MONTEVALLO, Ala. – The Valdosta State men's basketball team battled back from down as many as eight in the first half, but was unable to hold the lead in the final minute, falling 67-65 Thursday evening at Montevallo.  With the loss, VSU fell to 14-5 overall and 7-4 in the Gulf South Conference, while Montevallo improved to 9-11 overall and 5-5 in league play.
 
VSU battle back from a 61-57 deficit with 3:28 left to take the lead on an "and one" from senior Desmond DeRamus with 52 seconds left at 65-64, but a missed shot and offensive rebound by the Falcons gave Micah Fuller two free throws for a 66-65 UM lead with 26 seconds remaining.
 
The Blazers missed a triple, but got the offensive rebound and foul, however, missed the front end of the free throw with four seconds left.  VSU then fouled and De'Marco Owens made one of two tosses.  A turnover by the Blazers ended the game as VSU now has lost five games this season by a total of 12 points.
 
VSU had a game-high 17 points from senior Beau Justice as he was 7 of 15 from the floor with two triples and 1 of 2 from the line, while DeRamus added 13 points and junior Darrell Jones chipped in 11 points off the bench.  The Blazers shot 44 percent from the field on 22 of 50, made 5 of 16 triples and went 16 of 22 from the line. 
 
Montevallo was led by 15 points from Cam Copeland and Carl Johnson, while Owens added 13 points off the bench as the Falcons shot 45.3 percent from the field on 24 of 53.  They were 7 of 16 from beyond the arc and 12 of 23 from the line.  VSU held a 38-33 lead in rebounding as both teams had 12 offensive rebounds, but UM led 17-8 in second chance points.  The game had eight ties and 12 lead changes. 
 
The Falcons built a 20-12 lead nine minutes into the contest, but three free throws and a bucket from senior Greg Zuppas cut the deficit to three at 23-20 with 8:18 left in the first half.  UM quickly pushed the lead back to eight at 28-20 on a triple from Jack Youmans, but VSU rallied and ended the half on a 12-4  run with a layup from Bryce Smith with second seconds left and a 32-32 score at intermission.
 
VSU took its first lead of the game at 34-32 with the first bucket of the second half from DeRamus off a Smith steal.  Neither team gained much of an advantage as VSU led by three on a Zuppas layup with 12:19 left, but Montevallo answered and built the lead to as many as four at 57-53 on a pair of charity tosses from Johnson, prior to VSU making its run to take the lead in the final minute.
 
The Blazers continue on the road on Saturday at 5 p.m. ET at Auburn Montgomery.  Links to live stats and audio/video streaming can be found on the women's basketball schedule page at vstateblazers.com.  The game also will be broadcast on 92.1 WDDQ with Spencer Van Horn having the call of the game.