VALDOSTA, Ga. – The No. 14-ranked Valdosta State Blazers return to the road in Gulf South Conference play at Mississippi College and at Delta State this week.  The Blazers and Choctaws battle Thursday evening at 8:30 p.m. ET, and the Blazers face Delta State Saturday at 5 p.m. ET. 
 
Fans can access links to links to audio/streaming and live stats of the game at vstateblazers.com on the men's basketball schedule page.  Spencer Van Horn will have radio coverage of the games on 92.1 FM WDDQ.  A link to the audio broadcast of the game also can be found on the men's basketball schedule page.  Check back to vstateblazers.com for a complete recap and stats of the games.
 
The Blazers are coming off a thrilling 78-75, buzzer-beating win over West Alabama on Saturday and won 77-58 over West Florida last Thursday.  VSU trailed by as many as 19 points in the first half Saturday against UWA, before the monumental comeback in the second half as VSU outscored the Tigers 57-36 in the second stanza.  Blazer senior Beau Justice buried a long triple as time expired for the win, while junior Clay Guillozet scored 18 of the final 25 points in the game for VSU as he finished with 26 points and 11 rebounds.  Justice finished with 18 points and 16 in the second half.
 
VSU is 14^thin the latest NABC Top 25 as voted on by the coaches, while ranking 10^thin the latest D2SIDA Top 25 as voted on by the sports information directors. In the NABC poll, VSU is the top-ranked team from the Gulf South and the third-ranked team from the South Region as Nova Southeastern sits fourth nationally and Moreohouse is seventh.  Lynn and Florida Southern are the remaining ranked teams from the region at 21^stand 22^nd, respectively.  No other GSC team is either ranked or receiving votes. In the D2SIDA Poll, Nova Southeastern sits fourth, while the Blazers are tenth, Barry 21^stand Morehouse 25^th.   Lynn and Florida Southern are receiving votes. 
 
Looking at the conference standings, the Blazers are 12-2 overall and 5-1 in Gulf South Conference play as they sit second behind Lee who is 6-0 in league play.  Delta State also is 5-1 in league play heading into the weekend and the Statesmen are 9-4 overall.  West Alabama and West Georgia each are 4-2 in league play.  Mississippi College is 4-6 overall and 1-4 in conference play.
 
For the season, the Blazers are led by Justice at 21.8 points per game as he is a team-best 106 of 219 (.484) from the field, while going 41 of 92 (.446) from beyond the arc and a team-high 52 of 63 from the line for a .825 clip.  Justice is averaging 4.4 rebounds per game, while dishing out 52 assists and 17 steals on the year.  Following the outstanding performance on Saturday, Guillozet moved into second on the team in scoring at 13.4 points per game.  He is 68 of 139 (.489) from the field, while going 21 of 51 from beyond the arc (.412) and is 30 of 42 from the line (.714).  Guillozet is averaging 6.4 rebounds per game for second on the team, while recording 27 assists and 15 steals.  Third in scoring is senior Winston Morgan at 13.1 points per game.  Morgan leads the team with 49 made triples (49-114) and is 59 of 137 (.431) from the field.  He is 16 of 21 from the line (.762), while ranking third on the team in assists with 41. Junior Darrell Jones is fourth in scoring at 12.6 points per game and leads the team in rebounding at 6.6 per contest.  Jones is 68 of 129 from the field (.527) to lead the team in average, while going 30 of 42 from the line (.714).  Jones leads the team with ten blocks and has 24 assists, while draining 10 triples.  
 
As a team, the Blazers are averaging 91.0 points per game and allowing 75.4.  The team is shooting .484 from the field on 460 of 950, while going 153 of 384 (.401) from beyond the arc and 200 of 271 (.738) from the line. VSU is averaging 38.8 rebounds per game (allowing 34.3), while recording 251 assists, 157 turnovers, 41 blocks and 114 steals.  Conversely, the opposition is shooting .468 from the field on 404 of 863, while going 90 of 256 (.352) from range and 157 of 219 (.717) from the line.  VSU has forced 221 turnovers in 14 games by the opposition. 
 
