FORT VALLEY, Ga. - The Valdosta State men's basketball team suffered a rare scoring drought in the second half, which resulted in an 82-68 loss to the Fort Valley State Wildcats on Tuesday night in Fort Valley, Ga.
The Blazers used a quick layup and a three ball by Winston Morgan in the first minute of the contest to jump out to a 5-0 lead over the Wildcats. The advantage was one the Blazers would hang on to for the first eight minutes of the game, until the Wildcats turned the game around midway through the first half and took a 27-19 lead with three straight three-pointers.
With the help of a strong 13-point first half by
Jimmy Kodet, Valdosta State whittled FVSU's lead away throughout the remainder of the first half and pulled even with a fastbreak dunk by
KJ James with just 14 seconds left in the frame. However, a two-handed put-back dunk by Glenn Holloway in the final seconds put FVSU back in front for a 36-34 lead at intermission.
The second half proved to be the beginning of the end for the Blazers, thanks in large part to a downward spiral on offense for VSU. Valdosta State shot just 8-of-31 from the field for 25.8 percent in the second half and connected on just 1-of-11 from three point range for a paltry 9.1 percent. As a result, the Wildcats outscored the Blazers 46-34 in the final period to run away with the victory.
Tyrone Sam led the way for the Blazers with 15 points, while
Justin McBride made his Blazer debut with nine rebounds to tie
Clay Guillozet for the team lead on the boards.
With the loss, Valdosta State fell to 7-2 overall. Meanwhile, the Wildcats improved to 6-4 on the season.
Valdosta State will return to Gulf South Conference action this Saturday at 4:00 p.m. against the visiting Montevallo Falcons. The contest will mark the first conference game of the season to take place at The Complex.
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