VALDOSTA, Ga. – Behind a career-high 30 points from junior
Braxton Williams, the Valdosta State men's basketball team defeated the Mississippi College Choctaws by a score of 77-69.
Mississippi College came out scoring the first six points of the game en route to scoring ten of the first 12 and 17 of the first 23 for a 17-6 lead with 12:16 to play in the first half on three free throws from Cam Brown. VSU opened the game making just three of its first 13 shots, while MC began 8 of 16 enjoying a 19-10 lead with 9:31 to play in the first half.
Brown extended the lead to 21-10 with a jumper with 9:04 to play in the first half and then pushed the lead to 23-11 on bucket from Dekyre Fuller, but senior
LaTrell Tate scored with 7:50 to play in the half and a 23-13 deficit for the first VSU made field goal since the 11:54 mark. Blazer junior
Braxton Williams had the hot hand with three buckets and an "and one" pulling VSU within 27-20 with 5:19 to play in the half giving him ten points for the game. Williams score again pulling VSU within six at 28-22 and 4:28 to go in the half.
Junior
Caden Boser scored inside for a 28-24 deficit with 3:02 to play, as VSU trailed by 13 at 23-11 with 8:10 to play. Williams scored his 14
th point of the game for a 28-26 deficit earning the for the and one and a 28-27 deficit. Since the 8:10 mark, VSU outscored MC 16-5. The teams traded triples in the closing minute for a 33-32 MC lead for the first half.
After shooting poorly in the first ten minutes and change, the Blazers finished the half 8 of 15 for a 12 of 28 first half and 42.9 percent from the field. VSU was 2 of 7 from beyond the arc, while MC was 13 of 31 from the field and just 1 of 12 from distance. Both teams made six free throws, while MC held a 20-11 advantage in rebounding. The teams combined for six turnovers in the half. Williams had a team-high 15 points on 6 of 9 from the field and 1 of 2 from deep in the first half, while Boser added ten points. Fuller had a team-high 12 points for the Choctaws on 6 of 7 from the field.
Williams carried over the hot hand to the second half as he tied the game at 34 with 19:11 to play. Boser broke a 39-39 tie for VSU's first lead of the game with 15:04 to play, but Brown answered with a triple at the other end. From there, the game was back-and-forth as neither team could gain much of an advantage as graduate student
Mike Isler put VSU up 50-49 with a jumper and 10:31 to play for the fifth lead change of the game.
A triple from Williams, for his 22
nd point of the game, pushed the VSU lead to 58-54 with 8:11 to go. He then knocked down five more points for a 63-56 lead with 6:15 to play. Since a triple from Rashad Bolden to pull MC within 55-54 with 9:05 to play, VSU went on a 10-4 run for a 65-58 lead with 5:48 to play capped on two charity tosses from Tate. Brown kept the Choctaws within striking distance with another triple for a 65-61 ledger and 4:56 to go.
From there, the Blazers used two free throws from Clausi, a hook shot from Williams and a triple from Tate for a 72-65 lead with 2:36 to play. Tate made two more free throws for a 74-67 lead with 1:56 to play and Clausi scored inside for a 76-67 lead with 1:09 to go. Brown hit two free throws for the Choctaws and Williams made one of two free throws for the final margin of 77-69.
As a team, Valdosta State shot 25-49 from the field and 6-13 from downtown. The Blazers also had a season low three turnovers, as they protected the rock and kept the Choctaws from running transition, only having two fast break points.
VSU will be on the road for the foreseeable future, as they have a matchup with rival West Georgia in Carrollton, Ga. on Thursday, Dec. 7 at 7:30 p.m. The Blazers will be back at The Complex on Tuesday, Jan. 2 at 8 p.m. to take on West Florida.
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