VALDOSTA, Ga. – The Valdosta State men's basketball team is set to open the 2022-2023 season at the Small College Basketball National Hall of Fame Classic in Lakeland, Fla. The Blazers will open the classic with Lincoln Memorial on Saturday, Nov. 5 at 3:30 p.m., and round out the weekend with Hillsdale College on Sunday, Nov. 6, also at 3:30 p.m. 
 

• vs. Lincoln Memorial / SCB National Hall of Fame Classic / Nov. 5 / Lakeland, Fla. / 3:30 p.m. / Live Stats / Live Streaming 
• vs. Hillsdale College / SCB National Hall of Fame Classic / Nov. 6 / Lakeland, Fla. / 3:30 p.m. / Live Stats / Live Streaming 

 
The SBC National Hall of Fame Classic, hosted this year by Florida Southern College, features some of the top NCAA Division II basketball programs in the country including GSC foe Alabama Huntsville, Dallas Baptist, Flagler College, Florida Southern, Hillsdale, Lincoln Memorial, defending national champion Missouri Northwestern, Nova Southeastern, West Texas A&M and Valdosta State.  
 
Ticket pricing, live streaming and live stats can be found on the SBC Hall of Fame Classic Central, or by visiting the men's basketball schedule page on vstateblazers.com. In addition, the games will also be broadcast on 94.3 FM, with Mike Chason having the call.   
 
Last season, the Railsplitters ended the year with a 26-5 record and a 21-3 mark in the South Athletic Conference. The team made a deep postseason run, falling to Carson-Newman in the second round of the SAC Men's Basketball Championship and then defeating No. 6 Georgia College in the first round of the NCAA tournament, 100-65, before falling to No. 2 Queens in the second round of the tournament. 
 
The Chargers are slated to tip off against Dallas Baptist on Nov. 5 at 11 a.m., before facing off against VSU on Sunday. Hillsdale ended last year with a 23-8 overall record and a 15-5 mark in the Great Midwest Athletic Conference and made an appearance in the NCAA DII Championship Quarterfinals, falling to Indiana (PA) 67-55. The meeting with the Blazers will also be the first time the two teams meet.  
 
This season, the Blazers were selected third in the 2022-2023 Preseason Coaches' Poll, while defending GSC Champion Alabama Huntsville was picked first.  
 
Head coach Mike Helfer, who enters his 18th season at the helm of the Blazers, returns a solid core of talent, as well as eight fresh faces to the team. In addition, Helfer has also named former graduate assistant Nate Nowicki as the new assistant basketball coach ahead of the season.   
 
Helfer returns seniors Jacolbey Owens, Maurice Gordon, Cam Hamilton, Kelan Walker and Mohamed Fofana in addition to junior Cam Selders and redshirt freshman Dylan Garrington.   
 
Last season, Hamilton led the team in three-pointers with 64 out of 180 attempts, while Owens had a team-high 144 field goals in 322 attempts. In addition, Owens also led the team averaging 15 points per game and 83 free throws made out of 144 attempts.   
 
Helfer also welcomes five transfers and three incoming players. Sophomore Caden Boser, who was named to the 2022-2023 newcomer watchlist and is a transfer from University of Missouri-Kansas City.  At UMKC, he appeared in 17 games as a freshman in 2020-2021, and then played in 30 games, with three starts, and averaged 11.8 minutes per game in the 2021-2022 season.   
 
Jay Rucker, a transfer from Emmanuel College, appeared in 28 games as a sophomore last season and recorded 24 starts, 294 points, 157 rebounds, 25 assists and 20 blocks. Junior Lee Flenor, a transfer from Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College, recorded 240 points and went 103 of 171 from the field through 623 minutes of action last season while junior Mike Isler, a transfer from Tallahassee Community College, was named to the All-Panhandle Conference second team last season through 31 games.  
 
Graduate Student Ryan Black, who was the second Blazer named to the Newcomer Watchlist, is a transfer from Holy Cross College in Notre Dame, Ind. He played in 28 games with 27 starts last season and recorded 394 points, 136 rebounds and 32 steals during his senior campaign.   
 
In addition to the transfers, sophomore and Valdosta native Jace Lavan, freshman and Lowndes High School alum Jarcqves "JJ" Williams, and sophomore Christian Connor, a native of Snellville, Ga, all join the roster.  
 
Following the SBC Classic, the Blazers will play in the GSC/ SIAC Regional Challenge in Pensacola, Fla., facing off against Fort Valley State on Nov. 12 at 8:30 p.m. and Clark Atlanta on Nov. 13 at 5:30 p.m. before opening GSC action on Nov. 17 at 8 p.m. against Lee inside the Complex.