VALDOSTA, Ga. – The No. 5 Blazers fell for the second-straight game against Gulf South Conference foe Lee Saturday afternoon by a final score of 74-77.
 
VSU (6-2, 6-2 Gulf South Conference) had help from Guardian Bank Player of the Game Imoras Agee who recorded 13 points, shooting six for nine (.667) from the field while coming down with a game-high six boards.
 
The Flames (4-1, 4-1 GSC) were led again by 22 points from junior Quay Kennedy, going five for nine (.556) from the field and two for four (.500) from deep with eight rebounds. The Flames finished with four players in the double digits for points and shot .476 from behind the three-point line.
 
The Blazers were able to get on the board first, but a cat and mouse game saw five lead changes for each team along with the four times the game was knotted even. The Blazers saw its deficit be as much as six with a hair more than eight minutes left to play in the half. A pair of free-throws from junior Maurice Gordon and a lay-in by senior Burke Putnam cut the deficit quickly to just two. Gordon was able to tie the game up a few minutes later at 29 and freshman Ricky Brown gave the Blazers a slight cushion, sinking a deep ball. The Flames were able to cut the Blazer lead to just one point at 36-35 but a corner three at the buzzer from graduate transfer Travis Bianco gave the Blazers a 39-35 lead at half.
 
The Blazers went 16 for 27 (.593) from the field while the Flames shot 11 for 24 (.458), as the Blazers were able to hit three baskets from deep. The Blazers were able to control the boards, coming down with 17 opposed to the Flames 12. The Valdosta State bench made up more than half of the first half points, accounting for 24 of its 39 points.
 
The Blazers saw its halftime lead diminish as a layup and three pointer from the Flames gave it a one point lead early on. Similar to the first half, the final 20 minutes of play saw nine lead changes and a pair of ties with the Blazers largest lead being three points. Tied at 47 after a good layup from redshirt sophomore Jakari Gallon with 13:23 left in the half, Lee was able to find its rhythm and hold the lead until a little more than four minutes left to play. A pair of layups from Bianco and Putnam gave the Blazers its three-point lead, but the Flames marched back to regain the lead. Agee hit a big three with 1:46 left to play to cut the Blazer deficit to just one but a few good free throws from the Flames gave it the advantage to beat out the Blazers 77-74. The Blazers have now lost its last four matchups against Lee and have dropped two-straight games for the first time since the 2018-2019 season.
 
The Blazers finished the game shooting 30 for 67 (.448) from the field while the Flames went 23 for 43 (.535). The Flames took advantage of its three-point shooting, going 10 for 21 (.476) from deep while the Blazers only sank six threes off 19 attempts. The Blazers saw 46 of its points come in the paint as well as 32 off the bench. Valdosta State controlled the boards throughout the game, finishing with 37 rebounds, six more than the Flames.
 
VSU will head on the road to play against Shorter Friday, Jan. 22, and Saturday, Jan. 23. Fans can access links to live stats, audio/video streaming, ticket information and more at vstateblazers.com on the men's basketball schedule page.