VALDOSTA, Ga. – In a hard-fought game throughout, the Emmanuel College (Ga.) Lions led for 32 minutes of the game en route to a 77-73 upset win over No. 9 Valdosta State Sunday at The Complex.  VSU fell to 10-2 on the year, while Emmanuel improved to 9-6.
 
The Blazers, who had their second cold shooting night of the season, went just 27 of 79 from the field (.342) and just 6 of 27 from beyond the arc, while going 13 of 19 from the line. The pesky Lions shot 27 of 63 from the field (.429), 4 of 17 from beyond the arc (.235) and 19 of 28 from the line (.679).   Emmanuel held a 50-49 lead in rebounding for the game.
 
Four of five starters for the Blazers were in double figures led by 16 points from senior Beau Justice. He was 5 of 14 from the field, just 1 of 4 from range and 5 of 6 from the line.  Senior Winston Morgan drained four of the Blazers' six triples and had 14 points, while junior Darrell Jones missed a double-double by one rebound with 15 points and nine rebounds.  Junior Clay Guillozet had a double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds.  
 
The Lions were led by a game-high 21 points and 12 rebounds from Kendrick Colvin on 8 of 16 from the field and 4 of 6 from the line as he had one triple leading four starters in double figures also.  Austin Greene added 17 points and 9 of 11 free throws.  
 
EC's Brandon Simpson made back-to-back layups for the Lions giving EC its first lead of the game at 11-10 with 15:12 left in the first half.  From there, EC built the lead to as many as 10 at 38-28 with 2:23 left in the half.  
 
VSU cut the deficit to six at intermission for a 40-34 score as VSU shot just .311 from the field for the opening half on 14 of 45, while going just 2 of 14 from beyond the arc and 4 of 6 from the line.  EC was 15 of 39 for 38.5 percent in the half, while also struggling from range at 2 of 11 and was 8 of 10 from the stripe.
 
Justice hit a jumper pulling VSU within 49-47 with 14:35 left, but the Lions quickly swelled the lead back to seven on a layup from Kyler Ingram at 57-50 with 9:18 left.  Morgan buried a triple pulling VSU within 58-57 with 7:59 remaining as the crowd began to heat up.  Jones buried one of two free throws for a tie game at 58, but Nathan Williams buried a long triple at the other end with 6:57 remaining.
 
Later, Jones tied the game at 64 with two free throws and then gave VSU its first lead since the 15:27 mark in the first half with a bucket with 3:44 left for a 66-64 lead. Colvin had the answer with a layup. 

Justice broke the fourth tie of the game with a pair of free throws with 1:39 left and a 70-69 VSU lead, but Brandon Simpson scored in the paint with 50 seconds left putting the Lions up 71-70.  
 
Jones hit another big bucket for a 73-72 deficit with 22 second left, but one two free throws at the other end and one of two from Justice kept the margin at one.  VSU had a great chance for a steal, but were unable to come up with the theft as EC regained possession.  
 
Colvin made one of two free throws, but Simpson pulled down a huge offensive rebound with six seconds left and was fouled making both tosses for a 77-73 score with three seconds left.  
 
The Blazers were unable to go undefeated in non-conference play for the first time since 2013-14 with the loss, finishing non-league play at 7-1.  VSU continues at home on Thursday and Saturday, battling West Florida and West Alabama at 8 p.m. and 4 p.m., respectively.