VALDOSTA, Ga. – The Valdosta State men's basketball team continues to find ways to win, as they defeated the Lee University Flames by a score of 78-71 on Saturday afternoon at The Complex. VSU improved to 9-2 overall and 4-1 in GSC play while LU dropped to 4-6 overall and are 0-6 in GSC action.
 
Senior guard Carlos Hart scored a season-high 29 points with 21 of those coming in the second half as his late surge gave the Blazers a much needed boost in the scoring department. The Miami, Fla. native went 8-15 from the field, 2-4 from deep, and 11-13 from the charity stripe. Hart finished one rebound shy of a double-double with nine boards as he bullied his way all afternoon. Noah Boler-Kyle led the Flames in scoring with 17 points and nine rebounds on 7-10 from the floor.
 
As a team, the Blazers shot 26-61 (.426) from the floor, 11-27 (.407) from deep, and 15-18 (.833) from the free throw line.
 
Valdosta State currently sits in third place in the GSC standings heading into the holiday break as Alabama Huntsville and Montevallo sit atop the standings with 6-0 records in GSC play.
 
Valdosta State jumped out to a 5-0 lead as two made layups from junior Drew Mills had them rolling early. Lee would end the run with a layup from Zach Gray down low on the block. Back to back three pointers from juniors Peter McKey and Antonio Green gave VSU a 15-9 lead with 14:47 left in the first half. Following a steal from McKey, junior Maalik Leitch knocked home a triple to grow the lead to nine, the largest of the evening for the red and black.
 
Lee would punch back with an 8-0 run to cut the lead to one over a three minute stretch. Senior Braxton Williams would push the Flames back with a triple on the assist from Carlos Hart as VSU led 21-17 with 9:16 remaining in the first half. Both teams were battling as the Flames were able to tie things up at 26 before Peter McKey hit his second triple of the night on the pass from Antonio Green. Heading into the locker room, The Blazers led by a score 36-33.
 
Lee came out of the break looking like a team that was going to steal the game away, as they jumped out to a 40-36 lead over two minutes as Valdosta State committed three turnovers in four possessions.
 
The Flames were able to grow their lead to seven with 15 minutes remaining as things looked like LU was going to end their five-game skid. Back to back layups from Drew Mills and Carlos Hart made it a single possession game as the Blazers trailed 46-49 with 13:07 left in the game.
 
Valdosta State was able to regain the lead on a triple from Maalik Leitch as he would finish the night with 11 points on 4-8 from the floor and 3-5 from distance. Every time Lee tried to answer, the Blazers would find a way to punch them back as a three ball from Braxton Williams gave VSU a 67-61 lead with 5:47 left.
 
With 2:42 remaining in the game, Lee tied things up at 69 with a layup from Tariq Daughton. Following another LU foul, Carlos Hart knocked home two free throws and were desperately looking for a stop.  The Blazer defense stood tall as they forced an ill-advised jumper with 1:25 left in the game. A tough left handed layup from Leitch inside gave the Blazers a four-point lead, as it was quickly nullified by a jumper from Marlon Smith to cut it back to two with 59 ticks remaining. A tough and one from Drew Mills inside with 38 seconds left sealed the win for VSU, as they won 78-71.
 
The Blazers earned a well-deserved break as they will ride a three-game winning streak heading into the new year, where they travel to Mississippi to take on Mississippi College on Thursday, Jan. 2 at 8:30 p.m. followed by a trip to Delta State on Saturday, Jan. 4 at 5 p.m. ET.