MEMPHIS, Tenn. – Behind five players in double figures and a 13-2 run to start the game, the No. 9 Valdosta State men's basketball team posted a 79-61 victory at Christian Brothers Saturday afternoon in the Gulf South Conference opener for both teams.
The Blazers (5-0, 1-0 GSC) were led by 17 points from senior Clay Guillozet as he was 7 of 10 from the field with five rebounds and five assists, while senior Bryce Smith tallied 16 points on 7 of 12 shooting and a team-high seven rebounds. Senior Darrell Jones, the reigning GSC Co-Player of the Week, chipped in 14 points and six rebounds. Senior Tyler Edwards added 13 points, as four of the Blazers' five starters finished with double figures.
VSU shot 48.4 percent on 31 of 64, while draining seven triples, but struggled from the line on 10 of 20 from the charity stripe. Sophomore Cam Hamilton added ten points off the bench, highlighted by two triples. VSU held a 44-24 lead inside and held a 19-6 lead in points off turnovers, forcing 19 miscues by the Buccaneers.
Christian Brothers (2-3, 0-1 GSC) shot just 36.8 percent on 21 of 57, while going 6 of 26 from range and 13 of 16 from the line. Nick Deifel and Malik Jones each had 11 points for the Bucs. Deifel had a team-high seven rebounds. CBU held a 41-33 lead in rebounding, but the Blazers led 17-13 in second chance points, making the most of their offensive rebounds.
The game began as VSU raced out to an 8-0 lead highlighted by a triple from Guillozet and layups from Jones and Edwards. Sophomore Imoras Agee stretched the lead to 11-2 on a triple off a fast break and Smith scored inside for a 13-2 start with 16:26 left in the first half.
CBU pulled within 15-8 on a jumper from Aiden Ruthsatz, but the Blazers quickly pushed the lead back over double-digits with another 8-0 run for a 23-8 lead with 9:44 left as the Bucs went ice cold. Ruthsatz later hit two free throws for a 27-18 score with 5:41 left and a triple from Daryl Lewis pulled CBU within 27-21 with 4:58 remaining in the half.
After pushing the lead back to double-digits, CBU stayed within striking distance on a jumper from Brad Miller for a 33-25 deficit with 1:36 left, but a trey from Edwards and a layup from Jones stretched the lead to 38-25 with under a minute left in the half. VSU settled for a 38-27 lead at intermission.
CBU pulled within nine twice within the first three minutes of the second half, but a layup from Guillozet pushed the lead back to double digits at 42-31 with 17 minutes left, as the lead never got under double-digits the rest of the way.
Hamilton's triple with 9:28 left pushed the VSU lead to 55-39 for the largest of the game to that point, but CBU wouldn't go quietly as it cut the deficit back to ten on a triple from Deifel with 8:02 remaining at 58-48.
From there, VSU turned on the gas as it outscored CBU 21-12 the rest of the way and pushed the lead to 21 twice over the final eight minutes for the 79-61 victory.
The Blazers head to Union on Monday for an 8:30 p.m. ET tip. Union lost 64-53 to West Florida Saturday in the conference opener for both.
Fans can access links to live stats, audio/video streaming and more on Monday's game at vstateblazers.com on the men's basketball schedule page. The game will be broadcast on 92.1 WDDQ with Spencer Van Horn having the call.
