Men's Basketball 3/2/2018 12:00:00 PM

Men's Basketball Preview: GSC Semifinal vs. Delta State

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No. 5 DELTA STATE vs. No. 1 VALDOSTA STATE
WHAT: Men's Basketball Gulf South Conference Tournament Semifinal WHEN: Saturday, March 3rd 2018 at 6:00 p.m. EST WHERE: Birmingham, Ala. - Pete Hanna Centre at Samford University Audio Link \| Video Link \| Stats Link \| Game Notes

No. 1 VALDOSTA STATE BLAZERS 26-3, 18-2 GSC NEWS \| SCHEDULE \| STATISTICS \| ROSTER
TOP OF THE HEAP - Valdosta State entered 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. JUSTICE SERVED - On Tuesday, Beau Justice was announced as the Gulf South Conference Player of the Year. Justice is the second straight Blazer to earn Player of the Year recognition and succeeds Jeremiah Hill, who received the honor during an All-American campaign last year. The junior out of Peebles, Ohio ranked among the top two eligible Gulf South Conference scorers during the 2017-18 regular season. The sharpshooting guard currently ranks among the league's top ten in scoring (20.7 points per game, 2nd), field goal percentage (48.1 percent, 9th), free throw percentage (90.1 percent, 2nd), 3-point field goal percentage (42.7 percent, 2nd), 3-point field goals per game (3.0, 2nd). On the national level, his aforementioned free throw percentage places him 10th on the Division II leaderboard. Justice was also named First Team All-GSC, and KJ James received Second Team All-GSC honors. DOWNTOWN TRAIN - The Blazers have connected on 351 three pointers this season, which represents a new school mark for shots made beyond the arc in a single season. Valdosta State is currently ranked third in the nation in the category, and have moved to second all-time for single season threes in Gulf South Conference history, just 21 away from Alabama-Huntsville's record total of 372 last season. Winston Morgan leads the way with 100 threes, which he reached after hitting seven treys on Tuesday night against UWG to snap a 28 year old school record of 95 set in 1990-91 by J.J. Taylor.

No. 1 VALDOSTA STATE BLAZERS

26-3, 18-2 GSC
NEWS | SCHEDULE | STATISTICS | ROSTER

TOP OF THE HEAP - Valdosta State entered 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.
JUSTICE SERVED - On Tuesday, Beau Justice was announced as the Gulf South Conference Player of the Year. Justice is the second straight Blazer to earn Player of the Year recognition and succeeds Jeremiah Hill, who received the honor during an All-American campaign last year. The junior out of Peebles, Ohio ranked among the top two eligible Gulf South Conference scorers during the 2017-18 regular season. The sharpshooting guard currently ranks among the league's top ten in scoring (20.7 points per game, 2nd), field goal percentage (48.1 percent, 9th), free throw percentage (90.1 percent, 2nd), 3-point field goal percentage (42.7 percent, 2nd), 3-point field goals per game (3.0, 2nd). On the national level, his aforementioned free throw percentage places him 10th on the Division II leaderboard. Justice was also named First Team All-GSC, and KJ James received Second Team All-GSC honors.
DOWNTOWN TRAIN - The Blazers have connected on 351 three pointers this season, which represents a new school mark for shots made beyond the arc in a single season. Valdosta State is currently ranked third in the nation in the category, and have moved to second all-time for single season threes in Gulf South Conference history, just 21 away from Alabama-Huntsville's record total of 372 last season. Winston Morgan leads the way with 100 threes, which he reached after hitting seven treys on Tuesday night against UWG to snap a 28 year old school record of 95 set in 1990-91 by J.J. Taylor.

NO. 5 DELTA STATE STATESMEN 14-15, 11-9 GSC NEWS \| SCHEDULE \| STATISTICS \| ROSTER
SERIES HISTORY - The rivalry between the Statesmen and the Blazers has been a longstanding one. The two teams will face each other for the 44th time in program history on Saturday night, with the Blazers holding a narrow edge at 22-21 against Delta State all-time. STEADY PRESENCE - Delta State's 2018 appearance in the Gulf South Conference Tournament marks the team's 10th consecutive trip to the postseason. The team took down No. 4 Lee 68-58 in Tuesday night's Super Tuesday matchup to earn the trip to Birmingham. LAST TIME OUT - The Blazers faced the Statesmen just once this season and took down DSU at The Complex with an 81-69 win. The Statesmen were led by PJ Davis, who scored 18 points in the game and pulled down seven rebounds. Valdosta State saw four different players reach double figures in the scoring column, and Clay Guillozet led the way with 18 points.

NO. 5 DELTA STATE STATESMEN

14-15, 11-9 GSC
NEWS | SCHEDULE | STATISTICS | ROSTER

SERIES HISTORY - The rivalry between the Statesmen and the Blazers has been a longstanding one. The two teams will face each other for the 44th time in program history on Saturday night, with the Blazers holding a narrow edge at 22-21 against Delta State all-time.
STEADY PRESENCE - Delta State's 2018 appearance in the Gulf South Conference Tournament marks the team's 10th consecutive trip to the postseason. The team took down No. 4 Lee 68-58 in Tuesday night's Super Tuesday matchup to earn the trip to Birmingham.
LAST TIME OUT - The Blazers faced the Statesmen just once this season and took down DSU at The Complex with an 81-69 win. The Statesmen were led by PJ Davis, who scored 18 points in the game and pulled down seven rebounds. Valdosta State saw four different players reach double figures in the scoring column, and Clay Guillozet led the way with 18 points.

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Players Mentioned

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

#4 Clay Guillozet: G; 6' 4"; Sophomore

#20 KJ James: F; 6' 5"; Senior

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

Players Mentioned

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

#4 Clay Guillozet
: 6' 4"; Sophomore
: G

#20 KJ James
: 6' 5"; Senior
: F

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