VALDOSTA, Ga. – The No. 16 Blazers dropped its third-straight home game Friday night against West Georgia by a final score of 87-79.
 
VSU (8-3, 8-3 Gulf South Conference) were led by Guardian Bank Player of the Game Burke Putnam who recorded a season high 25 points to go along with his six rebounds. Putnam also recorded a career high in three-pointers made with five and set season highs in field goals attempted (21) and blocks (1). Senior Imoras Agee led the team in rebounds with 11 while recording a double-double, finishing with 23 points.
 
The Wolves (3-5, 3-5 GSC) were led by 25 points from Kadeim Jones, along with junior Michael Zabetakis who recorded 20 points. The Wolves finished with four players in the double digits for points while forcing 18 turnovers.
 
The Blazers got on the board first after a pair of buckets from Agee before the Wolves were able to find itself on the scoreboard. An Agee jumper shortly after put the Blazers up by four, its largest lead of the game, before it was cut to just one after a deep ball from the Wolves. Both teams went back and forth for the next five minutes where the Blazers found itself down by just two midway through the first half. A three ball from leading scorer Jones ignited a short 7-2 run which gave the Wolves the momentum for the remainder of the half. West Georgia held on to the lead for the rest of the first half, as the Blazers went into the locker room down seven.
 
The Blazers went 12 for 29 from the field (.414) while the Wolves shot 16 for 33 (.485), as VSU hit five baskets from deep (.417) where UWG sank six (.545) The Blazers controlled the boards through the first 20, coming down with 20 compared to West Georgia's 16. The Blazers saw the line nine times and converted on all but two as the Wolves only saw the free throw line seven times, making five of them.
 
The Blazers jumped on its halftime deficit to quickly cut it to just two points after Putnam laid one in followed by an Agee three ball. The Wolves were able to hang on to its tight lead up until the 16-minute mark where The Complex witnessed Putnam drain a three followed by a Ricky Brown layup to give the Blazers a one-point lead. It wasn't long before the Wolves went back on top as Oronte' Anderson made it 53-32 the next possession. West Georgia would proceed to go on another small 7-0 run to put the team up eight. Putnam ended the run with a layup but the Wolves still carried its momentum, not giving up the lead for the remainder of the match. Agee cut the deficit to just four with 8:31 left to play, but UWG didn't lift its foot off the gas pedal, shortly increasing its lead to 10 with five minutes to go. Putnam made it a five-point game after a good three which was the closest the game would get for the remainder of the time. The Wolves controlled the final five minutes to lead itself to an eventual 87-79 win. The Blazers now fall to 3-3 when playing inside The Complex this season.
 
As the Blazers did control the boards for the duration of the game, bringing down 46 compared to the Wolves 32, UWG's field goal shooting was too much. The Wolves finished 31 for 61 (.508) from the field where the Blazers shot 29 for 71 (.408) while going 11 for 34 (.324) from deep. West Georgia took advantage of Valdosta State's 18 turnovers, scoring 23 of its points off giveaways. The Blazers saw 17 of its points come off the bench and were able to account for 32 points coming from the paint.
 
VSU is back in action tomorrow to cap off the weekend double header against West Georgia at 2 p.m. inside The Complex. Fans can access links to live stats, audio/video streaming, ticket information and more at vstateblazers.com on the men's basketball schedule page.