VALDOSTA, Ga. – The No. 12-ranked Valdosta State men's basketball team posted a 93-87 victory over Albany State in a highly contested matchup Saturday afternoon at The Complex.  VSU had four starters in double figures as it improved to 2-0 on the young season.  Albany State fell to 1-1 with six players in double figures.
 
Senior big men Bryce Smith and Darrell Jones had 23 and 21 points, respectively, for the Blazers as Jones tallied his first double-double of the season with 11 rebounds.  Smith was 7 of 12 from the field with two triples and went a perfect 7 of 7 from the line, while Jones was 8 of 14 from the field and 5 of 5 from the stripe.    
 
The Blazers shot 57.4 percent for the game on 31 of 54, while they struggled from beyond the arc on just 4 of 14, but were a season-high 27 of 30 from the line.  VSU outrebounded ASU 34-26 for the game, while never trailing in the contest. 
 
Senior Clay Guillozet had 15 points and a game-high six assists on 5 of 6 from the field and 5 of 6 from the line, while junior Imoras Agee added 13 points.  For the Golden Rams, Randy McClure and Joshua Jerome each had 16 points.
 
The Golden Rams shot 36 of 69 from the field for 52.2 percent, while staying in the game on 8 of 18 from range as ASU was just 7 of 13 from the line.  
 
VSU jumped out to a double-digit lead for much of the first half and settled for a 51-41 lead at intermission.  The Blazers shot 56.3 percent for the half on 18 of 32, while going 11 of 12 from the line.  ASU shot 18 of 33 from the field, but was just 1 of 4 from the stripe in the first half.
 
The Golden Rams opened the second half with a 7-0 run and cut the deficit to three on a triple from Jereome at 51-48.  VSU pushed the lead back to seven a number of times and an emphatic dunk from Agee pushed the lead to 10 at 73-63 with 8:55 left.  
 
Two free throws from Smith gave VSU an 88-77 lead with 2:15 remaining, as the Golden Rams would not go away quietly, cutting the deficit back to six at 93-87 on a dunk from Brown with 12 seconds left for the final bucket.
 
The Blazers host Brewton-Parker on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. at The Complex, before heading on the road at Albany State on Thursday at 7:30 p.m.  Following the ASU game, VSU will not play until Nov. 23 when it opens Gulf South Conference play at Christian Brothers in Memphis, Tenn.