LIVINGSTON, Ala. – The No. 22 Valdosta State men's basketball team used a gritty performance and pulled away from West Alabama down the stretch for a 67-54 victory Saturday to sweep the season series.  VSU was led by a double-double from senior Desmond DeRamus with 16 points and 10 rebounds as the Blazers snapped UWA's 11-game winning streak.
 
With the win, the Blazers and the Tigers are tied at 15-4 in league play heading into both team's final regular season game on Thursday.  VSU hosts Auburn Montgomery, while UWA travels to Mississippi College.  Should the two teams have the same league record following Thursday's games, they will share the 2018-19 Gulf South Conference regular season title and VSU will have the top overall seed in the GSC Championship by virtue of its sweep of the Tigers.  If both UWA and VSU lose on Thursday and Alabama Huntsville wins at West Georgia, there would be a three-way tie for the league championship.  VSU would still be the top-seed in the GSC Championship.
 
Despite not shooting the best on Saturday, VSU made plays when it needed to and used free throw shooting in the second half to pull away.  VSU was 14 of 22 from the line in the second half alone and was 14 of 23 for the game, while going to the line just once in the first half.  UWA was 5 of 10 from the stripe in the second half and just 6 of 13 for the game.
 
DeRamus was everywhere on Saturday as he was 6 of 9 from the field to lead the team with three triples and one free throw.  He tallied a team-high three assists and three steals in 30 minutes of action.  Senior Beau Justice added 13 points and five rebounds, while junior Clay Guillozet chipped in 12 points and eight rebounds and junior Darrell Jones added 11 points off the bench. 
 
VSU (22-5, 15-4 GSC) shot 23 of 64 from the field for 35.9 percent, while going 7 of 23 from beyond the arc and 14 of 23 from the line. The Blazers tallied 45 rebounds, including 17 on the offensive end for a 12-5 lead in second chance points. 
 
UWA (20-6, 15-4 GSC) shot 39.3 percent on 22 of 56, while going 4 of 17 from beyond the arc and 6 of 13 from the line.  Charles Tripp had a game-high 17 points off the bench as he was 7 of 12 from the field and hit a triple.  He had a team-high six rebounds.  LaJuan Hardy added 12 points and Josh Fleming had 14. 
 
VSU used a 7-0 run for a 10-6 lead early in the game in the battle of two Gulf South Conference heavyweights.  DeRamus buried his second triple and back-to-back buckets for a 19-13 lead and another 7-0 run with 13 minutes left in the first half.  
 
Later, a DeRamus steal and a Justice layup, followed by Justice stealing the inbounds pass for a score put VSU up 23-15 with ten minutes left as UWA had six turnover in the last four minutes.  
 
Five quick points brought the Tigers within 23-22 as VSU made 2 of its last 12 from the field with 6:44 remaining in the half.  Guillozet ended the run and junior Gorey Venable scored for a 27-22 lead with 5:54 remaining.  
 
VSU settled for a 34-30 lead at intermission.
 
For the half, VSU shot 39 percent on 15 of 38, while going 4 of 14 from beyond the arc and 0 of 1 from the line.  Jones had a team-high nine points, while junior Bryce Smith had five rebounds and DeRamus added three assists.  VSU had 18 rebounds, with seven offensively, while leading 10-4 in points off turnovers.
 
UWA Shot 49 percent on 13 of 27, while going 3 of 7 from beyond the arc and 1 of 3 from the line.  Hardy had 10 points, four rebounds and four assists to lead the Tigers in the first half. 
 
A layup from Smith put VSU up 42-36 with over 14 minutes left in the game.  A tip-in from DeRamus, off the 12th offensive rebound of the game for the Blazers, gave VSU at 46-40 lead with 11:37 left.  
 
Following a triple from UWA, DeRamus answered with one of his one for a 49-43 lead with 9:37 remaining.  With a technical foul on the Tigers, VSU used the momentum, along with free throws, for an 11-0 run over the last 2:17 and extend the lead to 57-43 with 7:47 left for the largest lead of the game to that point.
 
An "and one" by the Tigers brought UWA within 57-46 with 5:57 left.  Justice buried a jumper for a 59-46 lead with 5:34 left.  UWA used a 6-0 run for a 59-52 deficit with 3:23 left.  The Tigers cut the deficit to 60-54 with 2:46 left as VSU continued to struggle from the free throw line, but senior Winston Morgan came up with a huge triple with 2:20 remaining for a 63-54 score as VSU made most of its free throws the rest of the way for the win, 67-54.
 
The Blazers return home to host Auburn Montgomery in the regular season finale on Thursday at 8 p.m. at The Complex.  It will be Senior Night for the Blazers also. 
 
Check back Monday with vstateblazers.com for information on ticket information and more for the GSC Championship quarterfinal scheduled for Mar. 5 at The Complex at a time to be determined.