VALDOSTA, Ga. - Tyrone Sam dropped 33 points and Beau Justice poured in 22 to help lead the Valdosta State men's basketball team to a 94-88 victory over Fayetteville State in non-conference men's basketball action on Saturday afternoon at The Complex.

"I was proud of our guys for hanging in there today and finding a way to win," said Head Coach Mike Helfer, who is currently in his 13th season with the Blazers. "Fayetteville State is a very good team, and we struggled with their athleticism."

The Blazers (5-0) entered Saturday's contest as the Gulf South Conference leaders in points scored per game with an average of 94.5 per contest. Valdosta State needed every bit of that offensive production to outlast the Broncos (1-3), who shot 44.2 percent from the field and were led by the 27 points of Josh Bryant.

"Those two guards are about as hard to defend as any I have seen during my career at Valdosta State," added Helfer in reference to Bryant and Willie Gilmore, who finished with 10 points. "They were quick and had an incredible ability to finish at the rim." 

Valdosta State wasn't as productive from the three point line as they have grown accustomed to during the young season, but a 51.6 percent shooting effort from the field helped even out the afternoon for Helfer's squad.

"We didn't make a lot of threes today, but we did hit some critical long range shots in the second half," added Helfer. "I am giving our guys freedom to shoot from the outside, but I want them to have good comprehension of the time and the score. We had that today."

After the Broncos outscored the Blazers 14-4 during the final four minutes of the first half to close VSU's lead to 35-33, VSU came out of the break with guns blazing for a 20-5 run in the first six minutes of the second half. The surge gave the Blazers their biggest lead of the afternoon at 55-38, but Fayetteville State refused to backdown.

A pesky Broncos squad closed the gap to just eight near the ten minute mark in the second half, but Valdosta State weathered the storm during the final ten minutes to hold the opposition at bay.

KJ James complemented Sam and Justice on offense with 13 points, while Winston Morgan efficiently managed the distribution with eight assists on the afternoon.

"We really adjusted in the second half and went inside to KJ," said Helfer. "We felt like we could have some success in there, and we kept going to him. He made great decisions for us."

Sam's career high performance included a 10-of-13 effort from the field. Twelve of his 33 points came from the free throw line, as the junior shot 12-of-14 from the stripe. Meanwhile, Justice connected on 8-of-13 from the field and 3-of-6 from the three point line. Justice is now averaging 19.8 points per game, which places the junior 5th on the current GSC leaderboard.

The Blazers will return to action on Sunday afternoon with another non-conference matchup against Webber International. Tip time is slated for 4:00 p.m.