VALDOSTA, Ga – The No. 4-seed Valdosta State Blazers came up short during the NCAA Division II Men's Basketball South Regional against No. 5-seed West Georgia, 79-75.
 
VSU (17-5) faced off against West Georgia (14-7) for the fifth time this year, taking three of the previous four. Guardian Bank Player of the Game Imoras Agee recorded a season high of 26 points along with a new total of three steals. The senior was nine of 17 (.529) from the field with four treys. Behind Agee was junior Maurice Gordon with 13, only missing one shot from the field, followed by 12 from Jacolbey Owens.
 
The Wolves were led by Michael Zabetakis who recorded a double-double with 18 points and a game high 10 rebounds, going six of 18 (.333) from the field. Jalen Sasser, Oronte' Anderson, and Kadeim Jones all finished in the double digits, totaling 38 points between the trio.
 
The Wolves came out strong as it scored the first seven points of the game before Gordon slammed one down four minutes into the game. The Wolves kept on rolling as it saw its lead turn to 10, going up 12-2. A Blazer run, sprouted off a pair of Mohamed Fofana free throws, saw its deficit cut to a pair of points after back-to-back threes from Owens. The Wolves remained in control though as it quickly went back up by ten points. Two free throws from Gordon put it at a one score game with a quarter left in the half but a handful of UWG points saw the margin grow. The Wolves finished the half on a roll, going up by 12 heading into the locker room.
 
The Blazers were outshot by the Wolves in the first half as VSU was 12 of 30 (.400) from the field where UWG was 14 of 32 (.438). The Blazers made four shots from deep (.400) as UWG converted on five (.333) attempts. An unusual occurrence on the year as the Blazers struggled on the glass, pulling down 15 boards compared to the Wolves 24. The Blazers were able to convert five points off the Wolves three turnovers where UWG converted six of its points off VSU turnovers.
 
The Wolves continued to hold an edge and had an answer plus one whenever the Blazers got on the board. Burke Putnam was able to get the game down to single digits, but the Wolves attacked back and went up by as much as 15. It wasn't until a little over the halfway mark where Owens drilled another three to bring it to an eight-point game, inching closer and closer towards a comeback. JJ Barnes of West Georgia hit a jumper to put it up 10 but the Blazers hadn't counted itself out. With eight minutes left to play, Cam Hamilton laid one in followed by a pair of free throws, a tip-in, and an Agee three ball to make it a one-point game with 5:57 left to play.
 
West Georgia came back with a layup, but Owens made a crucial three to tie things up at 68 with 4:36 left to play in the quarterfinal. The Wolves pulled ahead by one during its next possession, but Jakari Gallon tied it right back up with a made free throw. Five straight from the Wolves as time was ticking down looked like it sealed its fate, but a pair of clutch free throws followed by a huge three from Putnam made it a tie game once again with 40 second left to go. Anderson from the Wolves hit a dagger from three with 25 seconds left which signed the game off as the Blazers were able to tack on one more point, but it wasn't enough, as two good free throws from UWG and not enough time put the game out of reach.
 
For the game, VSU went 25 of 57 from the field for a 43.9 percent clip, while it was 9 of 21 from deep (42.9) and 16 of 21 from the line (76.2). VSU pulled down 29 rebounds, while UWG took control with 41 rebounds. UWG shot nearly 50 percent from the field, going 28 of 59 (47.5) with eight three balls. The Wolves finished with 15 made free throws off 19 attempts and never gave up its lead from tip.
 
A great season for the Blazers as it won its fifth-straight GSC regular season title and won its first ever Gulf South Conference Tournament in seven attempts. Three Blazers (Agee, Putnan, and Owens) were represented as GSC Tournament honorees where Agee and Putnam were named first team all-conference, with Hamilton on the second team. The Blazers finished with 1877 total points, good for a high of 85.3 points per game. With a blistering .466 shooting percentage on the year, the Blazers converted 669 shots from the field with 211 balls from beyond the arch. Agee finished as the Blazers leading scorer, averaging 18.1 points per game off a .467 shooting percentage while coming down with 120 rebounds.