VALDOSTA, Ga. – The No. 20 Valdosta State men's basketball team posted a 101-84 victory on Senior Night Thursday evening over visiting Auburn Montgomery to clinch a share of the 2018-19 Gulf South Conference regular season title. The Blazers finished the regular season 23-5 and 16-4 in Gulf South Conference play.
This marks the third-straight season VSU has won the Gulf South Conference regular season title, marking the first time in league history a team has won three-straight league regular season titles, when the conference has not been divided into divisions.
VSU and West Alabama tied each with a 16-4 record in league play and, by virtue of VSU sweeping the season series with UWA, the Blazers will be the top-seed in the upcoming Gulf South Conference Tournament and host the No. 8-seed Union Tuesday evening at 7 p.m. at The Complex. Tickets are on sale now for the game on Tuesday at the VSU Athletic Ticket Office. VSU season ticket holders have until 1 p.m. Monday to purchase their seats for the game, otherwise they will be released for sale to the general public after the deadline.
Check back with vstateblazers.com for the complete GSC Tournament bracket and information when it is completely set.
Prior to the game, VSU honored seven seniors who were playing in their final regular season home game in a Blazer uniform. The 2018-19 senior class includes;
Desmond DeRamus,
Max Harris,
Keshawn Ingram,
Tyler Johnson,
Beau Justice, Winston
Morgan and
Greg Zuppas.
AUM raced out to a 10-2 lead and then 17-8 on a triple from Kenneth Keith with 15:28 left in the first half. VSU roared back with a 12-2 run for a 20-19 lead on a layup from junior
Bryce Smith with 13:40 left.
The teams traded the lead for a bit, but an "and one" from Smith put VSU up two at 28-26 with 11:10 left in the half as the Blazers used a 9-0 run to take the lead for good in the game capped on a triple from Justice.
Smith later stretched the lead to ten at 45-35 with two free throws with 5:19 left and another huge run by the Blazers put the game out of reach as they went on a 16-0 run for a 61-48 lead capped with a triple from junior
Clay Guillozet with 1:36 left in the half. VSU settled for the 61-42 score at intermission.
VSU shot 54.5 percent for the first half on 24 of 44, while going 8 of 18 from beyond the arc and 5 of 5 from the line. Smith had 20 points to lead all-scorers in the half on 7 of 8 from the floor with three triples and 3 of 3 from the line. He had six rebounds in the half. The 61 points by VSU in the half marked the second time the Blazers scored 60 or more points on AUM in the first half this season. They scored 63 points in the first half in the first meeting en route to a 113-91 win.
AUM shot 47.2 percent from the field after starting the game at 75 percent for the 17-8 lead. The Warhawks were 17 of 36 from the field and 6 of 15 from beyond the arc, while going 2 of 2 from the line. Keith had 15 points for AUM in the half.
The Warhawks cut the deficit under 20 on four occasions in the second half, but the Blazers quickly pushed the lead back over 20 each time and went on for the 101-84 victory. VSU lead by as many as 27 in the second half.
For the game, VSU shot 50.7 percent from the field on 37 of 73, while going 13 of 33 from beyond the arc and 14 of 21 from the line. The Blazers had 37 rebounds and forced AUM into 20 turnovers leading to a 23-12 lead in points off turnovers. Smith had 28 points to lead four players in double figures, while Keith had 25 points for the Warhawks.
VSU held AUM to 31 of 69 from the field and 9 of 26 from beyond the arc, while the Warhawks went a perfect 13 of 13 from the line and outrebounded VSU 44-37.
The Blazers and Union will battle Tuesday for the second time this season as VSU won the first meeting 91-80 on Nov. 29 in the Gulf South Conference opener in Valdosta.
The game will be broadcast on 92.1 WDDQ FM with Mike Chason having the call. Fans can access links to live stats, audio/video streaming, ticket information and more at vstateblazers.com on the men's basketball schedule page.
