VALDOSTA, Ga. - Despite one of their stronger offensive outings of the season, Valdosta State came up short in a 80-69 loss to Delta State in Gulf South Conference men's basketball action on Saturday night at The Complex.

The back-and-forth affair featured 14 lead changes and nine ties, but after Delta State tied the contest up at 59-59 with 7:39 to go in the second half, the Statesmen outscored the Blazers 21-10 the rest of the way to escape with the victory.

Valdosta State shot 44.8 percent from the field with a 26-of-58 shooting performance, and the Blazers even led the contest for a majority of the second half. The late run by the Statesmen, however, overshadowed a 24 point, 10 rebound double-double by James Spencer, who hit 10-of-18 from the field and added four free throws in six attempts.

The Statesmen used double-digit scoring efforts by four different players to earn the victory and saw both Davis and Smith finish with double-doubles on the night. As a team, DSU shot over 50 percent from the field and connected on 28 shots in 55 attempts.

DSU led the Blazers 43-33 in the rebounding column, but the two teams matched up evenly on the offensive boards, as Valdosta State hauled in 13 against Delta State's 14. The Statesmen did capitalize on their second chance opportunities with 18 putback points, while VSU tallied 10 points on second chances.

With the loss, VSU fell to 9-14 overall, 4-13 in league play. The Statesmen improved their season to 12-11, and upped their GSC record to 9-8 following the win.

Next up for the Blazers, it's the Union Bulldogs in Jackson, Tenn. on Thursday to begin the final road trip of the season for Valdosta State. The game is scheduled for a 9:00 p.m. EST start, and will be carried live with both audio and video options available right here at www.vstateblazers.com.