VALDOSTA, Ga. – The seven seniors of Valdosta State men's basketball finished the regular season in style, as Jeremiah Hill scored his 1,000^th career point, and the Blazers outlasted Lee 83-72 in The Complex on Saturday evening in Valdosta, Ga.
 
The Blazers used a dunk by Hill within the first 30 seconds of the game to open up the scoring, and VSU expanded on that early success throughout the first half with a 43.2 percent (16-of-37) shooting effort from the field and a 41.7 effort (5-of-12) from beyond the arc. As a result, the Blazers took an 11-point, 44-33 lead to the locker room at halftime.
 
It was all Blazers in the first five minutes of the second half, as VSU manufactured a 14-5 run to open up a 20-point lead with just over 14 minutes to go in regulation. Valdosta State retained a fairly significant advantage until around the 8:30 mark, when Lee got a three-pointer from Keevin Tyus, which sparked a minimal run that allowed the Flames to slowly trim VSU's lead to single digits.
 
In fact, Lee pulled to within six two different times in the final three minutes of the game, before Justin Simon put the nail in the coffin with a layup at the 2:15 mark to put VSU on top 79-71.
 
Valdosta State's offensive effort was one of its most balanced of the season, as six different players reached double-digit figures in the contest. Simon led the way with 15 points, while Carlos Beverly provided a boost on the boards after hauling in a team-high 11 rebounds off the bench.
 
The Blazers led the Flames 49-41 in the rebounding column, which led to 22 put-back points on 19 offensive rebounds for Valdosta State. In addition, VSU protected the ball well with just eight turnovers in the contest.
 
Valdosta State improved to 24-4 on the year and closed out the regular season at 19-3 against league opponents. Meanwhile, Lee fell to 11-17 overall and 7-15 in league action.
 
It's a return to The Complex on Tuesday night for Valdosta State, as the No. 1 seeded Blazers host the No. 8 seeded North Alabama Lions at 8:00 p.m. The game will take place immediately following the women's opening round game at 6:00 p.m. on the same night.
 
Keep it locked to www.vstateblazers.com for more, and be sure to tune in to the Blazer Hour on The Jock 1150 AM, 96.1 FM in Valdosta as Phil Jones and Dick Rockey will team up to bring you a pregame primer from 8:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. on Tuesday morning.