VALDOSTA, Ga. – The Valdosta State men's basketball team dropped a heartbreaking 77-74 decision in the Gulf South Conference home-opener Friday evening to Delta State at The Complex. 
 
Following the loss, the Blazers fell to 4-3 overall and 1-2 in GSC play while the Statesmen improved to 5-1 on the year and 3-0 in league play.
 
 As a team, VSU shot 52.9 percent for the game on 27 of 51 from the floor, while it was 6 of 12 from deep and 14 of 21 from the line.   The Blazers were led in scoring by junior Braxton Williams with a season-high 20 points on 8 of 12 from the field, 2 of 3 from distance and 2 of 2 from the line. Senior Lee Flenor scored 15 while junior Jack Wetzel added 14, going 4 of 6 from three-point range. The Blazers ended up outrebounding the Statesmen 32-27 while junior Caden Boser led the game in the category with nine total rebounds.
 
DSU was led by a game-high 30 points from Chris Terrell, who was 10 of 17 from the field, 8 of 10 from beyond the arc and 2 of 2 from the charity stripe while Keithean Brooks had 19 points and a game-high three steals. As a team, the Statesmen shot for 41.2 percent from the floor while going 15 of 35 from deep and 6 of 7 from the free-throw line. The Delta State win snaps a six-game losing streak to the Blazers and marks its first win in The Complex since 2015.
 
Trailing 72-70 with 2:40 to play, the Blazers got the miss by the Statesmen out of a timeout, but a steal from DSU and a triple from the Statesmen, the 15^th of the game by DSU, gave the visitors a 75-70 lead with 1:50 to go.  An alley-oop from Braxton Williams to graduate student Jay Rucker pulled VSU within 75-72 with 1:39 to play. 
 
Following a pair of timeouts by both teams with 1:13 to go, the Blazers got the stop they needed and then pulled within one on a bucket from Lee Flenor with 52 seconds left at 75-74.  VSU got another stop and rebound from Caden Boser with 19 seconds remaining.  Williams had a look with seven seconds to play but missed the shot as VSU had to foul with five ticks left.  VSU called a timeout and Kolby Horace made two free throws for a 77-74 lead.  VSU moved the ball up the court and Boser had a great look at a triple at the buzzer, but it wouldn't go down. 
 
With 8:41 to play, VSU led 64-55 and was outscored 22-10 the rest of the way and led by as many as 15 in the second half at 54-39 with 14:59 to go.  VSU shot 27 of 51 from the field for 52.9 percent, while it was 6 of 12 from distance and 14 of 21 from the line.  VSU outrebounded the Statesmen 32-27. 
   
Jack Wetzel hit two triples early for a 10-6 lead with 16:24 left in the first half.  Junior Braxton Williams extended the lead to 12-6 and then Wetzel hit his third triple for a 15-6 lead out of the first media timeout.  Following a triple from DSU's Caleb Allen, Williams drained a triple for an 18-9 lead with 14:06 left in the first half.  After a turnover by the Statesmen, Flenor took the theft and scored forcing a timeout by DSU and a 20-9 VSU lead with 13:18 left in the first half. 
 
VSU held a 24-14 lead on a jumper from Williams with 12:07 left in the half.  From there, DSU went on a 10-2 run cutting the VSU lead to 26-24 with 7:57 left in the half.  Rucker scored with a turnaround jumper for the only field goal and a timeout.  Out of the third media timeout, Rucker scored and then Williams followed suit pushing the lead back to six at 30-24 with 6:46 left in the half.  DSU's Chris Terrell answered with a triple for a 30-27 score moments later. 
 
The Blazers opened the game making 13 of its first 16 shots and 4 of 5 from distance through the first 15 minutes and change.  DSU was 11 of 31 from the field and 3 of 14 from outside the arc, while going 2 of 3 from the line.  Wetzel hit two free throws for his 14^th point of the half and a 32-27 lead with 4:44 to play in the half.  Following a steal from Williams, he emphatically put home the slam for a 34-27 score. 
 
