VALDOSTA, Ga. – The No. 12-ranked Valdosta State men's basketball team had all five starters in double figures and seven overall, as the Blazers posted a 109-81 victory over Fort Valley State Friday evening at The Complex.
VSU was led by 18 points each from seniors
Clay Guillozet and
Bryce Smith, while sophomore newcomer
Imoras Agee added 17 points and former FVSU men's basketball player senior
Tyler Edwards added 14 points and senior
Darrell Jones narrowly missed a double-double with 11 points and a team-high nine rebounds.
The Blazers shot 51.5 percent for the game on 35 of 68, while going 8 of 24 from beyond the arc and 31 of 38 from the line. VSU held the Wildcats to just 39.7 percent shooting on 29 of 73, while FVSU went 8 of 21 from range and 15 of 21 from the line. The Blazers outrebounded FVSU 46-38. VSU junior DeMarcus Addie and junior
Burke Putnam each had 10 points off the bench.
For the Wildcats, Shawn Foxbrennen had a game-high 20 points leading three players in double figures, while Zachary Boggs had 16 points off the bench and Tristan Davis had 13 points.
VSU opened the game on an 18-4 run with capped with a jumper from Smith in the paint with 15:46 left in the first half. The Wildcats cut the deficit to 48-38 later in the half capped with a triple from Foxbrennen, but Edwards had a bucket with 38 seconds left for a 56-43 lead at halftime.
Guillozet paced the Blazers at halftime with 13 points of 4 of 6 shooting with two treys and 3 of 4 form the line, while Boggs had ten points in the first half for the Wildcats. VSU shot 57.1 percent for the half, while going 12 of 14 from the line. FVSU was 17 of 38 for 44.7 percent and was just 3 of 5 from the line in the first half.
Agee began the second half with an emphatic dunk to begin a 21-4 run for a 79-47 lead with 14:50 left, marking the largest lead of the game. Edwards buried a triple for an 86-54 lead with 9:48 left matching the largest lead at 32 points.
Foxbrennen hit one of two free throws for a 95-70 deficit with 4:39 left, but the Blazers quickly pushed the lead back to 30 as Putnam hit the bucket for the century mark as the Blazers settled for the 109-81 win.
The win marked the second-straight game VSU has put over 100 points on FVSU as the Blazers won 111-98 in Valdosta last season in a game that saw Foxbrennen score 32 points, while former Blazer
Beau Justice dropped a school-record 47 points and a GSC-record 12 triples.
The Blazers host Albany State Saturday at 2 p.m. at The Complex, as the Golden Rams downed West Florida 73-59 earlier in the afternoon. Links to live stats and streaming of the game are available at vstateblazers.com on the men's baskeball schedule page.