PENSACOLA, Fla. – The No. 22 Valdosta State men's basketball team used an 11-0 run late in the first quarter to gain some separation and went on for an 85-69 victory at West Florida for its seventh-straight win Thursday evening. VSU junior
Clay Guillozet led four Blazers in double figures with 15 points and 12 rebounds.
With the win, VSU clinched a home game on Mar. 5 in the quarterfinal round of the Gulf South Conference Tournament. Check back with vstateblazers.com as the tournament gets closer for ticket information on the quarterfinal round game and more.
The Blazers, who improved to 21-5 overall and 14-4 in the Gulf South Conference, shot 47.1 percent for the game on 32 of 68, while going 9 of 26 from beyond the arc and 12 of 15 from the line. VSU tallied 46 rebounds in the game for a 14 rebound advantage, while recording 15 rebounds on the offensive end for a 17-7 lead in second chance points.
With the win, VSU clinched a home game on Mar. 5 in the quarterfinal round of the Gulf South Conference Tournament. Check back with vstateblazers.com as the tournament gets closer for ticket information on the quarterfinal round game and more.
VSU senior
Beau Justice had a team-high 18 points with four field goals – three treys and 7 of 8 from the line, along with five assists. Senior
Winston Morgan added 13 points with three triples, while junior
Bryce Smith chipped in 13 points off the bench. Guillozet had 10 of the 19 offensive rebounds. His 15 rebounds were a career-high and it marked his fourth double-double of the season.
UWF (11-16, 7-12 GSC) shot 41.5 percent for the game, and 62.1 percent in the second half, on 27 of 65 from the floor, while going just 2 of 13 from beyond the arc and 13 of 19 from the line. Jarrett Henderson led with a game-high 22 points on 10 of 18 from the field and a team-high eight rebounds. Jon Brown chipped in 17 as four different Argos were in double figures.
In a tight game for much of the first half, two free throws from Rashaan Benson gave UWF its second and last lead of the game at 21-20 with 6:15 left in the first half. From there, VSU got the separation it needed as it used the 11-0 run capped with a layup from Morgan for a 31-21 lead with 2:55 left. Morgan then buried a triple for a 34-22 lead and the largest lead of the half.
The Argos ended a field goal drought of over six minutes with a Brown layup with 1:36 left for a 34-26 lead as VSU settled for a 36-28 lead at intermission. The Blazers were 13 of 39 from the field in the first half, while holding UWF to just 9 of 36. The Argos remained close as they went 10 of 12 from the line in the first half, while VSU was just 4 of 7.
UWF pulled within eight on five occasions in the second half with the last being on a dunk from Henri Ventoinemi with 14:21 left and a 52-44 Blazer lead. From there, VSU turned on the gas and quickly pushed the lead back to double digits and went on for the 85-69 victory.
The Blazers have a huge game Saturday at league-leader West Alabama at 3 p.m. ET as it has regional, potential conference title and conference tournament seeding implications. Fans can access links to live stats, audio/video streaming and more at vstateblazers.com on the men's basketball schedule page. Spencer Van Horn will have the call of the game on 92.1 FM WDDQ.
