LIVINGSTON, Ala. – The Valdosta State Blazers ended their first road trip of 2024 with a loss to the West Alabama Tigers on Saturday afternoon. The Blazers drop to 6-10 overall and 3-9 in conference play.
 
Graduate student Jay Rucker kicked things off for the Blazers with a layup on the first possession to give VSU at 2-0 lead. West Alabama came back with a quick nine points on a five-point possession off an offensive rebound after an "and-one". After the opening layup from Rucker, the rest of the Blazer offense went a combined 0-5 as the Tigers held a 11-4 lead heading into the first media timeout.
 
UWA came out of the timeout knocking in two free-throws to extend their lead. Off the steal from Rucker, graduate student LaTrell Tate hit a pullup jumper to cut the deficit to seven. A turnover from Valdosta State led to an open three point look for West Alabama's CJ Melton to give them a 16-6 lead. A layup from junior Braxton Williams cut it back to eight before Melton came down and hit another triple. Heading into the second break, UWA led 19-10.
 
Graduate student Sam Martin came out of the break hitting a jumper to fight into the Tiger lead. The VSU defense was getting stops and the offense was doing enough to force a 7-0 run for Valdosta State over 2:17 to get to within four points of West Alabama with 9:14 remaining in the first half. West Alabama got the lead back to seven heading into the under eight timeout thanks to UWA's Jaylen Lemons scoring 10 points early.
 
Coming out of the break, head coach Mike Helfer drew up a play for senior Mike Isler, who flushed home a dunk off the dish from Martin to keep the Blazers close. Both teams were trading baskets back and forth as West Alabama was leading Valdosta State by a score of 28-23 as the half was winding to a close. A quick three from West Alabama's Thaddeus Williams gave the Tigers an eight-point lead as the Blazers went scoreless for 3:34 with 1:10 remaining in the first half. Helfer called a timeout with 1:05 left with VSU trailing, 31-23. Out of the timeout, Isler hit a jumper to get it to six with 50 ticks left. West Alabama got a layup before the end of the half, as the teams headed to the locker room with UWA leading 33-25.
 
For the half, Mike Isler the Blazers in scoring with 10 points on 4-5 shooting. On the other side, Jaylen Lemons also had 10 points for the Tigers in the first 20 minutes. As a team, Valdosta State shot 38% from the floor compared to West Alabama shooting 45%. The VSU kept the game under control, turning the ball over two times in the first half and forcing UWA to commit six turnovers.
 
Graduate student J.C Clausi got things going for the Blazers in the second half as he hit a mid-range jumper. The Tigers retaliated with an 8-2 run to take a 45-31 lead with 15:02 remaining. Isler continued his strong night by laying one in to cut the deficit to 12. Right after that, UWA's Terry Durham hit a pullup jumper on the other end to keep VSU away.
 
Both teams kept trading shots back and forth, as Clausi hit his second shot of the second half, this time a three pointer off the assist from Tate. The Tigers punched right back, hitting a three of their own to take a 60-41 lead with 7:54 left on the clock. Back-to-back layups from Williams and Rucker to go along with two Tate free throws got VSU within 13, trailing 60-47 with 4:48 left. Valdosta State couldn't keep the Tigers within reach, as they were never able to get closer than 12 points the rest of the game, eventually falling to West Alabama by a score of 71-55.
 
Three Blazers scored double digits, as LaTrell Tate and Mike Isler led VSU with 13 apiece, as Jay Rucker also chipped in with 10 points. For the game, Valdosta State was held to 20-51 (39%) from the floor and 4-15 (27%) from downtown. For the Tigers, they shot 29-61 (48%) from the floor and 9-25 (36%) from beyond the arc. Jaylen Lemons led all players in points, putting up 24 points on 9-16 from the floor and 4-10 from three.
 
Up next, The Valdosta State Blazers will take on the Shorter Hawks on Thursday, Jan. 18 at 8 p.m. before hosting the Lee Flames on Saturday, Jan. 20 at 4 p.m. for the Hall of Fame Game.
Tickets for the brunch can be purchased here.