VALDOSTA, Ga. – The Valdosta State men's basketball team thrived in their hometown environment on Monday night and relished their home opener after outshining the Southeastern Fire in a 111-83 win in Valdosta, Ga. at The Complex.
 
Sophomore Beau Justice set the tone less than 20 seconds into the contest with a three ball from the right side to give VSU a 3-0 advantage, and both Josh Lemons and Jeremiah Hill followed suit on the next two possessions with a pair of three balls that gave the Blazers a 9-0 lead just over one minute after the opening tip.
 
The early offensive onslaught was a sign of things to come throughout the night, as the Blazers used 15 long balls and a sparkling 46.9 shooting percentage from long range to maintain a comfortable advantage throughout the evening.
 
Justice and Saadiq Muhammad accounted for 52 of VSU's 111 points in the game, as each scored 26 points. The pair racked up their big numbers in very different ways, however, as Justice used an 8-for-11 performance from the three point line, and Muhammad tallied most of his points on a 12-for-14 performance from close range.
 
In the game, the Blazers shot 58.1 percent from the field on a 43-of-74 effort, and ten different players helped contribute to the offensive attack. In addition, Valdosta State outrebounded the Fire 37 to 29, all while committing just 12 turnovers.
 
The only downside for VSU came at the free throw line, where the Blazers shot just 10-of-18. Head Coach Mike Helfer's squad overcame the slip at the charity stripe, however, with 11 steals to complement the aforementioned offensive barrage.
 
Other top performers in the contest included Lemons, who posted 19 points on 7-of-9 shooting from the field and 4-of-5 shooting from the line, along with Jimmy Kodet, who poured in 16 points on a 7-of-9 shooting effort from the field.
 
The win lifted VSU to 3-0 on the year, while Southeastern saw their record drop to 2-3 overall.
 
Valdosta State returns to action this weekend for a stint in West Palm Beach, Fla., where the Blazers will square off against Lynn on Saturday and Palm Beach Atlantic on Sunday. Live coverage of both of those events will be carried right here at www.vstateblazers.com.