DSU quickly answered with two triples from Terrell for a 34-33 VSU lead with under three minutes to play in the half.  Terrell was 5 of 8 from the field and 3 of 4 from distance to that point.  Senior Lee Flenor put down the dunk from junior Sam Martin for a 36-33 score with just over two minutes left in the half.  The Statesmen took their first lead since 2-0 with a bucket from Kolby Horace with 1:15 to play in the half, but Williams answered quickly at the other end for VSU and a 38-37 lead.  It was Williams' 12^th point of the half. 
 
With the 38-37 lead at the break, VSU shot 16 of 25 from the field for 65 percent for the half but was just 3 of 9 from the field over the final five minutes of the half.  The Blazers were 4 of 6 from distance and 2 of 5 from the line.  DSU shot 15 of 38 from the field for 39.5 percent, while the Statesmen were 5 of 17 from distance and 2 of 3 from the line.  DSU held a 16-15 lead in rebounding and a 9-3 advantage on the offensive end.  VSU had eight miscues in the half leading to nine points for DSU, while VSU forced four turnovers by the Statesmen and scored six points off the miscues. 
 
Wetzel had a team-high 14 points in the half on 4 of 5 from the field, 4 of 5 from range and 2 of 2. From the line, while Williams chipped in 12 points on a perfect 6 of 6 from the field.  Terrell had 13 points for the Statesmen on 5 of 10 from the field and 3 of 5 from beyond the arc. 
 
A pair of "and ones" for the Blazers and a trey from Williams pushed the lead to 46-39 early in the second half.  Flenor made one of two free throws for a 47-39 lead with 17:14 to play and a turnover on the Statesmen led to a dunk from Flenor for a 49-39 lead and a timeout by DSU.  VSU opened the second half scoring 11 of the first 13 points.  Flenor continued the hot hand with another bucket following a turnover on the Statesmen for a 51-39 lead giving Flenor 13 points for the game and a 13-2 spurt to begin the second half for the red and black.  Out of a media timeout, Williams hit one from downtown for a 54-39 lead, pushing the run to 16-2.  DSU's Keithean Brooks ended the run with a triple and then, following a steal by the Statesmen, Derek Moore hit one from downtown for a 54-45 VSU lead and a timeout by the Blazers. 
 
Blazer senior LaTrell Tate made two free throws for his first two points of the game for a 57-47 lead, but a driving layup from Horace, followed by a turnover and triple from Horace pulled the Statesmen within 57-52 and 10:59 to go.  Another triple from DSU, the ninth of the game for the visitors, brought the Statesmen within 58-55, but Tate came up with a big bucket pushing the lead back to five at 60-55.
 
Foul trouble started to mount for the Statesmen as Martin hit two and Williams hit both for a 64-55 lead with 8:41 to play and the Blazers were in the double bonus the rest of the way.  To that point, VSU was 12 of 19 from the line, while DSU was 2 of 3.  Back-to-back turnovers followed, but the Statesmen pulled within six on a trey from Brooks for a 64-58 VSU lead and 7:48 to play.
 
Two offensive rebounds and another triple from Brooks, for 19 points for him for the game, pulled DSU within 64-61 and 7:01 to go.  Senior Caden Boser made two free throws, but DSU answered with the 12^th triple of the game – this one from Terrell for a 66-64 VSU lead with 5:40 to play.  Since the 8:41 mark, DSU outscored VSU 9-2. 
 
A steal from Rucker and a goaltending call on DSU for a Boser bucket pushed the Blazer lead to 68-64 with 4:44 remaining.  DSU, once again, had the answer with the long ball with Terrell hitting his sixth triple of the game cutting the Blazer lead to 68-67 with under four minutes to play.  Out of the final media timeout, Terrell hit two free throws for just DSU's second lead of the game at 69-68.  Terrell knocked down his seventh one from distance for a 72-68 Statesmen lead, but Rucker answered for the Blazers at the other end with a dunk for a 72-70 deficit with 2:40 to play.
 
VSU continues at home on Sunday at 4 p.m., hosting Mississippi College, before finishing the pre-Christmas portion of the schedule with three road games.  The Blazers will be back at The Complex on Jan. 2 at 8 p.m. versus West Florida.