VALDOSTA, Ga. - The Valdosta State men's basketball team stayed red hot on Thursday night with their fourth consecutive Gulf South Conference win, after defeating the Shorter Hawks 91-77 on the road at Winthrop-King Center in Rome, Ga.

KJ James served as the game breaker for Valdosta State on the night, pouring in a career high 32 points, which eclipsed his 24-point effort against West Alabama on December 18th to set a new career-high for the senior forward.

Shorter (1-13, 1-5 GSC) gave the Blazers (11-2, 4-1 GSC) trouble throughout the first half of the contest, and Drew Thomas closed out the frame with a long three inside the final five seconds of the first half to put the Hawks on top 34-33 at the break.

The Blazers weathered the storm, however, and with the spark of a Jimmy Kodet three ball during the first minute of the second half, the Blazers took a lead that they would never again relinquish.

Beau Justice, who was named the GSC Player of the Week a few hours prior to tipoff, delivered another 20-plus point performance with 23 points on 7-of-10 shooting from the field and a 3-of-4 effort from long distance. In addition, Justice hit 6-of-6 from the free throw line, extending his total of consecutive free throws to 19 straight and improving his free throw percentage to 91.5 on the year. Justice leads the league in free throw shooting and represents the only player to have a percentage above 90 percent.

Despite allowing 33 points to forward Josh Burnett, the Blazer defense held the Hawks to just 6-of-24 from the three point line for 25.0 percent. Perimeter defense, along with poor free throw shooting by Shorter, allowed the Blazers to retain momentum heading into the weekend.

Valdosta State will welcome the Delta State Statesmen to town on Sunday afternoon for a huge GSC showdown. DSU currently sits alone atop the league standings, with VSU locked in a three way tie for second place. Tip time is slated for 4:00 p.m.