VALDOSTA, Ga. – The Valdosta State men's basketball team is looking to bounce back this weekend at the Gulf South/ Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Challenge in Pensacola, Fla. The Blazers will face off against Fort Valley State on Nov. 12 at 8:30 p.m. ET, and will round out the challenge with Clark Atlanta on Nov. 13 at 5:30 p.m. ET. 

VSU enters the week following the Small College Basketball Hall of Fame Classic in Lakeland Florida. The Blazers fell to No. 6 Lincoln Memorial 108-80 on Saturday and dropped a hard-fought battle to Hillsdale College on Sunday, 79-65.  

In the game against LMU, the Blazers went 29 of 74 from the field and 11 of 31 from beyond the arc for a 39.2 field-goal percentage and a 35.5 three-point percentage. The Blazers also added 32 rebounds, including eight offensive, 16 assists, three blocks and eight steals. 

Sophomore forward Caden Boser recorded 20 points in addition to three assists, five rebounds, a block and a steal while redshirt senior guard Cam Hamilton led the offense with a team-high 22 points, going 7 of 15 from the field and 5 of 9 from beyond the arc. He also added four rebounds, two thefts and an assist. Senior forward Mohamed Fofana ended the game with a team-high five free throws out of six attempts in addition to going 7 of 13 from the field and 1 of 2 from beyond the arc for 20 points, four rebounds and an assist.   

In the game against Hillsdale, the Blazers shot 23 of 57 for a 40.4 field goal percentage and went 6 of 26 beyond the arc for a 23.1 three-point percentage. The Blazers had a 72.7 free-throw percentage, going 13 of 18 from the line and added 28 rebounds, including eight offensive, 10 assists and 13 steals. 

Fofana went 5 of 9 from the field and 5 of 8 from beyond the arc in addition to seven rebounds, three assists and three while Boser led the offense with a team-high 16 points and added four rebounds and three steals. Senior guard Jacolbey Owens was the third Blazer to score in double figures in the game, picking up 10 points, three assists, two thefts and a rebound.   

The Wildcats of Fort Valley State will open the 2022-2023 season with Valdosta State on Saturday. FVSU was picked fifth in the SIAC East Division Preseason Coaches' Poll and sophomore forward K.J. Doucet was voted SIAC Preseason Player of the Year. Last season, FVSU finished the season with an 8-20 record and a 6-11 mark in the SIAC. The Blazers defeated the Wildcats last year in the GSC/SIAC Challenge, 69-61, on Nov. 13, 2021. In addition, VSU has won four of the last five meetings with FVSU as the loss came in the 2017-2018 season where the Blazers fell 82-68 in Fort Valley. In the 2019-2020 season, the Blazers defeated the Wildcats 109-81, and again in the 2018-2019 season, 111-98, in Albany, Ga.  

Clark Atlanta will also open the season at the regional challenge, taking on West Florida on Saturday before facing off against the Blazers on Sunday. This season, the Panthers were picked sixth just behind FVSU in the SIAC East Division Preseason Coaches Poll. Last season the Panthers finished the year with a 12-16 record and a 5-12 mark in the SIAC. CAU opened the 2021-2022 season with VSU, where the Blazers fell 112-106 in Fort Valley. Justin Longstreet, who returns for the Panthers, posted a career-high 40 points against VSU in the game. To end the year, CAU picked up a win over Central State University in the opening round of the SIAC Championship before falling the LeMoyne-Owen College in the second round.  

Following the GSC/SIAC Regional Challenge, the Blazers will open conference play, as well as the 2022-2023 home slate, with Lee on Nov. 17 at 8 p.m. and then Shorter on Nov. 19 at 4 p.m. inside The Complex.