VALDOSTA, Ga. – With a Gulf South Conference-best seven game winning streak, the Valdosta State men's basketball team returns home to host Auburn Montgomery, Saturday at 4 p.m. at The Complex for Hall of Fame Weekend.
 
The Blazers are 14-3 overall and 8-2 in Gulf South Conference play and are tied with Lee University for the top spot in the league standings.  Lee had its 11-game winning streak snapped with an 86-84 loss at West Alabama on Saturday.  
 
Fans can access links to live stats and audio/video streaming of Saturday's game at vstateblazers.com on the men's basketball schedule page.  Mike Chason will have the call of the game on 92.1 WDDQ FM.  Check back with vstateblazers.com for a complete recap and stats of the game Saturday evening.
 
At halftime of the men's game, the 2020 VSU Athletic Hall of Fame class will be introduced.  Click on the link to the right of this story for information on the 2020 Hall of Fame class and to purchase tickets for Saturday's Hall of Fame Brunch at 10 a.m., prior to the basketball games.
 
VSU extended its winning streak to a current league-best seven with wins at West Georgia and Shorter this past week.  The Blazers used strong free throw shooting in the final minute for a 98-93 win at UWG and then posted a 92-79 win at Shorter.  Senior Bryce Smith averaged 19.5 points and nine rebounds in the two wins as he was 16 of 33 from the field (.485), while going 6 of 7 from the line with five assists, two blocks and one steal, leading six Blazers in double figures.  VSU shot .479 for the week, going 68 of 142 from the field, but struggled from beyond the arc on just 8 of 26 (.308) and made more free throws than the opposition attempted at 46 of 66 (.697), compared to 30 of 41 for UWG and Shorter.  VSU averaged 43.5 rebounds per game and 95.0 points per game for the week.  The two games marked the ninth and tenth times this season VSU has scored 90 or more points this season, and the Blazers have scored 90 or more in four-straight games.  
 
The Blazers moved up to third this week in the D2SIDA South Region Top Ten.  Florida Southern and Nova Southeastern are tied for first in the region rankings, followed by VSU, Barry and Lee round out the top five.  UAH, West Alabama, Miles, Saint Leo and Embry-Riddle comprise the top ten.  VSU returned to the rankings in the D2SIDA Top 25 Poll, coming in at No. 21 this week.  Alabama Huntsville is receiving votes in the D2SIDA Poll.  Also, the Blazers are receiving votes in the latest NABC Top 25, marking the first time since December the Blazers have been ranked or receiving votes in the poll, while Alabama Huntsville is 16^th.  
 
AUM enters the week with a 3-6 mark in the GSC and an 8-9 record overall and will play at West Florida on Thursday before visiting VSU Saturday.  The Warhawks handed Montevallo just its second league loss of the season with a 74-71 victory last Saturday.  AUM outscored Montevallo 52-25 in the second half, after trailing by 24 at halftime.  AUM shot 57.7 percent in the second half on 15 of 26, while going 21 of 26 from the free throw line in the second half.  AUM held UM to just 9 of 30 shooting in the second half and 5 of 6 from the line.  For the game, AUM's Maharrith Jackson had 29 points and ten rebounds on 8 of 13 from the field with a triple and 12 of 14 from the line.  
 
The Warhawks are fourth in the league in blocked shots per game at 3.6, while it is 50^th nationally and third in the league in free throw attempts (379).  The Warhawks are fourth in the league in free throws made (267) for 60^thnationally and are second to the Blazers in steals per game at 7.6.  AUM has 136 steals for second in the league an 53^rdnationally.  Darrion Taylor is 32^nd nationally and fourth in the league in assist/turnover ratio at 2.6, while Stanley Davis is third in the league in 3-point field goal percentage (.407) and fifth in made 3-pointers with 46.  Carlos Bell is third in the league in free throw attempts (93) and fourth in free throws made (77).
 
This season, the Blazers are 30^th nationally and first in the GSC in assist/turnover ratio at 1.35, while the team is 41^stand first in the league in free throw attempts (385).  VSU is 27^th in offensive rebounds per game (13.2) to lead the league, while it is 12^th in scoring offense (89.4), 32^nd in steals per game (8.7), 25^th in total rebounds (700), 17^th in total rebounds per game (41.2), 37^th in total steals (148), 14^th in turnover margin (4.1) and 60^th in turnovers forced (15.88) to lead the league in each area.  Individually, senior Darrell Jones is third in the GSC and 24^th nationally in double-doubles with seven, while senior Clay Guillozet leads the league in offensive rebounds per game at 3.35 for 25^thnationally.  Jones is fourth in the league in rebounding at 8.6 per game, while he is 44^th in total rebounds with 146 for third in the league.   Guillozet is fifth in the league in rebounding at 8.2 per game.  
 
VSU is 4-0 all-time against AUM since the Warhawks joined the league in 2017-18. The Blazers have scored 100 or more points against AUM in three of the four games and scored 94 in the other matchup.  VSU has outscored AUM 412-103 in the four meetings. 
 
Following Saturday's matchup, the Blazers will have a week between games as they will open the month of February at Montevallo on Feb. 1 at 5 p.m. ET.  The Blazers will finish the regular season with four of the final eight games at home.