ROME, Ga. – Behind a career high 31 points off the bench from junior Bryce Smith, the Valdosta State men's basketball team posted a 110-75 victory at Shorter on Saturday afternoon.  Smith went an impressive 13 of 18 from the field with triples and three free throws leading four Blazers in double figures.
 
VSU (18-5, 11-4 GSC) shot a blistering 58.8 percent from the field on 40 of 68, while going 16 25 from beyond the arc for 64 percent and 14 of 15 from the line.  The Blazers shot over 60 percent for most of the game until the waning moments.  VSU held a 36-30 lead in rebounding, while leading by as many as 35 to sweep the season-series with the Hawks.  The Blazers forced 19 turnovers leading to a 24-13 lead in points off miscues and held a 45-11 lead in bench points.
 
Along with Smith, seniors Beau Justice and Winston Morgan each tallied 20 points in the contest as Justice was 7 of 13 from the field with one triple and 5 of 5 from the line.  He had five rebounds and recorded eight assists.  Morgan was 7 of 9 from the field and was deadly from range, going 6 of 7.  Junior Clay Guillozet added 15 points on 5 of 9 from the field with three triples and two free throws.  Shorter was led by 19 points from Drew Thomas on 6 of 13 from the floor with four triples and three free throws leading three Hawks in double figures. 
 
A triple from junior Bryce Smith gave VSU a 20-13 lead with 14:34 left in the first half as it was the third trey of the half by the Blazers.  Thomas pulled the Hawks within 23-18 on a triple moments later, but the Blazers extended the lead out to nine capped with a dunk from Smith with 11:58 left for a 27-18 lead. 
 
Thomas scored five quick points pulling the Hawks within 27-25, but the Blazers had the answer once again as Guillozet buried a jumper for a 36-25 lead with 8:49 left.  Shorter erased an eight-point deficit with an 8-0 run to tie the game at 40 with 5:35 left.  Senior Winston Morgan ended the run with a triple as VSU outscored Shorter 18-4 the rest of the half for a 58-44 lead at intermission.
 
For the half, VSU shot 58.3 percent on 21 of 36, while draining seven triples in 12 attempts (58.3) and went a perfect 9 of 9 from the line.  Shorter was 14 of 32 for 43.8 percent, while the Hawks were 7 of 11 from range and 9 of 12 from the line.  VSU held a 16-15 lead in rebounds, while forcing nine miscues leading to an 11-3 lead on points off turnovers as VSU turned it over just three times. 
 
Shorter (2-21, 0-15 GSC) closed the deficit to 74-64 with a Franki Lilaj layup with 13 minutes left, but the Blazers exploded from there, outscoring 36-11 for the rest of the game for the win as VSU ran its winning streak to four. 

The Blazers return home for a pair of key conference contests against Mississippi College on Thursday at 8 p.m. at The Complex and on Saturday at 4 p.m. against Delta State for Hall of Fame Weekend.