VALDOSTA, Ga. – The Valdosta State men's basketball team fought valiantly, but came up just short in a 94-87 victory at The Complex to visiting Montevallo on Monday afternoon.  With the loss, the Blazers fell to 6-8 overall and 3-7 in Gulf South Conference play, while Montevallo improved to 5-10 and 4-7 in GSC play.
 
In a game that saw 66 made field goals and 27 made 3-pointers between the two teams, VUS finished 30 of 68 from the field for 44.1 percent, while it was 12 of 31 from beyond the arc, but struggled at the line, going 15 of 25.  UM was 36 of 66 from the field for 54.5 percent, while it was 15 of 36 from beyond the arc and 7 of 11 from the line.  Down the stretch, UM went 6 of 7 from the stripe, after going just 1 of 4 through the first 35 minutes of the game.  The Falcons held a 39-30 lead in rebounding, while scoring 17 points off nine miscues by the Blazers.  
 
Individually, junior Caden Boser had a team-high 25 points on 8 of 18 from the field and 7 of 12 from beyond the arc, while going 2 for 2 from the line leading five players in double figures.  Senior Lee Flenor finished with 14 points and 12 rebounds, while senior Mike Isler added 14 points, along with 12-point outings from graduate students Jay Rucker and LaTrell Tate.  
 
For the Falcons, Brandon Fussell finished with a game-high 30 points on 11 of 20 from the field, 3 of 9 from distance and 5 of 6 from the line.  Cam Glover added 24 points on 9 of 18 from the field, 4 of 10 from beyond the arc and 2 of 3 form the line, while Jack Henderson finished with 18 points and 11 rebounds and Landon Butler chipped in 11 points.  
 
The teams traded triples to begin the game and Tate buried a trifecta for a 12-8 VSU lead with 16:29 left in the first half.  Flenor scored for a 14-12 lead with 14:50 to play and his sixth point of the game, while Fussell scored his ninth point tying the game at 14 with 14:42 left in the half.  The teams combined for 12 of 21 from the field to that point, each making six field goals.  
 
Boser buried a triple for an 18-17 VSU lead with 12:11 to play in the opening half.  From there, Montevallo went on an 11-2 run capped with a triple from Henderson with 9:35 left in the half and a timeout by the Blazers.  Montevallo hit six triples in its first 11 field goals of the game, while VSU went just 1 for 8 since opening 6 for 11 from the field.   Later in the half, junior Braxton Williams knocked down a triple for a 35-30 deficit with 5:51 left, but UM pushed the lead back to eight a 41-33 on a trey from Glover for the ninth triple of the half by the Falcons.  
 
An "and one" for Fussell pushed the lead back to ten at 44-34 with 3:22 left in the half and he then scored his 20^th point of the half on a layup with 2:22 remaining for a 46-34 score.    VSU responded with a triple from Boser for a 46-37 score, marking the first field goal for VSU since Boser's triple with 5:17 to play in the half.  Fussell then picked up his third foul of the game with 1:12 to play.  Senior Mike Isler cut the deficit to seven at 48-41 with 56 ticks to play in the opening half and a timeout by the Falcons.  UM's Landon Butler scored just before the buzzer for a 50-41 Montevallo lead at the break.
 
VSU shot 13 of 33 from the field for 39.4 percent, while it was 7 of 17 from distance and 8 of 12 from the line.  The Falcons shot a blistering 58.8 percent on 20 of 34 from the field, while they were 9 of 18 from beyond the arc and just 1 of 2 from the line.  UM held a 19-14 lead in rebounding, while leading 10-8 in points off turnovers with VSU forcing nine miscues and the Blazers committing just five turnovers for the half.  
 
Fussell scored 20 points on 9 of 14 from the field, 1 of 4 from beyond the arc and 1 of 2 from the line for the Falcons, while Boser paced the Blazers, going 4 of 8 from the field and 4 of 6 from beyond the arc in the opening half.  
 
Rucker hit a triple and then scored the "and one" pulling VSU within 52-47 with 18:41 to play.  Flenor scored off a turnover by the Falcons trimming the deficit to 52-49 as VSU opened the second half on an 8-2 run.  Boser then hit his fifth triple of the game and 15^th point for a 59-52 deficit with 15:02 to play.  
 
UM stretched the lead back to ten with the team's 11th triple in 25 attempts at 62-52 with 13:06 to play.  Isler scored the first field goal for the Blazers since the 15:05 mark with a layup pulling VSU within 64-56 with 11:31 to go, but Montevallo had the answer at the other end pushing the lead back to double-digits.  Boser hit his sixth triple for a 73-62 deficit with 9:06 to play as his six treys marked a season-high for a game this season.  
 
Buckets from Rucker and Isler pulled VSU within 75-68 and 6:55 to go with a timeout by the Falcons.  Fussell hit a triple for his first points of the second half for a 78-68 lead with 5:35 to play and the 13^th made 3-pointer by the Falcons in the game.  Isler came up with a steal and dunk for a 78-72 score and 4:50 to play.  Following a bucket from UM, Boser drained his seventh three pointer and then scored off an assist from Isler pulling the Blazers back within three at 80-77 with 3:23 to play.  
 
Tate answered a triple from Montevallo to stay within three at 83-80 with 2:24 to play, but Fussell knocked down his second triple of the half for an 86-80 lead with 1:58 to play.  It marked the 15^th 3-pointer made by the Falcons in the game.  Two free throws from Fussell pushed the lead to 88-80 with 48 seconds to play.  Montevallo pushed the lead to 90-81 on free throws and settled for the 94-87 victory.
 
The Blazers return to the road this coming week with games at Alabama Huntsville on Thursday (8:30 p.m. ET) and at West Alabama on Saturday (5 p.m. ET), before returning home to host Shorter on Jan. 18 at 8 p.m. at The Complex and Lee on Jan. 20 at 4 p.m. for Hall of Fame Weekend.  Fans can purchase tickets for Hall of Fame by clicking here.