VALDOSTA, Ga. - The No. 17 Blazers snapped West Georgia's 10-game win streak Friday night with a 99-89 win during the Gulf South Conference Tournament Semifinal.
 
The Blazers advance to its second-straight GSC Tournament Final and seventh in VSU history. The Blazers will take on Alabama Huntsville in the Final for the second year in-a-row with hopes to avenge last year's 91-82 loss. The GSC Tournament Final will be played at University of Montevallo Sunday, Mar. 7 at 2 p.m. E.T.
 
VSU (16-4, 14-4 Gulf South Conference) witnessed Guardian Bank Player of the Game Burke Putnam record his second double-double of the season and put the game to bed with eight points in the last minute. Putnam went eight of 16 (.500) from the field for season-high 25 points along with snagging a career best 13 boards. Senior Imoras Agee and junior Jacolbey Owens both finished with a team-high 20 points where Agee was able to bring down four rebounds.
 
The Wolves (13-7, 12-6 GSC) were led by 20 points from junior Michael Zabetakis who shot eight of 10 (.800) from the field with two deep balls and six rebounds. The Wolves finished with its starting five in the double digits for points while shooting 64% from the free throw line.
 
The Blazers came out of the gates ready to roll where it scored the first seven points of the game before the Wolves saw its first bucket. VSU then went up 11-2 after a layup from Burke Putnam but the Wolves came clawing back. After a good three ball, UWG was able to cut its deficit to two with a quarter of the first half gone. The Blazers scored three quick points to give itself a bit of an edge, but the Wolves came right back with a layup and a three to tie the game at 14. Maurice Gordon slammed one home to regain the lead, but the Wolves answered with two quick buckets to take its first lead of the game, something it wouldn't give up for the remainder of the half. VSU made it an exciting half during the next five minutes, closing the gap on multiple occasions but not enough to take control of the lead. Down by three with 4:36 left to go, Agee hit one from behind the line to tie the game up at 31 but the Wolves took away the momentum with a three of its own. That three ignited a 13-0 run by the Wolves to go up by its largest lead of the half 44-31. Both teams saw the charity stripe to add some points as Agee nailed a three as time expired to bring the Blazer deficit to nine going into the locker room.
 
The Blazers got outshot by the Wolves during the first 20 where VSU was 12 of 26 (.462) from the field where the Wolves shot 18 of 35 (.514). The Blazers made fewer deep balls than the Wolves, four compared to six, but had the better shooting percentage from behind the line. The Blazers controlled the glass, coming down with 19 boards compared to the Wolves 15, both with three offensive boards. The Wolves were able to take advantage of the Blazers turnovers, scoring 14 points off the Blazers seven giveaways. UWG only gave up one turnover where VSU took advantage of and got a pair of points. Neither team saw much scoring come from its bench with the Blazers recording four and the Wolves recording six.
 
Both teams went back and forth during the opening possession before West Georgia went up by 12 with 17:29 left to play, its largest second half margin. Owens cut the large deficit down with back-to-back three balls, with a pair of Wolves free throws sprinkled in between, to make it an eight-point game. Owens pumped the team up as Agee drove in for two to see its deficit dwindle to six points. The Wolves would answer and push back though as it continued to answer any points the Blazers would put with one or two more of its own. Down six, Cam Hamilton picked the pocket of Zabetakis and drew a foul from beyond the arch to give him three free points to now cut the game to three points. Just like before, the Wolves answered and pulled ahead by seven halfway through the second half to put the pressure on. VSU looked to take the momentum off a layup followed by a three to make it a three-point game with 6:23 to play but the Wolves came right down the court and answered with a three of its own. It wasn't until the scoreboard showed 2:27 where the Blazers were able to make it a one-point game off a clutch Hamilton three to make The Complex erupt. A pair of free throws by both teams kept it a one-point game with 1:52 left but Gordon drew a shooting foul and sank one free throw to tie the game. Gordon missed his second attempt, but Putnam came up with a game changing offensive rebound along with drawing a foul to put him to the line. Putnam drained both free throws to give the Blazers the lead back for the first time since the 11:49 mark in the first half. The Wolves heaved up a three and missed and fouled VSU along while also committing a technical foul which gave the Blazers all the momentum. Putnam sank both of the technical free throws to put VSU up four with less than a minute left to play. The Wolves attempted to cut the lead but missed four straight shots to end the game. A pair of free throws from Putnam and Hamilton put the game on ice for a gutsy 99-89 win.
 
Both teams were lights out from the field, both shooting over 50 percent. The Blazers edged the Wolves though, where VSU went a hot 30 of 51 (.588) from the field with 10 threes while the Wolves shot 35 of 68 (.515) from the field with 12 balls from deep. Both teams saw 21 points come off the bench where the Blazers saw 36 of its points scored in the paint. Free throws were a key component to tonight's matchup as the Blazers attempted 37 and were able to convert on 29 (.785) where the Wolves only saw the line 11 times.
 
VSU is back in action in the GSC Tournament Final Sunday, Mar. 7 at Montevallo. The Blazers face the top seed from the GSC West Division in Alabama Huntsville in a rematch of the 2020 GSC Tournament Final. Fans can access links to live stats, audio/video streaming, ticket information and more at vstateblazers.com on the men's basketball schedule page.