VALDOSTA, Ga. ­– Riding a two-game winning streak, the Valdosta State men's basketball team is set to return to Gulf South Conference action at West Florida on Sunday at 5 p.m. ET in Pensacola, Fla.  The Blazers enter the weekend with an 8-5 record and a 4-3 mark in the Gulf South Conference while the Argonauts are 6-5 overall and 2-5 in league play.  

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 be broadcast on 92.1 WDDQ FM and talk921.com with Spencer Van Horn having the call. Following Sunday's game, the Blazers will break for the Christmas holiday and return to action on Dec. 31 and Jan. 2 on the road at Auburn Montgomery and Montevallo, respectively.  VSU opens the 2023 home slate on Jan. 5, 2023, against Alabama Huntsville at The Complex. 

The Blazers are coming off an 86-66 win over Christian Brothers on Dec. 13 and an 88-83 victory over Palm Beach Atlantic on Dec. 15. In the game against CBU, the Blazers shot 32 of 62 from the field for a 51.6 average, while they were 13 of 34 from beyond the arc and 9 of 16 from the line.  VSU was led by senior Jacolbey Owens leading three players in double figures with a game-high 23 points, while senior Cam Hamilton added 15 points and graduate student Ryan Black chipped in 14.  

Against PBA, VSU shot 55.9 percent from the field on 33 of 59 from the floor, while it was 7 of 23 from deep and 15 of 21 from the line.  Owens finished with a game-high 21 points, including 14 in the second half, on 8 of 11 from the field, 1 of 2 from deep and four free throws.  Sophomore Caden Boser finished with 16 points on 7 of 11 from the field and 2 of 5 from beyond the arc while senior forward Mohamed Fofana finished with 13 points off the bench on 4 of 6 from the field with a triple and 4 of 4 from the line, while senior Maurice Gordon added ten points. 

On the year, the Blazers are shooting 49 percent from the field, 36.6 percent from deep and 67.8 percent from the free throw line in addition to 210 assists, 127 steals, 56 blocks and 449 rebounds. The team leads the GSC in blocks per game with 4.3, and also leads the league in scoring, averaging 85.8 points per game and steals per game with 9.8.  

Individually, Owens leads the team in scoring, averaging 15.2 points per game and leads both the nation and conference in assists with 79 on the year. Owens also leads the GSC in free throws made with 59 for seventh nationally and in steals with 26 for eighth nationally.  Hamilton has 25 steals on the year for tenth nationally and second in the GSC.  He is three steals away from tying the career-record for steals at VSU. The record is currently held by Marlon Jones, who played for the Blazers from 1982-1987 and finished with 176 thefts.  Junior Jay Rucker leads the team with 80 rebounds and averages 6.2 per game and also has 20 blocks, tying for the team-lead with Gordon.

The Blazers have won four of the last five games against the Argos with the most recent meeting coming on Jan. 29, 2022, where VSU won 84-81 inside The Complex. The Argos defeated VSU in Pensacola on Jan. 8, 2022, 99-97. UWF is shooting 43.6 percent from the field, 34.1 from deep and 74.6 from the free throw line in addition to 151 assists, 31 blocks, 345 rebounds and 65 thefts and is coming off a 72-59 win over Georgia College on Thursday. Individually, Daniel Sofield leads the team in scoring, averaging 15.1 points per game, assists with 33, blocks with seven and steals with 10 while Wendell Matthews averages five rebounds per game and leads the team with 55.  

Following the game Sunday, VSU will break for the Christmas holiday and return to action on Dec. 31 at Auburn Montgomery and then at Montevallo on Jan. 2, before returning home to host Alabama Huntsville on Jan. 5 and West Alabama on Jan. 7 at The Complex.