CARROLLTON, Ga. – Down by as many as 24 in the second half, the Valdosta State men's basketball team rallied late, but came up just short in a 93-88 loss at West Georgia Saturday afternoon. The Blazers fell to 14-9 overall and 10-7 in Gulf South Conference play, while UWG improved to 14-5 overall and 13-4 in GSC play.
Blazer senior
Jacolbey Owens led four players in double figures for the red and black with 21 points on 7 of 13 from the field, 2 of 4 from deep and 5 of 8 from the line. Junior
Mike Isler chipped in 16 points off the bench on 7 of 10 from the field. Free throw shooting proved costly for the Blazers as they were just 14 of 26 from the line. The team was 31 of 68 from the field for 45.6 percent, while it was 12 of 23 from deep.
The Wolves shot 34 of 64 from the field for a 53.1 average, while they were 6 of 11 from distance and 19 of 22 from the line, including 15 of 18 from the stripe in the second half. Zawdie Jackson had a game-high 28 points on 9 of 16 from the field, 2 of 2 from deep and 8 of 10 from the line, while Michael Zabetakis added 20 points on 8 of 18 from the field, 2 of 4 from deep and 2 of 2 from the line. UWG held a 40-32 lead in rebounding, while VSU scored 20 points off 12 miscues, while VSU had 10 turnovers in the contest.
The first half saw a nip-and-tuck affair early with neither team gaining much of an advantage. Blazer senior
Cam Hamilton pulled VSU within 18-16 with 10:17 to play in the first half. From there, UWG responded with an 8-0 run for a 26-16 lead on an "and one" for Jackson with 7:42 to play. Blazer junior
Mike Isler ended the run, but the Wolves would use another 8-0 run for a 34-18 lead with 5:45 left in the first half.
Blazer sophomore
Caden Boser ended the drought with a triple as VSU clawed its way back into the game using an 8-2 run for a 36-29 deficit capped on a triple from senior
Mohamed Fofana with 2:02 to play. UWG scored four of the final six points of the half for a 40-31 lead at the break.
For the half, VSU shot 11 of 30 from the field for 36.7 percent, while UWG was 16 of 31 from the field for a 51.6 average. Both teams made four triples, while VSU really struggled from the line, going 5 of 13 from the stripe and UWG was 4 of 4. UWG held a 24-13 lead in rebounding. VSU forced UWG into nine turnovers while the Blazers had four miscues and led 15-2 in points off turnovers. Fofana led the way with 11 points for VSU, while Jackson had 12 for UWG.
UWG came out on fire in the second half, scoring 12 of the first 17 points for a 52-36 lead and then pushed the lead to over 20 at 62-41 with 12:40 to play. VSU kept fighting and trimmed the deficit to 81-64 with 5:42 to play capped on a triple from graduate student
Ryan Black. He then buried his second triple for an 83-73 score with 4:49 to play. Owens scored his 18
th point of the game for an 83-75 deficit with 4:05 to go. Triples from Boser, junior
Jay Rucker and Black pulled VSU within 87-84 with 1:49 to play. Two free throws from Owens pulled VSU within four at 91-87 with 26 seconds to go.
Owens scored his 21
st point for a 92-88 deficit and ten seconds remaining. Jackson made one of two free throws at the other end as UWG hung on for a 93-88 victory.
The Blazers continue on the road next week with games at Christian Brothers and Union, before returning home to begin a three-game homestand against West Florida on Feb. 11 at 4 p.m. at The Complex.
