LIVINGSTON, Ala. – The Valdosta State Blazers opened up GSC play with a hard-fought 92-82 win over the West Alabama Tigers on the road Thursday night. VSU will now turn their attention to Saturday's ranked matchup versus the No. 14 ranked Alabama Huntsville Chargers.
 
Valdosta State forced West Alabama to play their style of ball, as UWA entered this matchup ranked first in the country in turnovers per game at 7.2 while VSU forced them to commit 18 miscues throughout the night. The 92 Blazer points scored was the most points the Tigers have allowed in any game since Jan. 7, 2023, when VSU scored 96. The Blazers ended a three-game skid against the Tigers as they also picked up their first win in Livingston since Jan. 4, 2020.
 
UWA's Thaddeus Williams led all scorers with a career-high 32 on 9-15 from the floor, 4-9 from deep, and 10-11 at the line as VSU's Carlos Hart led the Blazers with 24 points 10-18 from the floor while also dishing out a game-high seven assists.
 
West Alabama opened the game with a layup from Ryan Frederick to give them a 2-0 lead. Senior Braxton Williams opened fire with a three pointer to give Valdosta State a 3-2 lead. Following a stop, senior Carlos Hart hit a free throw line jumper to elevate the lead the three. A layup from UWA silenced VSU until junior MJ Jones hit a right wing three to keep the Blazers hot. The next possession, junior Lucas Brown Jr. knocked home another Valdosta State three to extend the lead to seven. The Blazers were playing their style of basketball with five three pointers early heading into the first media timeout with a 21-10 lead.
 
Both teams were battling coming out of the break, as Carlos Hart got loose in transition to score his fourth basket of the game as VSU jumped out to a 25-15 lead. The Valdosta State defense was locked in, as they forced seven turnovers in the first nine minutes of action against a West Alabama team that was ranked first in the nation in turnovers per game heading into the matchup.
 
Valdosta State's offense cooled down as their defense stayed steady following a swatted shot by junior LaDarrius Chigano while the Blazers held a 27-18 lead with 9:03 remaining in the first half. Drew Mills ended the two-minute scoring with a right corner three to make it 30-18 heading into the under eight timeout.
 
The full court pressure continued to be a problem for the Tigers, as another turnover led to an easy basket for the Blazers. West Alabama was able to get to 20 points on a tough two point layup as Valdosta State continued to lead by double digits. Drew Mills came down the floor on the other end and hit a tough two point jumper with a hand in his face to silence the Livingston crowd. Following a free throw from Mills, Williams hit yet another tough show from the short corner as Valdosta State led 35-22 with 5:09 left in the first half. A foul by MJ Jones put the Tigers in the bonus for the final five minutes as they looked to sneak their way back. Following a pair of free throws, the Blazers tenth turnover of the game resulted in a three to cut the deficit to single digits. As the Tigers cut it to a six-point game, Lucas Brown Jr. retaliated with a slick right handed and one to keep UWA at bay.
 
Another forced turnover had the Blazers out on the break with a three on one as junior Maalik Leitch laid one home with the left hand plus the harm to make it 41-31 in favor of VSU following the made free throw. Back to back buckets from both teams kept the lead at ten as Chigano was able to get a second chance layup to make the lead a dozen with just under a minute remaining. With 4.5 seconds remaining in the first half, Carlos Hart takes the ball the length of the court as he finished with his left at the buzzer to hold a 12 point advantage at the break, leading 50-38.
 
The Blazers shot .633 from the floor in the first half while the Tigers shot .500 on two less attempts. Both teams committed 12 turnovers as Valdosta State compiled eight steals to turn into 14 fastbreak points. West Alabama's Thad Williams led all scorers with 19 first half points as Carlos Hart led the way for Valdosta State with 12 on 5-6 from the floor.
 
Following a missed three by Hart on the offense end, West Alabama's Marcellious Lockett drilled a triple to open half number two. Another missed shot by Hart resulted in the same result for the Tigers as three from Williams made it a six point game quickly. A made free throw from Hart was quickly diminished as Williams grew his point total 25 on a layup as the Blazers led 51-46. A second chance bucket from Mills kept the led at seven before a wild loose ball ended up as an easy bucket for UWA to cut it to five.
 
Coming out of the first media timeout in the second half, UWA's McGill hit a pair of free throws to keep the Tigers on the prowl as they trailed by five. