VALDOSTA, Ga. – Coming off a heartbreaking 106-101 double overtime loss at Mississippi College on Monday, the Valdosta State men's basketball team looks to bounce back, playing host to West Georgia on Dec. 1 at 8 p.m., for The Red Clay Rivalry Series inside The Complex.
The Blazers enter the week with a 6-3 record and a 3-1 mark in the Gulf South Conference, while the Wolves come to Titletown with a 3-1 record and a 3-0 mark in conference play. UWG is coming off a 71-64 win at Union on Nov. 26. The Blazers are currently riding a three-game losing streak with the Wolves as the last time the teams met was in the 2021-2022 season, where UWG won 82-74 in Carrolton on Feb. 26, 2022. The Blazers also suffered a loss in The Complex on Dec. 4, 2021, 86-79.
Fans can access links to live stats, audio/video streaming, ticket information and more at vstateblazers.com on the men's basketball schedule page. The game will have live audio on the stream provided by Spencer Van Horn, while the game also will be broadcast on the radio at 94.3 WJEM Fox Sports Valdosta and online at foxsportsvaldosta.com with Mike Chason on the call.
Thursday marks the first of two meetings in both men's and women's basketball in the Red Clay Rivalry Series this year. UWG leads the second annual rivalry series 3.5-1.5 heading into the winter season. For basketball, a school needs to sweep the regular season series to earn a full point per gender. If the teams split the season series in men's and women's basketball, each institution will earn a half a point for each victory.
In the game against Mississippi College, graduate guard Ryan Black dropped a season-high 24 points, going 9 of 19 from the field and 6 of 15 from beyond the arc in addition to one assist, two blocks and a team-high three thefts through a season-high 43 minutes. Junior forward Jay Rucker and graduate student Maurice Gordon each recorded nine rebounds, while Rucker had seven offensive grabs in addition to nine points and a block. Gordon finished with nine points in the game, a team-high three blocks and a steal. Senior forward Mohamed Fofana recorded 21 points, shooting 8 of 15 from the field, 1 of 2 from deep and 4 of 5 from the line in addition to six rebounds while sophomore forward Caden Boser recorded 16 points in addition to three rebounds, two assists and two steals. Senior guard Jacolbey Owens was the fifth Blazer to score in double figures as he recorded 15 points, seven rebounds, five dimes, a block and a steal.
As a team, the Blazers shot 37 of 90 (41.1%) from the field, 13 of 38 (34.2%) from beyond the arc and 14 of 21 (66.7%) from the free throw line. VSU also recorded a season-high 48 rebounds, 14 assists, seven blocks and nine steals. In addition, the Blazers recorded 12 points off 15 Choctaw turnovers, 23 second-chance points and 20 fast-break points while VSU's bench recorded 29 points.
For the season, the Blazers are shooting 48.6 from the field, 37.9 from beyond the arc and 69.5 from the free throw line. VSU has added 152 assists while averaging 16.9 per game, 89 thefts while averaging a conference-high 9.9 per game, 37 blocks and 317 rebounds. The Blazers lead the GSC with a 1.52 assist/turnover ratio and average 87.4 points per game.
Individually, Fofana leads the team in scoring, averaging 16.4 points per game in addition to a 77.8 free-throw percentage, a 60.4 field-goal percentage, 39 rebounds, and 18 assists. He also sits second in the conference in field goals and fourth nationally, with 58 made of 96 attempts. Owens has a conference and national-high 58 assists to lead the team in addition to 15 thefts, 22 rebounds and shooting 36.3 from the field. Gordon has recorded a team-high 56 rebounds while Rucker has added 51 rebounds on the year, including 18 offensive and a team-high 15 blocks and Hamilton leads the league with 18 steals, good for third nationally. Black also leads the nation in three-pointers made with 29 and also in attempts with 69.
For the Wolves, the team is shooting 44.9 from the field, 35.8 from deep and 79.7 from the free throw line in addition to 15 blocks, 32 steals, 59 assists and 123 rebounds while averaging 72.8 points per game. Michael Zabetakis leads the offense averaging 18.8 points per game and has a team-high seven steals while Kolten Griffin has a team-high 31 rebounds. Zawdie Jackson leads the team in assists with 25 and Jalen Sasser has a team-high nine blocks.
The Blazers continue their four-game homestand with Union on Sunday, Dec. 11 at 4 p.m., inside The Complex and Christian Brothers on Tuesday, Dec. 13 at 8 p.m., for Military Appreciation Night, and then host Palm Beach Atlantic on Thursday, Dec. 15 at 7 p.m., to close out the homestand prior to the Christmas holiday.
