VALDOSTA Ga. – Freshman guard Ricky Brown led four Blazers that finished in double-figures, and the Valdosta State men's basketball team (7-5, 3-2 GSC) posted an 84-78 comeback win over the Auburn Montgomery Warhawks (3-9, 0-4 GSC) Monday night inside the Complex. 
 
Brown recorded a career-high 26 points, going 10 of 14 from the field and three of four outside the arc. The Valdosta, Ga. product also went three of four from the free-throw line and picked up two rebounds, an assist, a block, and a steal. 
 
"It feels great," Brown said on his career-high night. "I feel like as a team, we came together and put it all together for these past two games, and I feel like when we come back from the break, we have to stick with it in the big games. I feel really good with where we're at." 
 
The Blazers shot 30 of 62 from the field for a 48.4 shooting percentage and went 17 of 23 from the free-throw line for a 73.9 free throw percentage. The Blazers forced AUM into eight turnovers and recorded six points off turnovers, while VSU's bench stayed hot all night, picking up 30 bench points.
 
Junior forward Maurice Gordon started the scoring campaign for the Blazers, picking up a good jumper downtown from redshirt junior guard Cam Hamilton. Gordon finished the night with four points, four rebounds and an assist, while Hamilton finished the game with three points, three rebounds, and four assists. 
 
A made three-pointer by Brown sparked a five-point run with 13 minutes left to play in the first half while sophomore guard Cam Selders put home a jumper in the paint to push the Blazers ahead of the Warhawks, 13-11, with 12:17 left to play in the first half. AUM's Jeremiah Bozeman ended the scoring run for the Blazers with a solo jumper to tie the game at 13 with 12:03 to play, and a turnover by Hamilton allowed the Warhawks to push ahead 16-13 via a made three-pointer from Bozeman. 
 
The Blazers ended the first half with a jumper from junior guard Jacolbey Owens to tie the game at 36. The Blazers entered the locker room, shooting 42.4% from the field and 50% outside the arc. Brown put up 15 points in the first 20 minutes, while Owens scored nine. 
 
In the second half, the Blazers saw their largest game deficit with 15:26 to play from a made three-pointer from Sam Youngblood, 51-39. After four subs by head coach Mike Helfer, the Blazers slowly chipped away at the Warhawk's lead from scoring efforts from Brown and sophomore guard DJ Mitchell. Brown and Mitchell combined for 13 points in five minutes to bring the Blazers back within one, 53-52, with 10:40 left in the match. 
 
Mitchell ended the game with 15 points, two rebounds and four assists. 
 
The Blazers saw their longest run of the game, giving AUM ten unanswered points, with 3:48 left in the game with points from junior forward Michael Cole, junior forward Mohamed Fofana, Brown and Owens. Cole ended the night blocking an attempted shot from Bozeman to bring the final scoreline to 84-78 in favor of the Blazers. 
 
The Warhawks, who fell to 3-9 and 0-4 in the Gulf South Conference, were led by Isiah Hart, who put up 23 points, followed by James Graham with 20 and Bozeman with 15. Graham led the team in rebounds with 10, while Hart had four assists on the night. 
 
Mitchell, Fofana, Brown, and Owens led the Blazers in double figures, while Fofana and redshirt freshman Jeremy Golson were perfect from the free-throw line and a total of nine Blazers got on the scoresheet. 
 
"They played really well tonight," Helfer said. "I thought we played with a lot of heart the last 12 minutes, and I thought that got us back into the game. We scored some easy ones at the rim, but it's always good to put up a win before the break to come back on a positive note." 
 
Following Christmas break, the Blazers are back in action against Alabama Huntsville on December 31 at 5 p.m. ET in Huntsville, Ala. and then West Alabama on January 2 at 5 p.m. ET in Livingston, Ala. for the first game of 2022. 
 
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