Nationally speaking, the Blazers are 11^thnationally in assist/turnover ratio at a 1.6 clip for second in the conference.  VSU is 16^thnationally in assists per game at 16.9 to lead the league, while leading the league in offensive rebounds per game at 13.6 for 24^thnationally.  
 
VSU is sixth nationally in scoring offense at 91 points per game, while ranking 10^thin scoring margin at 15.6 as both lead the league.  The Blazers are 23^rdnationally in 3-point field goals per game at 11.0, while ranking 27^thin 3-point field goal percentage (.401) to lead the league.  VSU is 16^thin 3-point field goals made (153) and 13^thin total assists with 251 to lead the conference.  The Blazers are second in the league in total rebounds with 543 for 49^thnationally, while ranking 14^thnationally in turnover margin at a 4.6 clip. 
 
Individually, Morgan is 12^thnationally in 3-point field goal attempts (114), while ranking 17^thnationally in 3-point field goals per game (3.5) to lead the league.  Morgan is third in the conference in 3-point field goal percentage (.430) and 11^thin 3-point field goals made (49) to lead the league.  Justice is 29^thnationally and second in the conference in scoring at 21.8 points per game, while ranking 40^thnationally and second in the conference in 3-point field goal percentage at a .446 clip. Justice is 23^rdin total field goal attempts (219) for second in the league and 25^thin made field goals (106) for second in the conference.  He ranks 15^thnationally in total points with 305 for second in the conference. 
 
The Choctaws have dropped their last three games and had their game at Shorter on Monday postponed. MC is coming off a 72-59 loss at West Georgia last Saturday.  The Choctaws are led by Brandon Boston at 16.3 points per game.  He is 69 of 148 from the field (.466) and 23 of 28 from the line (.821) for second on the team.  Boston leads the team in rebounding at 6.0 per game, while ranking second on the team in steals with 12.  Marcus Lytle is second in scoring at 13.3 points per game on 48 of 88 (.489) from the field.  He is a team-best 40 of 49 from the line (.816), while averaging 4.2 rebounds per game.  Tre Jenkins is third in scoring at 10.9 points per game and leads the team from beyond the arc on 28 of 66. (.424).  Jenkins is 34 of 78 from the field (.436) and 13 of 20 from the line.  
 
As a team, the Choctaws are shooting at a .451 clip on 276 of 612, while going 65 of 207 from beyond the arc (.314) and 129 of 173 from the line (.746).  MC is averaging 31.1 rebounds per game and 74.6 points per contest. The opposition is shooting at a .477 clip on 275 of 576, while going 69 of 208 from range (.332) and 133 of 199 from the line (.668).  Teams are averaging 37.2. rebounds and 75.2 points per game against MC.  
 
The Statesmen are coming off wins at Shorter and West Georgia on Saturday and Monday and will host West Florida on Thursday before entertaining the Blazers on Saturday. Delta State is led by Brett Warner who leads five players averaging double figures at 14.7 points per game.  Warner is 61 of 154 from the field (.396) and 23 of 66 (.348) from beyond the arc, while going 46 of 51 from the line (.902). He is second on the team in assists with 48 and has 15 steals for third on the team.
 
Second on the team in scoring is Matthew Wilson at 10.9 points per game.  Wilson leads the team with 30 triples in 65 attempts (.462) and is 51 of 109 from the field for a .468 clip.  Justin Slocum is third in scoring at 10.5 points and leads the team in rebounding at 6.8 per game, while Cedric Harper is fourth in scoring at 10.1 points per game and second in rebounding at 6.7 per contest.  Harper is 55 of 84 from the field for a .655 clip to lead the team.
 
As a team, the Statesmen are shooting at a .491. clip on 342 of 696, while going 72 of 190 from beyond the arc (.379) and 172 of 272 from the line for a .632 average.  DSU is averaging 35.8 rebounds per game and scoring 71.4 points per contest.  Teams are shooting .389 against the Statesmen and .317 from beyond the arc.  Teams are averaging 62.6 points per game and 31.5 rebounds per contest against DSU.
 
Following the two games, VSU returns home to host West Georgia and Shorter Jan. 17 and Jan. 19, respectively at The Complex.