GSC Championship Central

VALDOSTA, Ga. – The No. 20-ranked Valdosta State men's basketball team won a share of its third-straight Gulf South Conference regular season title and is the top-seed in the 2019 Gulf South Conference Tournament and will host No. 8-seed Union Tuesday at 7 p.m. at The Complex in the quarterfinal round. 
 
The Blazers are 23-5 overall and went 16-4 in Gulf South Conference play this season as they are the first team to win at least a share of three-straight conference regular season titles in GSC history when the league wasn't in divisions.  Union is 16-12 overall and went 11-9 in conference play.
 
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 with Mike Chason having the call of the game.  
 
Tickets for the "Super Tuesday" GSC quarterfinal round game are $12 for reserved seats (all ages), $10 for adult general admission and $3 for youth.  According to GSC rules, there is no senior price for tickets.  

All VSU current season ticket holders will have until Mar. 4, at 1 p.m. to purchase their current seats. Season ticket holders must purchase their seats either by phone (229) 333-SEAT (7328) or in person at the Blazer Ticket Office.  Hours for the Ticket Office are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday – Friday.  Any reserved tickets not purchased by Monday, Mar. 4 at 1 p.m., will be released for purchase to the general public.  
 
Should the Blazers win the game Tuesday, they would then advance to the Gulf South Conference semifinals in Birmingham, Ala., at the Pete Hanna Center and would face the winner of the 4/5 matchup between Delta State and Christian Brothers on Saturday, Mar. 9 at 6 p.m. ET.  The Gulf South Conference championship game is scheduled for Mar. 10 at 4:30 p.m. ET with the winner earning the GSC's automatic bid to the NCAA Division II Men's Basketball Championship. 
 
VSU is 18-23 all-time in the GSC Championship and has reached the semifinals 10 times and the finals five times, but has never won the conference tournament title.  The 18 conference tournament victories rank tied for third-most among current members and the 23 appearances is third-most among current members.  VSU has reached the semifinals each of the last two years and has not reached the championship game since 2013.  
 
The Blazers enter the conference tournament as the No. 4-seed in the second NCAA South Region rankings, released last Wednesday by the NCAA.  Nova Southeastern leads the second rankings, while Florida Southern is second, followed by Lynn, VSU, Eckerd, West Alabama, Alabama Huntsville, Christian Brothers, Morehouse and Barry. 
 
VSU and Union met in the first Gulf South Conference game of the season for both teams back on Nov. 29 in Valdosta.  VSU won the game 91-80 as senior Beau Justice dropped 26 points leading three Blazers in double figures.  Union held a 44-42 lead at halftime, but VSU outscored the Bulldogs 49-36 in the second stanza for the win.  Free throws were a big key in the win as VSU was 24 of 31, while Union was just 7 of 13 from the stripe.  
 
Both teams shot 50 percent or better from the field as Payton Stovall had 23 points for the Bulldogs with five triples.  A steal and layup from Justice gave VSU the lead for good at the 14:08 mark, sparking a 7-0 run to take control of the game. 
 
This marks Union's third trip to the conference tournament and it has made the semifinals in each of its first two trips.  Union defeated VSU 80-73 in the first round of the 2016 conference tournament and lost to West Georgia 71-68 in the semifinals that year, marking the last time the Bulldogs earned a berth in the conference tournament.  Union also reached the semifinals in 2015. 
 
Union enters the conference tournament after dropping its last three games to end the regular season and has gone 1-4 in its last five games. The Bulldogs average 80.3 points per game and allow 73.6 per contest this season. Union is shooting at a 47.7 percent clip from the field, while teams are shooting 45.6 against it.  The Bulldogs are 284 of 707 from beyond the arc (.402) and average 10.1 3-pointers per game.  Teams are 226 of 631 from beyond the arc against the Bulldogs (.358). Union is 391 of 520 from the line (.752), while averaging 34.6 rebounds per game and allowing 30.4 per contest.  
 
Individually, Terrandus Smith leads the team averaging 17.5 points per game on 155 of 342 from the field for a .453 average.  He is 62 of 166 from beyond the arc (.376) and 101 of 121 (.835) from the line. Smith is second on the team in rebounding at 5.1 per game.  Bryson Butler is second in scoring at 11.5 points per game, while Tylandrius Parks is third in scoring at 11.2 points per game and leads the team in rebounding at 8.0 per game.  Parks is 115 of 234 (.491) from the field for second on the team in made field goals. Stovall (10.6 ppg) leads the team with 66 made 3-pointers.  
 
The Blazers are led by Justice who is averaging a team-high 21.2 points per game. He is 206 of 412 from the field (.500) and 73 of 170 from beyond the arc (.429), while leading the team from the line on 109 of 127 (.858).  Justice has 104 assists to lead the team, along with 31 steals for third on the team. Senior Winston Morgan is second in scoring at 13.3 points.  He leads the team with 98 3-pointers and is third in made field goals with 122.  He has 84 assists with 17 steals.  Junior Clay Guillozet is third in scoring at 13.1 points per game, while leading the team in rebounding at 6.8 per contest. Guillozet is second in made field goals with 133 and second in made free throws with 64.  Junior Darrell Jones is fourth in scoring at 10.7 points per game, while junior Bryce Smith is fifth in scoring at 10.3 points per game.  Smith is shooting a team-best .613 from the field on 117 of 191. 
 
As a team, the Blazers are shooting .492 from the field on 912 of 1854, while going 293 of 739 from beyond the arc for a .396 average as they average 10.5 made 3-pointers per game.  The Blazers are 417 of 547 from the line (.762) and are averaging 38.1. rebounds per game.  VSU is averaging 90.5 points per game and allowing 76.5 per contest.