VALDOSTA, Ga. – The No. 17-ranked Valdosta State men's basketball team will take on West Georgia for the fourth time this season during the Gulf South Conference Tournament Semifinal Friday, Mar. 5 at 8 p.m. inside The Complex.
 
VSU (15-4, 15-4 GSC) advanced to its fifth-straight Gulf South Conference Semifinal after a dominating 88-69 win over the Statesmen of Delta State Tuesday night. The Blazers were led by redshirt junior Cam Hamilton who recorded 22 points, draining six threes and shooting eight of 14 (.571) from the field. Right behind Hamilton was GSC Player of the Week Imoras Agee who dished out two assists while going seven of 15 (.467) from the field. The Blazers retook its lead midway through the first half and didn't look back, taking a 19-point lead into the locker room. Its big lead gave it the advantage to not trail for the remainder of the contest and go on to win easily, snapping its two-game conference tournament losing streak against Delta State.
 
The Blazers will play in the second game of a Valdosta State basketball doubleheader as the Lady Blazers advanced to the tournament semifinals as well. The GSC Men's Championship game is set for Sunday, Mar. 7 at University of Montevallo with game time to be determined.
 
FloHoops will stream all GSC postseason games as a part of its contract with the GSC. A subscription is required. Per game or monthly rates are available and can be canceled at any time. Audio for the Blazer game can be found on either 92.1 WDDQ FM or 94.3 WJEM FM locally and online at talk921.com or foxsportsvaldosta.com with Mike Chason having the call. Fans can find links to FloHoops live streaming, live audio, or live stats by going to vstateblazers.com on the men's basketball schedule page. For more information on FloHoops and on how to sign up for it, please click on the links to the right of this story and for the GSC Men's Basketball Championship page.
 
FloSports is the exclusive home for all GSC Championships. With a monthly or annual subscription to FloSports, Gulf South fans will have the ability to access live and on-demand coverage of exclusive content and games.
 
VSU and Alabama Huntsville both earned the No. 1 seeds in each division this season. Alabama Huntsville is 13-2 overall and 13-1 in league play and beat Montevallo on Tuesday to advance to the GSC semifinal and is set to face off against Lee who defeated West Alabama in its quarterfinal. Check back with the GSC Men's Basketball Championship page for results and much more throughout the tournament.
 
Tickets for the GSC semifinal round are $10 for reserved seats (all ages), $7 for adult general admission and $3 for youth (ages 5-College w/ID) and seniors (age 65+). VSU students are admitted free with their student ID.
 
All current season ticket holders will have until Thursday, Mar. 4 at 1 p.m., to purchase their current seats for the semifinals on Friday, Mar. 5. Any reserved seat tickets not purchased by Thursday, Mar. 4 at 1 p.m., will be released for purchase to the general public.
 
Season ticket holders MUST purchase their seats by either phone (229) 333-SEAT (7328) or in person at the Blazer Athletic Ticket Office (Face Masks are required). The ticket office hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.
 
Due to COVID-19 restrictions, there will be a limited seating capacity for Friday's matchup and face coverings will be required at all times for all guests over the age of two (2) at The Complex.
 
After the pair of wins the Blazers had this past weekend versus West Florida, it moved up on the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Division II rankings to 21 and moved to 17 in the Division II Sports Information Directors Association (D2SIDA) rankings. In the NABC rankings, Alabama Huntsville is ahead of VSU at 11. Alabama Huntsville sits at six in the D2SIDA poll while Lee sits at 23.
 
The Blazers learned Wednesday afternoon that it sits fifth in the final NCAA South Region Rankings, announced by the NCAA. Flagler College of the Peach Belt Conference leads the rankings, having just one loss on the season. Alabama Huntsville is in the two spot and leads GSC schools, followed by Georgia College at three, Lee at four, Valdosta State in the fifth spot, Georgia Southwestern at six, with West Georgia and Union (Tenn.) rounding out the final two spots. The Regional Championship will feature the top-six regionally ranked teams, with the winners of the GSC and PBC conference tournaments receiving an automatic bid to the regional. The remaining four spots will be at-large qualifiers.
 
The NCAA Division II Men's Basketball Selection Show is scheduled for Sunday, Mar. 7 at 10:30 p.m. and will be streamed live on NCAA.com. The NCAA South Region Championship will be held at The Complex, Mar. 13-16.
 
West Georgia (13-6, 13-6 GSC), led by third year head coach Dave Moore, handled No. 2W-seed Union on Tuesday 77-61 to advance to the semifinal. The Wolves were led by 22 points from Michael Zabetakis who went seven of 11 (.636) from the field with six rebounds. UWG shot a blistering 29 of 56 (.518) from the field while shooting 50 percent from deep.
 
On the year, the Wolves average 75.5 points per game off its .442 field goal percentage while going .361 from beyond the arch. The Wolves give a slight edge to its opponents on the glass as it comes down with 35.2 rebounds compared to its opponents 36.7 for a -1.5 rebounding margin. The Wolves rank third in the GSC in average points per game, 10 points behind the Blazers who sit on top. The Wolves are in the bottom half of the league in field goal percentage with .441 but sit second in field goal percentage defense, allowing its opposition to shoot at a .420 mark.
 
The Blazers are 2-1 this season against the Wolves and 1-1 inside The Complex, taking its last outing 71-61 at home. During its three matchups this year, the Blazers narrowly lead in average points per game with 70.7 compared to West Georgia's 69.3. Agee is the Blazers leading scorer when the two teams meet, averaging 19.3 points per game and 23 total rebounds, along with a 23-point, 11 rebound double-double during its only loss against the Wolves. The Wolves leading scorer against VSU this season is Kadeim Jones who averages 17.7 points per game and has totaled seven rebounds. Overall, the Blazers are shooting 77 of 201 (.383) from the field while the Wolves are 74 of 198 (.374). The Wolves have the advantage from deep as it's made 30 three pointers compared to the Blazers 23 during the three matchups this year.
 
Agee, the Blazers leading scorer, ranks second on the GSC leaderboard in total points scored with 301 and third in average points per game with 17.7. Agee also ranks second in field goals made and first in the GSC East with 112 and fourth in three-pointers made with 44. Behind Agee is Hamilton with 286 total points which is good for seventh among all GSC players and is second in three-pointers made with 51. Senior Burke Putnam is close behind, sitting at number 10 with 269 points with his 89 field goals.