VALDOSTA, Ga. – The No. 25 Valdosta State men's basketball team opens the month of February at Montevallo on Saturday at 4:30 p.m. ET.  The Blazers are 15-3 overall and have a league-best eight-game winning streak and are 9-2 in Gulf South Conference play, sitting second in the league standings.
 
Fans can access links to live stats, audio/video streaming information, tickets and more 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 of the game Saturday evening.  
 
The Blazers returned to the NABC Top 25 this week after a 95-83 win over Auburn Montgomery last Saturday. Alabama Huntsville is ranked 16^th this week, while Lee is receiving votes.   In the D2SIDA Top 25, VSU is 19^th this week and Alabama Huntsville is 25^th among the only teams from the GSC ranked in the poll.  In the D2SIDA South Region rankings, VSU remained at third this week, while Florida Southern and Nova Southeastern are tied for first.  Alabama Huntsville is fourth, followed by Lee, Miles, Barry and West Alabama for the top eight.  Saint Leo is ninth and Palm Beach Atlantic is tenth.  
 
In the win over AUM last week, the Blazers outscored the Warhawks 51-42 in the second half as AUM led by as many as 11 in the first half.  VSU junior Burke Putnam had a game-high 26 points leading four Blazers in double figures.  Blazer senior Darrell Jones added 19 points on 7 of 13 from the field and 5 of 6 from the line, while senior Bryce Smith chipped in 17 points and three blocks.  Sophomore Imoras Agee added 11 points in the game. 
 
Montevallo enters the game with an 11-8 record overall and a 7-4 mark in the GSC.  The Falcons sit fifth in the league standings after a 72-63 loss at West Alabama on Thursday for the fourth-straight loss for Montevallo.  
 
This season, UM is averaging 69.8 points per game and allowing 70.3 for the season, while the Falcons are shooting .446 from the field on 440 of 987 and 106 of 328 from beyond the arc for a .323 clip.  UM is 270 of 364 from the line for a .742 average, while pulling down 33.2 rebounds per game and allowing 33.4 per contest.  Teams are shooting .441 against the Falcons on 456 of 1033, while the opposition is 140 of 420 (.333) from beyond the arc and 214 of 299 (.716) from the line.  
 
Individually, Jonas Parker leads four Falcons in double figures at 16.6 points per game.  He is 70 of 145 from the field (.483) and 65 of 76 (.855) from the line.  Wade Lowman is second in scoring at 16.5 points per game.  Lowman leads the team in field goals made with 106 in 178 attempts for a team-best .596 clip.  Lowman is 69 of 108 from the line (.639) and leads the team averaging 7.4. rebounds per game.  He has a team-high 27 steals and a team-best 26 blocks.  Cedric Jackson is third in scoring at 1.3 points per game and leads the team in 3-pointers with 44 in 110 attempts (.400). 
 
Nationally speaking, Lowman is second in the league in blocks per game at 1.50 for 54^th nationally, while he leads the league in field goal percentage (.579) for 31^st nationally.  Lowman is second in the league in free throw attempts (112) and fourth in free throws made (73).  His 27 total blocks are good for second in the league and 54^th nationally. 
 
VSU has won three of the last four meetings since Montevallo has returned to the GSC, including the last meeting 75-70, in Valdosta on Jan. 31, 2019.  The last four games have been decided by five points or less.  Montevallo's win came on Jan. 24, 2019, in Montevallo with a 67-65 win.  VSU won the first two meetings during the 2017-18 season, 68-67 in Montevallo and 139-135 in Valdosta.  
 
The Blazers are led by this season by Smith, who is averaging a team-high 15.7 points per game.  He is 106 of 237 from the field (.447) with 29 triples for second on the team and is 41 of 55 from the line.  Smith is third on the team in rebounding at 6.1 per game.  He leads the team with 22 blocks.  Jones is second in scoring at 15.5 points per game.  He is 103 of 201 from the field for a .512 average, while he leads the team in free throw shooting at 62 of 77 for an .805 clip.  Jones is tied for the lead in rebounding at 8.4 per game, while he is second on the team in assists with 53 and third in steals with 22.  Senior Clay Guillozet is third in scoring at 15.0 points per game on 107 of 211 from the field.  He is 42 of 66 from the line and also is averaging 8.4 rebounds per game, while leading the team in assists with 65.  
 
As a team, the Blazers are shooting .471 from the field on 583 of 1259, while going 135 of 406 from range (.333) and 293 of 415 from the line (.706).  VSU is averaging 41.2 rebounds per game and allowing 37.8 per contest, while scoring 89.7 points per game and allowing 76.6.  
 
Nationally speaking, VSU is 12^th nationally in scoring offense (89.7) to lead the league, while it is 14^th nationally in rebounds per game at 41.2.  VSU is 14^th nationally and leads the league in turnover margin at 4.1, while leading the league in turnovers forced (15.8) and second in the league in turnovers at just 11.8 per game for 35^th nationally.  The 212 turnovers by the Blazers is the fewest in the GSC and 27^th nationally.  
 
Guillozet is 24^th nationally and first in the league in offensive rebounds per game at 3.33, while he and Jones are tied for fourth in the league in rebounding at 8.4 per game.  Guillozet is third in the league in field goals made (107) and Smith is fourth (106).  
 
Following the game, VSU returns home to host Shorter at 8 p.m. on Feb. 6 in the Complex and West Georgia on Feb. 8 at 4 p.m.