VALDOSTA, Ga. – Behind a season-high 15 made three-points, the Valdosta State men's basketball team shot past visiting Trinity Baptist College 107-81 Saturday evening at The Complex. The Blazers had six players in double figures led by 17 points from graduate student LaTrell Tate and 17 points off the bench from junior Jack Wetzel, while senior Mike Isler tallied a double-double with ten points and ten rebounds.
VSU improved to 3-1 on the year and shot 41 of 72 from the field for a 56.9% clip, 15 of 27 from beyond the arc for a 55.6 average and 10 of 18 from the line. VSU held a 46-28 lead on the glass, making it back-to-back games the Blazers dominated on the glass. It marked the second-straight game of eclipsing 100 points this season. The Blazers held Trinity to 31 of 68 from the field (45.6%), while the Eagles also shot well from deep, going 12 of 35 (34.3) and were 7 of 11 from the line.
Tate finished 7 of 13 from the field and 3 of 6 from distance, while Wetzel provided a spark, going 6 of 9 from the field and 5 of 8 from distance. Junior Caden Boser added 14 points and four triples, while senior Jay Rucker chipped in 12 points. Five different Blazers drained at least one triple in the contest.
Trinity Baptist, a school out of Jacksonville, Fla., finished with 17 points from Davian Thompson, leading five Eagles in double figures. Thompson was 7 of 9 from the field and 3 of 5 from deep. Diego Fernandez was 5 of 11 from the field, 3 of 7 from range and 3 of 4 from the line for 16 points.
The longball was flying for both teams early in the contest as senior LaTrell Tate and junior Caden Boser each hit ones for an 11-8 lead with 17 minutes left in the first half. Trinity's Jacquez Anderson hit two of his own for an 11-11 score moments later. Boser and Tate continued the hot hand and senior Jay Rucker scored inside for a 21-11 score. Boser then extended the run to 13-0 with his third triple of the game and a 24-11 score with 13:19 to play in the half. TC's Xavier Rose ended the run with a layup with 13:11 to play in the half. Junior Jack Wetzel got into the three-point act for a 27-16 lead with just over 12 minutes left in the half. It was the Blazers' fourth triple in nine attempts to that point.
The eighth triple of the half, this one from junior Braxton Williams, gave VSU its largest lead of the game at 39-20 with just under seven minutes to play in the first half as VSU opened the game 13 of 21 from the field for over 60 percent from the field. Tate continued his hot start to the game with a midrange jumper for a 41-23 lead with five minutes left in the half. Following a bucket from the Eagles, junior Sam Martin hit senior Mike Isler for the emphatic dunk, pushing the lead back to 18 at 43-25.
The Eagles pulled within 13 with a triple from Diego Fernandez and an offensive foul on the Blazers gave TC a chance to cut into the deficit even more as Fernandez hit a midrange shot. VSU answered at the other end with a layup from senior Lee Flenor for his eighth point of the game and a 47-34 lead with under two minutes to play in the half. Fernandez hit another one from deep for a 51-40 score at the break.
Both teams shot over 50 percent for the half as VSU was 19 of 33 from the field, while it was 8 of 13 from deep and 5 of 7 from the line. VSU held a 17-12 lead in rebounding in a game that saw four ties. For the Eagles, they shot 16 of 30 from the field for 53.3 percent, while they were 6 of 16 from deep and 2 of 4 from the line. Boser was 5 of 6 from the field and 4 of 4 from beyond the arc for 14 points, while Flenor had ten points off the bench, going 4 of 4 from the field and a team-high five rebounds. Fernandez and Anderson each had eight points for the Eagles, both going 3 of 6 from the field and each 2 of 4 from beyond the arc.
Boser began the second half with a triple and Tate scored in transition for a 56-40 lead and a 5-0 spurt to start the half. Rucker cleaned up the glass and scored for a 7-0 start to the half. With six seconds on the shot clock, Rucker scored inside as Trinity needed a timeout with VSU leading 60-40. Out of the stoppage, TC's Jace Spinelli scored for the first points of the half for the Eagles with 17:02 left.
A 7-0 run from the Eagles cut the lead to 60-47, but Tate followed with a triple off a miscue in transition for a 63-47 lead with 15:40 to play. Martin used a nice underhand scoop for a 67-52 lead with 14:04 to play. Back-to-back buckets from graduate JC Clausi pushed the lead back to 18 at 76-58 with 10:44 left.
Wetzel pushed the lead to 81-60 with eight minutes to go and the season-high 12th 3-pointer of the game for the Blazers. He then buried one from the corner pocket for an 84-60 lead moments later and the largest lead of the game to that point. Out of a media timeout, Wetzel drained his fourth trey of the game and a 91-65 lead with 5:41 to go.
Things got a little heated late in the game with three technical fouls being called after Tate made a jumper for a 93-68 lead. Two technical were called on the Blazers and one on the Eagles. Fernandez made one of two free throws for a 93-69 score.
VSU begins Gulf South Conference play following the Thanksgiving holiday at Lee on Nov. 25 at 4 p.m., followed by a trip to Shorter on Monday, Nov. 27 at 7:30 p.m. The Blazers then return home to host Delta State on Friday, Dec. 1 at 8 p.m.
