VALDOSTA, Ga. - The Valdosta State men's basketball team improved to 13-0 on their home floor, picked up their 18th consecutive victory, and claimed their second consecutive regular season Gulf South Conference Championship, thanks to a 98-75 win over rival North Alabama on Saturday night at The Complex.
"When we started the game, both teams were really locked in and it was a tournament type atmosphere," said Head Coach
Mike Helfer after the win. "Then I thought in the second half, it shifted a little bit because of our ability to hit threes. It's just so hard for opponents to guard and deal with made threes in The Complex, especially with our crowd. It gets so loud in here, and I think that was a factor in the game tonight."
North Alabama took an early lead out of the gate, but a 10-4 run by the Blazers put Valdosta State back on top 10-9 at the 17:00 minute mark. The back-and-forth continued throughout the rest of the first half, which featured a 50 percent shooting effort from the field by the Lions and eight threes by the Blazers. As a result, the opening period included 12 lead changes before VSU used a
Jimmy Kodet layup in the paint to add a 13th lead change and put VSU up 46-45 at the break.
In the second half, Valdosta State used a
KJ James layup with a pair of
Clay Guillozet buckets and a
Winston Morgan three-pointer in the first four minutes for a 9-4 run that opened up a 55-49 advantage.
Jimmy Kodet then flushed home a two-handed dunk and followed with a three to put VSU up 60-50 at the 14:58 mark, for what was VSU's biggest lead of the game up to that point.
Kodet's offensive contributions led to a double-double, which included a 25-point performance. The point total came by way of some sharp shooting from beyond the arc that led to a 7-of-12 effort from long range. Furthermore, Kodet went 9-of-15 overall from the field and pulled down 10 rebounds en route to his fourth double-double of the year. The senior's performance led to a career-high, which toppled his previous high of 21 scored against Montevallo on December 16th.
"Any time you can win a regular season championship in the Gulf South Conference, it is something to be very proud of," added Helfer. "With the travel and toll that it takes on these student-athletes, it is not an easy thing to do. I'm proud for these guys, and I'm happy for them. I was happy for last year's team too, but each year is a new, unique group, and this team is definitely special."
Kodet led all scorers and rebounders in the game, while
Beau Justice added 19, and
Clay Guillozet poured in 15. Meanwhile, both
KJ James and and LaBrian Shiflet added 11 and 10 points, respectively. As a team, the Blazers shot 47.8 percent (32-of-67) from the field and connected on 36.8 three pointers (14-of-38).
With the win, VSU improved to 25-2 overall and 18-1 in GSC play. The Lions, currently fighting for a shot at a GSC postseason berth, fell to 14-12 on the year and dropped to 9-10 in league action.
The Blazers will continue their climb toward South Region supremacy on Thursday night, February 22nd, when the West Florida Argonauts come to town for the final regular season game of the 2017-18 season. The game, which will tip at 8:00 p.m at The Complex, has been selected as the NCAA Division II Showcase Game of the Week and will be aired live on ESPN3 and the Watch ESPN app. Direct links for access will be available at www.vstateblazers.com.
In addition, both the Lady Blazers and the Blazers have secured hosting rights for the first round of the Gulf South Conference Tournament. Opponents are yet to be determined, but the games will take at 6:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m. on Tuesday, February 27th. The event has been dubbed "Super Tuesday" by the Gulf South Conference and will mark the second consecutive year in which both the Lady Blazers and Blazers will host the opening round quarterfinal matchup.
