VALDOSTA, Ga.- The Valdosta State men's basketball team is set to host two Gulf South Conference opponents in Montevallo and Auburn Montgomery this weekend as the final games of the 2022-23 regular home season. The Blazers will face Montevallo on Thursday, Feb. 16 at 8 p.m., before entertaining Auburn Montgomery for Senior Day on Saturday, Feb. 18. at 4 p.m.
Valdosta State enter at 17-9 overall and 13-7 in Gulf South Conference play while Montevallo comes into the week 9-16 overall and 7-14 in league play. Auburn Montgomery currently sit at 13-12 overall and 11-10 in conference play and will face West Florida in Pensacola on Thursday before taking on the Blazers on Saturday.
Saturday will also be Senior Day at The Complex where all the senior Blazers will be recognized for their achievements prior to tip-off.
Fans can access links to live stats, audio/video streaming, ticket information and more at vstateblazers.com on the men's basketball schedule page. The game will also be broadcast on the radio in Valdosta on 92.1 WDDQ FM and www.talk921.com with Mike Chason having the call.
The Blazers are currently fifth in the league standings at a 13-7 mark as Lee, West Georgia, Alabama Huntsville, and West Alabama sit atop the league standings. VSU recently clinched GSC Championship berth after defeating West Florida on Saturday and join the ranks of the four teams above them as the only five teams in the conference that have clinched a spot in the conference championship entering the week.
VSU won the first matchup against the Falcons this season at Montevallo on Jan. 2, 2023, to a high-scoring 110-103 finish. The game remained a close affair in the early stages of the game as the first half featured fifteen lead changes and seven score ties. Montevallo began the game building a slight lead in 14-8 before the Blazers fought right back to trade blows back and forth through the first half until VSU came out of the half with a five-point lead over the Falcons, 49-44. The second half was all VSU as the Blazers pushed the lead to as many as 23 points at one point. However, the Falcons were able to cut It to seven by the final buzzer.
This season, the Blazers lead the GSC in scoring offensively, scoring 86.2 points per game for 13th nationally. VSU is also first in team field goal percentage shooting 48.6 percent for 26th nationally, while it is third in the conference in team three-point field goal percentage at 37.5 percent. Valdosta State is second in the GSC in a turnover margin at a 3.6 clip for 22nd nationally while it is first in the GSC and 41st nationally in turnovers forced per game at a 15.7 clip.
Individually, Blazer senior Jacolbey Owens is 11th in the GSC in scoring, averaging 15.7 points per game while also being second in assists per game at a 6.1 clip for 13th nationally. Redshirt senior Cam Hamilton is second in the conference in steals per game at a 1.8 clip tied with Owens who also has 1.8 steals per game. Senior Mohamed Fofana is fourth in the GSC in individual field goal percentage shooting 132 of 250 (.528) for the season. Blazer graduate student Maurice Gordon is fifth in the GSC in blocks averaging 1.2 per game while junior Jay Rucker is sixth with 1.1 blocks per game. Head Coach Mike Helfer is in his 18th season at the helm of the Blazers and is 348-171 at VSU, while he is in his 26th season of coaching overall and is 534-254 all-time.
Montevallo enters the week winners of three of its last ten and is under the direction of Anthony Komara, who is in his first season as the head coach of Montevallo. Komara is 9-16 with the Falcons and is 0-1 against VSU. The Blazers currently hold the advantage in the all-time matchup with Montevallo with VSU winning nine of the last 12. VSU is 5-0 when hosting the Falcons at home during that span.
For Montevallo, Braxton Bertolette leads the Falcons in scoring and is first in the conference, averaging 20.6 points per game as well as first in the conference in free-throw percentage, shooting 91.8 percent. Mason Shifflett leads the team in rebounds, bringing down 6.0 rebounds per game, for 11th in the conference. James McNeil, leads the conference in steals, just above Hamilton and Owens, averaging 1.9 thefts per game.
In first matchup of this season between Valdosta State and Auburn Montgomery on Dec. 31, 2022, VSU left Montgomery with a 77-72 victory. The win served as a comeback victory for the Blazers as they trailed 55-44 in the second half, but thanks to a 10-0 run sparked by Owens, VSU was able to hop in front and take the driver's seat late. The Blazers held a narrow lead for the remainder of the game with Auburn Montgomery unable to come back and take the lead. Following a few free throw attempts from Gordon, the Blazers got the six-point, 77-71 victory over the Warhawks.
Auburn Montgomery comes into the week winners of six of its last ten and is led by head coach, Michael Cheaney, who is in his ninth season with AUM. He currently is 99-142 with the Warhawks and is 1-12 against the Blazers. The Blazers currently hold the advantage in the all-time matchup with AUM with VSU winning 12 of the last 13. AUM had its first and only victory against the Blazers last season 72-59 contest in Montgomery.
Individually, Auburn Montgomery is lead in scoring by Travis Anderson, who is currently ninth in the GSC in scoring, averaging 15.8 a game. James Graham leads the Warhawks in rebounds, pulling down 7.4 rebounds per game for fourth in the conference. Graham is also third in field goal percentage, shooting 55.2 percent and is first in the conference in blocked shots, recording 2.2 blocks per game.
Following the games this week, the Blazers will go on their final road trip of the regular season to face West Alabama on Thursday, Feb. 23 at 8:30 p.m. and Alabama Huntsville on Saturday, Feb. 25 at 5:00 p.m.
