VALDOSTA, Ga. - The No. 20-ranked Valdosta State men's basketball team wraps up its regular season on the road against West Florida this Friday, Feb. 26 at 7:30 p.m. E.T. and Saturday, Feb. 27 at 4 p.m. E.T.
 
VSU (12-4, 12-4 GSC) will be coming off a bye week after it swept Auburn Montgomery at home Feb. 12 and 13, where the Blazers outscored the Warhawks 192-171. The Blazers were led in scoring by senior Burke Putnam who averaged 19.5 points per game along with 15 total rebounds. Freshman Ricky Brown had a near perfect day Feb. 13, where he shot eight for nine from the field and a perfect five for five from three for a team-high 21 points which earned him GSC Freshman of the Week honors.
 
After the weekend sweep and a bye week, the Blazers moved up two spots in both the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Division II rankings and the Division II Sports Information Directors Association (D2SIDA) rankings. In the NABC rankings, Valdosta State now sits at 23 while Alabama Huntsville dropped to 15 as well as Lee who is now only receiving votes. The Blazers are in the 20 spot in the D2SIDA poll while Alabama Huntsville moved up to six and Lee dropped to 24.
 
West Florida enters the week with a 7-10 record overall, winning its last two games, one a 71-59 win Saturday, Feb. 20, against Auburn Montgomery and an 84-77 win Feb. 23, against Montevallo. The Argonauts are led by Daniel Sofield who averages 15.8 ppg, shooting 92 for 186 (.495) from the field with 47 threes. Senior Tarik McKelphin is the Argonauts leading rebounder with 146 total boards for 8.6 rpg.
 
Led by sixth year head coach Jeff Burkhamer, the Argonauts are shooting .442 from the field while going .332 from deep to average 74.1 ppg, where the team narrowly gets outscored by an average of 0.4 points. The Argonauts struggle on the glass, giving up 2.7 more rebounds per game than it brings down, averaging 35.8 while giving up 38.5. West Florida sits at four in the GSC in points per game, right behind West Georgia with its 74.4. The Argonauts find itself in the bottom four in field goal percentage at .442 but is in the top three for field goal defense, allowing its opponents to shoot at a .435 clip.
 
The Blazers met the Argonauts once this season, coming away with a win at home Tuesday, Jan. 12, 95-83. Cam Hamilton set a career-high and a team season-high of 29 points, shooting 10 for 15 with eight threes. The Blazers are 13-7 against the Argonauts in its last 20 matchups and are currently on a five-game win streak and have won eight out of the last 10. The Blazers struggle on the road, where they are 5-5 during the 20-game span but have won its last two matchups at West Florida easily. The Argonauts have outscored the Blazers in its last 10 away matchups by two points, edging the Blazers 818-816.
 
Imoras Agee, the Blazers leading scorer, ranks sixth on the GSC leaderboard in total points scored with 241 and fifth in average points per game with 17.2 and in field goals made with 89. Behind Agee is Hamilton with 240 total points which is good for seventh among all GSC players while Putnam is behind Hamilton at eight with 232 points.
 
Following the weekend series, the Blazers will host the GSC Quarterfinal game Tuesday, Mar. 2, at 8 p.m. Please call 229-333-SEAT for more information on purchasing tickets. Check back with vstateblazers.com for updates on all things Blazer basketball and on all VSU's 12 intercollegiate athletic programs.