VALDOSTA, Ga. – Coming off a 121-92 victory over Clinton College on Nov. 22, the Valdosta State men's basketball team is set to open the 2022-2023 Gulf South Conference road slate with Delta State on Nov. 26 at 8:30 p.m. ET in Cleveland, Miss., and Mississippi College on Nov. 28, also at 8:30 p.m. ET, in Clinton, Miss.  

The Blazers enter the road games with a 5-2 record, a 2-0 mark in GSC action and are riding a five-game win streak while the Statesmen host the Blazers with an 0-4 record and a 0-2 mark in conference action. Mississippi College will host West Florida on Nov. 26 with a 4-1 record and a 1-1 mark in the GSC before welcoming the Blazers to Clinton on Monday.  

In the game against Clinton College, the Blazers shot 44 of 74 (59.5%) from the field, 19 of 36 (52.8%) from deep and 14 of 18 (77.8%) from the free throw line. The Blazers finished the game with 38 rebounds, including seven offensive, a season-high eight blocks, a season-high 29 assists and 12 steals.    

Redshirt senior guard Cam Hamilton crossed 1,000 career points at VSU, becoming the 26th Blazer to join the 1,000-point club and finished the game shooting 8 of 13 from the field, 5 of 9 from deep and a perfect 2 of 2 from the free throw line in addition to four rebounds, five dimes, and four steals through 23 minutes. Graduate guard Maurice Gordon recorded his first double-double of the season and matched Hamilton's 23 points, going 8 of 12 from the field, 5 of 8 from beyond the arc and 2 of 4 from the free throw line in addition to a team-high 16 rebounds, three assists, a block and a steal. Senior guard Jacolbey Owens led the team in assists with seven while picking up eight points, two blocks and a rebound, and graduate guard Ryan Black added 12 points, going 4 of 8 from the field and also 4 of 8 from deep.  
 
Sophomore forward Caden Boser collected four rebounds while shooting 5 of 6 from the field and 3 of 4 from beyond the arc for 17 points and junior forward Jay Rucker recorded a team-high three blocks. Senior forward Mohamed Fofana was the final Blazer to finish in double figures as he recorded 17 points, shooting 8 of 11 from the field in addition to three rebounds, two assists and three steals.   

For the season, the Blazers are shooting 49.7 from the field, 39.3 from beyond the arc and 74.4 from the free throw line. VSU has added 119 assists while averaging 17 per game, 71 thefts while averaging a conference-high 10.1 per game, 27 blocks and 241 rebounds. The Blazers lead the GSC with a 1.65 assist/turnover ratio, good for 11th nationally, and second in scoring offense, averaging 87.6 points per game.   

Individually, Fofana leads the team in scoring, averaging 16.9 points per game in addition to a 77.4 free-throw percentage, a 61.3 field-goal percentage, 32 rebounds, and 16 assists. He also leads the conference in field goals, fifth nationally, with 46 made of 75 attempts. Owens has a conference-high 43 assists, second nationally, to lead the team in addition to 12 thefts, 13 rebounds and shooting 40.5 from the field. Gordon has recorded a team-high 37 rebounds while Rucker has added 34 rebounds on the year, including 10 offensive and a team-high 12 blocks and Hamilton leads the nation with 18 steals to lead the GSC.

For the Statesmen, the team is shooting 36.4 from the field, 24.4 from beyond the arc and 51.4 from the free throw line and are coming off a 72-54 loss to Southern Arkansas on Nov. 22. DSU is led by Sam Smith, who is averaging 17.50 points per game in addition to shooting 44.93 percent from the field, 29.41 percent from deep and 50 percent from the free throw line. Smith also leads the team in blocks with 10 and rebounds with 46. The Blazers are currently riding a four-game win streak with DSU dating back to the 2019-2020 season. Last season, the Blazers defeated the Statesmen 79-66 inside the Complex. The last time the Blazers faced the Statesmen in Cleveland was in the 2019-2020 season, where the Blazers again won 72-67. 

Mississippi College enters its slate of games shooting 49.2 percent from the field, 36.4 percent from deep and 69.2 percent from the free throw line. The Choctaws are coming off a dominating 98-50 win over Southeastern Baptist College in Cleveland while VSU is riding a nine-game win streak with the Choctaws dating back to the 2015-2016 season. VSU has won the past two meetings in Clinton, while the most recent meeting with MC was on Jan. 15, 2022, where the Blazers won 87-70 inside the Complex.  

Individually, Galen Smith leads the team in scoring, averaging 16 points per game while he also leads the team in rebounds with 38 on the year and a team-high three blocks. Miles Miller has recorded a team-high 31 assists while he also has seven steals along with Tradavis Thompson to lead the team.    

Following the trip to Mississippi, the Blazers will begin a four-game homestand beginning with West Georgia for the Red Clay Rivalry series on Dec. 1 at 8 p.m., Union on Dec. 11 at 4 p.m., Christian Brothers on Dec. 13 at 8 p.m. and will conclude the homestand with Palm Beach Atlantic on Dec. 15 at 7 p.m. for a midweek, nonconference game inside the Complex.