CLEVELAND, Miss. – The No. 14 Valdosta State men's basketball team dropped an 88-83 decision at Delta State Saturday afternoon.  Blazer Senior Beau Justice had 28 points to lead four starters in double figures.
 
In a game where Valdosta State (13-3, 6-2 GSC) held the lead in just about every category but rebounding, the Blazers shot 50 percent on 31 of 62 from the field, while going 9 of 27 from beyond the arc and 12 of 15 from the line.  Justice was 11 of 17 from the field with two triples and four free throws.  Senior Winston Morgan added 15 points on 6 of 12 from the field with two triples, while senior Desmond DeRamus and junior Clay Guillozet each added 10 points and seven rebounds each. 
 
Delta State (11-4, 7-1 GSC) had five players in double figures and three recorded double-doubles in the game led by a team-high 24 points and 17 rebounds from Justin Slocum as he was 11 of 16 from the field, while pulling down eight rebounds on the offensive end and nine defensive stops.  Brett Warner added 22 points on 6 of 16 from the field, 4 of 10 from range and 6 of 8 from the line to lead the team.  Cedric Harper added 14 points and 10 rebounds, while Armon Benford added 10 points and 10 rebounds. 
 
The Statesmen shot 33 of 69 from the field for 47.8 percent, while going 7 of 17 from beyond the arc and 15 of 23 from the line.  Along with dominating the glass, DSU held a 46-32 lead in points in the paint, as there were just two lead changes in the game. 
 
VSU raced out to the early lead and built a seven-point cushion multiple times in the first half as Guillozet pushed the lead to eight at 31-23 with 7:22 left in the half.  DSU's Matthew Wilson buried a triple pulling the Statesmen within 37-34 with 4:14 left and Warner buried back-to-back triples for the first lead of the game by the Statesmen at 42-41.  DSU led 44-41 at intermission as it closed the final 5:06 of the half on a 15-4 run. 
 
The Statesmen continued where they left off in the first half and opened the second half with a 12-6 run through the first four minutes and a 56-47 lead capped on a layup from Warner.  VSU quickly cut the deficit to three on a pair of occasions, but Warner hit a triple and Slocum earned the old-fashion three-point play to quickly push the lead to nine at 64-55 with 12:46 left. 
 
Justice answered with a triple for a 64-58 deficit, but an 8-1 run by DSU pushed the lead to a game-high 13 points at 72-59 with 8:39 left.  Justice earned the "and one" as VSU mounted the comeback, cutting the deficit to 81-79 with 1:29 left and, after a DSU free throw, Justice pulled VSU within 82-81 with 1:11 left. 
 
DSU had the answer by Harper on dunk off a fast break with 58 seconds left, pushing the lead back to three.  The Statesmen made two free throws after a VSU foul and Justice cut the deficit back to three with 17 seconds left at 86-83.  Justice couldn't connect on a triple and VSU had to foul as DSU made two of its final four free throws for an 88-83 win.
 
The Blazers return home to host West Georgia on Thursday at 8 p.m. at The Complex, followed by hosting Shorter on Saturday at 4 p.m. Check back with vstateblazers.com for links to live stats, radio information, audio/video streaming, ticket information and more.