VALDOSTA, Ga. – The Valdosta State men's basketball team battled back from an early deficit for a thrilling 81-79 victory over visiting Lee University Thursday evening in the Gulf South Conference opener for both teams. VSU won its third-straight game and improved to 3-2 on the year and 1-0 in Gulf South Conference play, while Lee, who was playing its season-opener, fell to 0-1 and 0-1 in league play.
The Blazers held an 81-79 lead with 40 seconds remaining. Following a miss by VSU, Lee raced down court with eight seconds remaining putting up a decent shot and collecting the offensive rebound as a foul was called at the buzzer. After a review, it was decided the foul came after the buzzer and the game was over with VSU coming out victorious.
With the win, VSU snapped a six-game skid against the Flames dating back to an 81-70 victory on Feb. 3, 2018, in Valdosta. VSU improved to 9-8 all-time against Lee and 6-4 in Valdosta.
The Blazers continue at home on Saturday versus Shorter at 4 p.m. Fans can access links to live stats, audio/video streaming, ticket information and more at vstateblazers.com. The game will be broadcast on 94.3 WJEM FM / 1150 AM Fox Sports Valdosta with Mike Chason having the call and online at www.foxsportsvaldosta.com.
VSU was led by four players in double figures led by a team-high 21 points from senior Jacolbey Owens on 8 of 15 from the field, 3 of 5 from deep and 2 of 2 from the line. He had a team-high six assists and two steals. Sophomore Caden Boser scored 19 points in his Blazer home debut, going 4 of 8 from the field, 1 of 3 from deep and 10 of 11 from the line, while junior Jay Rucker added 16 points in his Blazer home debut on 7 of 10 from the field with a team-high eight rebounds, four blocks and one steal. Graduate student Ryan Black added 12 points off the bench with three treys.
As a team, the Blazers shot an even 50 percent on 28 of 56 from the floor, while going 8 of 19 from deep and 17 of 22 from the line, including 15 of 19 from the line in the second half.
Lee was led by Beyuan Hendricks with 24 points – all but three coming in the first half, as he was 9 of 12 from the field with six triples in eight attempts, two assists and one steal. Jayce Willingham added 19 points on 9 of 19 from the field, five rebounds and three assists, while PJay Smith added 17 points with five assists and three steals. The Flames shot 32 of 61 from the field for 52.5 percent, while going 13 of 30 from deep and just 2 of 4 from the line. VSU held a slim 31-30 lead in rebounding in a game that saw seven lead changes and six ties.
Lee raced out to an early 11-2 lead, courtesy of six early points from PJ Smith and three triples as a team. VSU came roaring back with a dunk from senior Maurice Gordon along with five points from Boser for an 11-11 score with 14:53 left in the first. Lee scored eight of the next ten points for a 19-13 lead and Hendricks later stretched the lead to 22-14, but treys from graduate student Ryan Black and Owens pulled VSU within 27-22 with 9:26 remaining. Through the first 12 minutes of the game, the teams combined to shoot 20 of 40 from the floor and 8 of 14 from range.
Out of a media timeout, Hendricks buried another triple for his 15th point of the early going and a 30-22 lead for Lee. He began the game making six of his first eight shots and 3 of 5 from distance. Blazer senior Mohamed Fofana's jumper pulled VSU within 30-26 with 5:21 left in the half. Owens scored his 11th point of the half as VSU trimmed the deficit to 30-28. After a miss by the Blazers, Hendricks drained his fourth triple of the half, but Owens responded in kind at the other end for a 33-31 Blazer deficit with 2:42 left.
A bucket from Rucker and one free throw from Black pulled VSU within 35-34 with 1:38 left in the half, marking the closest VSU had been since 3-2 with just 54 seconds gone in the contest. Hendricks answered with his fifth triple of the half for a 38-34 lead, but once again, VSU matched with a trey from Black with 24 seconds left for a 38-37 score and a timeout by Lee.
For the half, both teams shot 15 of 30 from the floor, while Lee was 8 of 17 from distance and VSU was 5 of 10. The Blazers were 2 of 3 from the line, while Lee didn't attempt a free throw. The Flames held a 17-13 lead in rebounding, while VSU forced ten turnovers and committed seven for a 10-6 lead in points off turnovers.
Owens scored 14 points for VSU for the half on 6 of 9 from the field and 2 of 3 from deep. He had three rebounds, three assists and two steals as the only player in double figures for VSU. Rucker added six points, four rebounds and two blocks. For Lee, Hendricks had a staggering 21 points on 8 of 10 from the field and 5 of 7 from distance, along with four rebounds. Smith had six points.
A turnaround jumper from Owens, for his 16th point, tied the game at 45 with 17:21 remaining for the first tie of the game. After a bucket from Lee, Owens knocked down a trifecta for the Blazers' first lead of the game at 48-47 with 16:29 to go on an assist from Boser. Willingham scored at the other end, but Hendricks' third foul sent him to the bench at the first media timeout of the second half.
Lee stretched the lead to four, but Black answered the run with a three-pointer of his own pulling VSU within 54-53 with 13:54 remaining. Lee's Tim Vaughan made one of two free throws for the first attempts of the night for the Flames and a 55-53 lead. Two free throws from Boser tied the game at 55 moments later. A steal and layup by the Flames broke the tie game for a 57-55 margin with 11:48 left in regulation, marking the first made field goal for the Flames since the 14:12 mark.
Two more buckets from Willingham gave Lee a 61-57 lead with just under nine minutes to play. Rucker pulled VSU within 61-58 with one of two attempts at the line and he then followed with one more make at the line for a 61-59 deficit. Hendricks pushed the lead to 64-59 with his sixth trey of the game and his 24th point. After the fourth foul on Makhi McGuire, Boser made two free throws for a 64-61 deficit with less than eight to play.
Rucker and Owens connected on a flush pulling VSU within 66-65 and Owens earned two tosses giving VSU a 67-66 lead with 5:45 remaining, but Lee answered with a bucket at the other end and Fofana scored inside with the teams trading buckets. A triple from Gordon off an assist from Fofana gave VSU its largest lead of the game at 72-68 with 4:08 left and a timeout by Lee. Since the 7:45 mark and a pull up jumper from Noah Boler with Lee leading 66-61, VSU scored 11 of the next 13 points.
Out of the final media timeout, Lee cut the deficit to one on a triple from Smith, but Boser earned two more tosses, pushing the lead to 74-71 with 3:18 to play as he improved to 8 of 9 from the line for the game. Boser made a great move inside getting away from two defenders for a bucket and a 76-71 lead, but Willingham scored at the other end with 1:51 left and a 76-73 Blazer lead. Fofana made one of two at the line for a 77-73 lead with 1:38 remining and a timeout by VSU.
A kickout three from Lee, pulled the Flames within 77-76 with 1:18 left. It was Lee's 13 made 3-pointer in 30 attempts in the game. Owens went coast-to-coast for a score, followed by a Hendricks miss on the front end of a 1-and-1with a big rebound from Rucker. Two more tosses for Boser followed for an 81-76 lead with 52.1 seconds left. Willingham earned the "and one" for an 81-79 score and 40 seconds remaining.
