Valdosta Athletics

CARROLLTON, Ga. – The No. 16 Blazers open the season 1-0 after a close 62-60 victory over West Georgia Saturday evening at The Coliseum.
 
VSU (1-0, 1-0 Gulf South Conference) saw Guardian Bank Player of the Game Imoras Agee go 10-19 from the field with five balls from downtown. The only Blazer in double figures, Agee was able to tack on five rebounds and two assists during his 35 minutes of play. GSC Top Newcomer Travis Bianco tallied nine points and eight rebounds for the team while redshirt sophomore Jakari Gallon led the Blazers with 13 rebounds, a new career high, and was two points off from a double double.
 
As a team, VSU shot 37.1 percent from the field while going 5-20 from deep and 11-20 from the line. UWG shot 30.6 percent from the field and edged the Blazers from beyond the arch, hitting seven in total. VSU led the rebound and block column while UWG dished out two more assists and had four more steals.
 
The Wolves (0-2, 0-2 GSC) were led by 18 points from junior Deng Nhial, shooting 7 of 12 from the field while bringing down six rebounds. Senior Kadeim Jones also finished in the double-digits with 13 points while dishing out three assists.
 
The Blazers came out hot in the first half, going up 18-11 with 12:35 to go off a layup from freshman Ricky Brown. Agee sank two of his game total five three pointers during that span and accounted for 12 of the Blazers 18 points. After a timeout, the Wolves gained momentum and took the lead at 18-20 but Gallon tied the game back up at 20 a piece with 9:06 left to play in the half. The Blazers had the lead heading into the locker room by a slim margin of 33-29.
 
Both teams struggled offensively in the first half, as neither shot over 33 percent from the field. UWG was able to score 12 of their 29 points off VSU turnovers while VSU was only able to get five. The Blazers dominated the paint, outscoring the Wolves in that department.
 
VSU was able to hold on to their halftime lead for half of the second half until UWG tied the game at 50. The Wolves took a three-point lead late, that was until Agee hit a game-tying three to put it square at 57. Just two possessions later, the senior was able to give VSU the lead with another ball from deep with 2:57 left to play. After a bucket for VSU, UWG was able to cut the lead down to two at 62-60 with 30 seconds left to play in the game. A three-pointer as time expired was no good from the Wolves, as VSU went on to win 62-60. The Blazers have now won their last 10 season openers, dating back to 2011.
 
VSU will head back to The Complex for their home opener on Wednesday at 7 p.m. versus Montevallo before hitting the road to close out the 2020 portion of the schedule Saturday, Dec. 19 at 2 p.m. at Lee. Fans can access links to live stats, audio/video streaming, ticket information and more at vstateblazers.com on the men's basketball schedule page.