snapped a 48-48 halftime score with a quick bucket by Justin Simon to take a lead that they would hold for the next 19 minutes with a deluge of clutch shots that led to a 51.7 second-half shooting performance. The Blazers increased their lead to as many as nine points two different times with under eight minutes to play in regulation, but the Chargers slowly climbed back into the contest as the final minutes ticked away.
 
Facing an 89-86 deficit with 21 seconds to play, UAH forward Seab Webster's three-point shot attempt was swatted out of bounds. A foul was called on the shot attempt, which afforded the Chargers and Webster the opportunity to send the contest to overtime with three successful free-throws.
 
The overtime period belonged to the Chargers, as UAH outscored the Blazers 13-7 in the frame to improve their record to 5-2 overall and 1-1 in GSC play.
 
The Blazers posted another strong 35-of-75 shooting performance (46.7 percent) on the night and were led once again on offense by Jones, who finished with 27 points. Jeremiah Hill also added five three pointers and 25 points, but poor free-throw shooting plagued Valdosta State down the stretch, as VSU shot just 14-of-25 from the charity stripe.
 
For the Chargers, Greg Gardner led the attack for UAH with 26 points and eight rebounds. Gardner's effort helped the Chargers construct a 34-of-58, 58.6 percent shooting effort from the field, and his 3-of-7 performance from the perimeter fueled UAH's 11-of-20, 55.0 percent shooting display from long range.
 
Valdosta State fell to 5-2 overall on the year and evened up their conference record at 1-1 following the heartbreaking defeat.
 
A two-game road trip awaits the Blazers next, as Valdosta State will travel to Cleveland, Tenn. on Thursday before another GSC showdown with the Shorter Hawks in Rome, Ga. next Saturday. Follow all the action on the road with live audio, video, and statistical links available at www.vstateblazers.com.