Men's Basketball 2/26/2018 5:53:00 PM

Men's Basketball Preview: GSC Quarterfinal vs. West Georgia

OFFICIAL TOURNAMENT PAGE OF THE 2018 VISITSPACECOAST.COM'S MEN'S BASKETBALL GSC CHAMPIONSHIPS

No. 8 WEST GEORGIA at No. 1 VALDOSTA STATE
WHAT: Men's Basketball Gulf South Conference Tournament Quarterfinal WHEN: Tuesday, February 27th, 2018 at 8:00 p.m. WHERE: Valdosta, Ga. - The Complex Audio Link \| Video Link \| Stats Link \| Game Notes

No. 1 VALDOSTA STATE BLAZERS 25-3, 18-2 GSC NEWS \| SCHEDULE \| STATISTICS \| ROSTER
TOP OF THE HEAP - Valdosta State enters the Gulf South Conference Tournament for the second straight season as the top seeded team. The Blazers finished the season with just three losses on the year, and just two losses in GSC play. Last year, Valdosta State rode their No. 1 seed all the way to an appearance in the GSC Title game, in which they fell in a heartbreaker to Alabama-Huntsville. VSU has competed in the Gulf South Conference Tournament in 11 of Head Coach Mike Helfer's 12 seasons, and the team won the GSC East Division in both the 2008-09 and 2009-10 seasons. HOME SWEET HOME - Valdosta State suffered its only home loss of the season on Thursday night in the season finale. Prior to the loss, the Blazers had been perfect at The Complex on the year and had strung together 23 consecutive wins on their home floor, dating back to last year. Valdosta State aims to start a new streak on Tuesday by matching last year's GSC Tournament Quarterfinal, when the Blazers racked up the most points ever scored by a team in a single Gulf South Conference Tournament game and took down North Alabama with 22 three pointers in a 115-94 victory. DOWNTOWN TRAIN - The Valdosta State Blazers have connected on 334 three pointers this season, which represents a new school mark for shots made beyond the arc in a single season. The Blazers are currently rank fifth in the nation in the category, and have moved to fourth all-time for single season threes in Gulf South Conference history, just nine away from Alabama-Huntsville's third place total of 343 in 2015-16. Winston Morgan leads the way with 93 threes, which places the guard at the top of the GSC leaderboard and ranks him 10th among all players in Division II.

No. 1 VALDOSTA STATE BLAZERS

25-3, 18-2 GSC
NEWS | SCHEDULE | STATISTICS | ROSTER

TOP OF THE HEAP - Valdosta State enters the Gulf South Conference Tournament for the second straight season as the top seeded team. The Blazers finished the season with just three losses on the year, and just two losses in GSC play. Last year, Valdosta State rode their No. 1 seed all the way to an appearance in the GSC Title game, in which they fell in a heartbreaker to Alabama-Huntsville. VSU has competed in the Gulf South Conference Tournament in 11 of Head Coach Mike Helfer's 12 seasons, and the team won the GSC East Division in both the 2008-09 and 2009-10 seasons.
HOME SWEET HOME - Valdosta State suffered its only home loss of the season on Thursday night in the season finale. Prior to the loss, the Blazers had been perfect at The Complex on the year and had strung together 23 consecutive wins on their home floor, dating back to last year. Valdosta State aims to start a new streak on Tuesday by matching last year's GSC Tournament Quarterfinal, when the Blazers racked up the most points ever scored by a team in a single Gulf South Conference Tournament game and took down North Alabama with 22 three pointers in a 115-94 victory.
DOWNTOWN TRAIN - The Valdosta State Blazers have connected on 334 three pointers this season, which represents a new school mark for shots made beyond the arc in a single season. The Blazers are currently rank fifth in the nation in the category, and have moved to fourth all-time for single season threes in Gulf South Conference history, just nine away from Alabama-Huntsville's third place total of 343 in 2015-16. Winston Morgan leads the way with 93 threes, which places the guard at the top of the GSC leaderboard and ranks him 10th among all players in Division II.

NO. 8 WEST GEORGIA WOLVES 14-13, 9-11 GSC NEWS \| SCHEDULE \| STATISTICS \| ROSTER
SERIES HISTORY - The rivalry between the Wolves and the Blazers represents one of the most historic in all of Division II basketball. Tuesday night, the two teams will face each other for the 131st time in the history of the two programs, with Valdosta State holding a 74-56 edge. The Blazers have won four straight against the Wolves, and were last defeated by UWG 84-79 on February 20th of 2016. DOUBLE TROUBLE - West Georgia's roster contains two of the league's top three scorers in Marquill Smith and Paul Turner. The pair, averaging 23.3 and 19.0 points per game, respectively surround Valdosta State's Beau Justice, who is ranked second in the league with an average of 20.8 points per game. Smith has averaged 18.5 points per game against the Blazers this year with 22 points scored on January 20th, and 15 in Carrollton on February 8th. LAST TIME OUT - The Blazers picked up one of their most convincing wins of the year on February 8th after running away with a 106-77 victory over the Wolves in Carrollton, Ga. In the first matchup of the year between the two teams, VSU scored their second highest point total of the season in a 114-92 win at The Complex on January 20th.

NO. 8 WEST GEORGIA WOLVES

14-13, 9-11 GSC
NEWS | SCHEDULE | STATISTICS | ROSTER

SERIES HISTORY - The rivalry between the Wolves and the Blazers represents one of the most historic in all of Division II basketball. Tuesday night, the two teams will face each other for the 131st time in the history of the two programs, with Valdosta State holding a 74-56 edge. The Blazers have won four straight against the Wolves, and were last defeated by UWG 84-79 on February 20th of 2016.
DOUBLE TROUBLE - West Georgia's roster contains two of the league's top three scorers in Marquill Smith and Paul Turner. The pair, averaging 23.3 and 19.0 points per game, respectively surround Valdosta State's Beau Justice, who is ranked second in the league with an average of 20.8 points per game. Smith has averaged 18.5 points per game against the Blazers this year with 22 points scored on January 20th, and 15 in Carrollton on February 8th.
LAST TIME OUT - The Blazers picked up one of their most convincing wins of the year on February 8th after running away with a 106-77 victory over the Wolves in Carrollton, Ga. In the first matchup of the year between the two teams, VSU scored their second highest point total of the season in a 114-92 win at The Complex on January 20th.

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Players Mentioned

#12 Beau Justice: G; 6' 2"; Junior

#3 Winston Morgan: G; 6' 0"; Junior

Players Mentioned

#12 Beau Justice
: 6' 2"; Junior
: G

#3 Winston Morgan
: 6' 0"; Junior
: G

Players Mentioned

#12 Beau Justice

#3 Winston Morgan

Players Mentioned

#12 Beau Justice

#3 Winston Morgan