VALDOSTA, Ga. – West Alabama's Kortrijk Miles' off-balanced jumper with 2.4 seconds remaining gave visiting West Alabama a 59-57 victory over Valdosta State Saturday afternoon at The Complex. VSU was led by 22 points from junior guard Jacolbey Owens, who lead two players in double figures.
VSU fell to 11-10 overall and 7-7 in Gulf South Conference play, while UWA improved to 18-4 overall and 11-3 in league play. Owens finished 8 of 15 from the field, 3 of 5 from deep and 3 of 5 from the line, while junior Cam Hamilton added ten points on 4 of 8 from the field and 2 of 4 from the line. As a team, the Blazers shot 43.4 percent on 23 of 53 from the field, while they were 4 of 11 from beyond the arc and 7 of 11 from the line.
The Tigers were led by 26 points from Shardarrion Allen on 8 of 11 from the field 4 of 6 from beyond the arc and 6 of 6 from the line. Miles added 12 points on 6 of 11 from the field. The Tigers shot 43.1 percent on 22 of 51 from the floor, while they were 6 of 20 from beyond the arc and 9 of 11 from the line.
In a tightly contested battle throughout, Allen scored two free throws giving UWA a 21-19 lead with 4:18 left in the first half. He hit two more free throws, but Blazer freshman Ricky Brown answered with a triple. UWA's Te Smith hit a trey for a 26-22 UWA lead with 2:57 left in the half.
Following one of two at the line from UWA, Hamilton scored on a driving layup for a 27-24 deficit with 2:20 left in the half. Neither team scored the rest of the half.
For the half, VSU was 10 of 27 from the field, 1 of 5 from deep and 3 of 5 from the line, while UWA was 8 of 20 from the field and drained six of 11 triples, while it was 5 of 7 from the line. The Blazers held an 18-12 lead in rebounding and a 6-2 advantage on the offensive end in a half that saw three ties and seven lead changes.
Allen had 18 of UWA's 27 points for the half on 5 of 8 from the field and 4 of 6 from deep, while he was 4 of 4 from the line. No other Tiger had more than three points. Owens had seven points in 18 minutes for VSU on 2 of 4 from the field and 3 of 5 from the line.
Two free throws by junior Maurice Gordon gave VSU a 32-31 lead with 17:06 remaining as it was the first lead for the Blazers since early in the contest. Miles quickly gave the Tigers the lead back, but Owens buried a triple for a 37-35 lead with 16:06 to play and a timeout by UWA.
Owens continued his hot hand from deep with another triple for a 42-37 lead with 14:01 remaining and Hamilton hit a floater for a 44-37 lead and a 7-0 run since the 15:14 mark. Later, Allen pulled UWA within 46-45 with a jumper for his 22nd point of the contest and 9:19 left.
Two free throws from Hamilton and a dunk from UWA's Robert Davis made the score 48-47 VSU with 8:12 left. Out of a media timeout, sophomore Michael Cole had a huge dunk for a 50-47 lead with 7:11 remaining. VSU sophomore Cam Selders came up with a huge rejection on Davis, but Miles hit a jumper for a 50-49 VSU lead with 6:35 remaining. Gordon then scored on a driving layup in transition for a 52-49 lead and five minutes remaining.
Owens hit a big triple for a 57-51 lead with just over three minutes remaining in the contest as VSU had outscored UWA 33-24 in the second half to that point. Out of a timeout by VSU, the Tigers pulled within 57-53 on a bucket from Allen and he was then fouled with 94 seconds left. He made both free throws, trimming the VSU lead to 57-55.
A steal from Justin Allison and score from Miles in transition tied the game with 1:09 left. A scrum on the court going for a loose ball as the shot clock expired for VSU lead to a lengthy discussion by the officials. VSU was awarded a fresh 20 seconds on the shot clock with 38.7 seconds remaining.
Owens' floater in the lane missed as UWA gathered the rebound and timeout with 14.1 seconds left in regulation. Miles then hit the winner with 2.4 seconds left. VSU had one last chance as the in bounds pass was intercepted.
VSU returns to the road next week at Auburn Montgomery on Thursday, Feb. 10 at 9 p.m. ET, followed by a trip to Montevallo on Saturday, Feb. 12 at 5 p.m. ET.
