VALDOSTA, Ga. – The No. 20-ranked Valdosta State men's basketball team can clinch either a share or its third-straight, outright Gulf South Conference regular season title this Thursday evening in the regular season finale against Auburn Montgomery at The Complex.  Tip is set for 8 p.m. as it also is Senior Night for the Blazers.
 
The Blazers (22-5, 15-4 GSC) can clinch the outright league title with a win and a West Alabama loss at Mississippi College.  If both teams win, they will share the title and if both lose they also will share. The only way VSU wouldn't clinch at least a share of the title is if VSU loses and West Alabama wins.  
 
VSU has a great shot to be the top-seed in the upcoming Gulf South Conference Tournament and will host a "Super Tuesday" game on Mar. 5, in the quarterfinal round of the league championship.  Should VSU win on Mar. 5, it would advance to Birmingham, Ala., for the GSC semifinal round on Mar. 9 at the Pete Hanna Center, with the league championship game set for Mar. 10.  Check back with vstateblazers.com for more information on how to purchase tickets for the Mar. 5 game at The Complex.  
 
For Thursday's game, fans can access links to live stats, audio/video streaming, ticket information and more at vstateblazers.com on the men's basketball schedule page.  The game also will be broadcast on 92.1 WDDQ FM with Mike Chason having the call of the game.  
 
Thursday also marks Senior Night as VSU will honor seven seniors playing in their final regular season home game in a Blazer uniform.  This storied senior class includes; Desmond DeRamus, Max Harris, Keshawn Ingram, Tyler Johnson, Beau Justice, Winston Morgan and Greg Zuppas. 
 
VSU is going for its third-straight league title with a win on Thursday against the Warhawks (8-19, 4-15 GSC).  The Blazers have won the last two outright titles and have won three divisional titles in 2009, 2004 and 2002.  
 
The Blazers moved up to 20^ththis week in the latest NABC Top 25.  Nova Southeastern remained No. 3, followed by Lynn at No. 16, VSU at 20^thand Morehouse at 21^stamong teams in the South Region.  Alabama Huntsville and Florida Southern are among others receiving votes.  The newest NCAA Regional rankings will be released on Wednesday afternoon.  Check back with vstateblazers.com for a complete region ranking story following the announcement of the rankings.
 
The Blazers have won eight-straight games and can match their season-long winning streak with a win Thursday as the team began the season 9-0.  VSU won a hard-fought game at West Alabama on Saturday, pulling away from the Tigers in the second half and used clutch free throw shooting down the stretch for the victory.  VSU outscored UWA 33-24 in the second half after leading 34-30 at intermission. DeRamus had 16 points and 10 rebounds to lead the team as VSU snapped the Tigers' 11-game winning streak, 67-54. Prior to that game, VSU won 85-69 at West Florida on Thursday as it also pulled away from the upset-minded Argos in the second half.  
 
The Warhawks snapped a four-game skid with a 79-63 win versus Shorter on Senior Night last Saturday. AUM is averaging 75.2 points per game, while allowing 81.3 points per game this season.  The Warhawks are shooting .453 from the field, while the opposition is shooting at a .476 clip.  AUM has drained 231 3-pointers this season, while the opposition has 246 from beyond the arc.  The Warhawks are shooting .727 from the line, while averaging 32.9 rebounds per game and allowing 36.6 per contest.  Individually, Carlos Bell leads five players in double figures at 14.3 points per game. He is 120 of 267 from the field (.449) and 30 of 98 from beyond the arc, while going 103 of 136 (.757) from the line. Bell is second on the team in rebounding at 6.4 per game.  Darrion Taylor is second in scoring at 12.9 points per game, while ranking second in made field goals with 121 and leads the team with 68 made 3-pointers.  Aaron Reddick is third in scoring at 11.0 points per game and lead the team in rebounding at 8.0 per game.  Reddick has a team-high 125 made field goals and a .628 average on 125 of 199.  
 
Last time against the Warhawks, VSU raced out to a 63-39 lead at halftime and cruised for a 113-91 win on Jan. 26, 2019, in Montgomery, Ala.  Five VSU players were in double figures led by a game-high 31 points from Justice as VSU shot an even 50 percent from the field.  Juniors Bryce Smith and Goree Venable had 16 points and 14 points, respectively, off the bench in the game.  AUM had five players in double figures led by 18 points from Kenneth Keith and a double-double from Bell with 13 points and 12 rebounds.  
 
This season, the Blazers are shooting at a .491 clip on 875 of 1781 from the floor, while going 280 of 706 from beyond the arc (.397) and 403 of 526 from the line (.766).  The Blazers are averaging 38.1 rebounds per game, while recording 487 assists, 302 turnovers, 98 blocks and 199 steals.  VSU is averaging 90.1 points per game. Conversely, teams are shooting .459 against the Blazers, while going .363 from deep and .683 from the line. The opposition is pulling down 34.7 rebounds per game and scoring 76.3 points per game.
 
Justice leads the team averaging 21.1 points per game on 200 of 401 for a .499 average.  He is 70 of 164 from beyond the arc (.427) and a team-best 109 of 127 from the line (.858).  Justice has 101 assists, 51 turnovers, two blocks and 30 steals. Morgan is second on the team in average at 13.5 as he is 199 of 266 from the field (.447), while leading the team from beyond the arc going 95 of 211 (.450) and 31 of 39 from the line (.795). Junior Clay Guillozet is third in scoring at 13.1 points per game and leads the team averaging 6.7 rebounds per game. Guillozet is 128 of 261 from the field (.490) with 35 triples and 63 of 84 from the line.  Junior Darrell Jones is fourth in scoring at 10.8 points per game and second in rebounding at 5.3 per game.  Five Blazers in all have made over 100 field goals each this season.  
 
The Blazers are eighth nationally in assist/turnover ratio at a 1.61 clip, while ranking 13^thnationally in assists per game at 18.0.  VSU is 50^thnationally in fewest turnovers with 302 for second in the league.  The Blazers are 28^thnationally in field goal percentage (.491), 34^thin free throw percentage (.766), while leading the league in offensive rebounds per game at 12.3.  VSU ranks ninth nationally in scoring offense (90.1), while ranking seventh in total assists (487), 25^thin made 3-pointers (280), 27^thin 3-point field goal percentage (.397) and 28^thin 3-point field goals per game at 10.4.  The Blazers are 27^thand first in the league in turnover margin at 3.3, while ranking 33^rdin turnovers per game at 11.2.  
 
Individually, Morgan ranks 10^thnationally in 3-point field goals per game at 3.52 for second in the league, while ranking 20^thin 3-point field goal percentage (.450) and seventh in total 3-point field goals made (95).  He 21^stnationally in 3-point field goals attempted (211).  Justice is second in the league in free throw percentage (.858) and fifth in field goal percentage (.499).  He is 32^ndnationally and second in the league in field goal attempts (401), 24^thin field goals made (200) and 19^thin total points (579), while ranking 28^thin points per game at 21.4.  
 
Following the game, VSU will learn who it will host for "Super Tuesday."  Check back with vstateblazers.com for the Gulf South Conference Tournament bracket when it is announced.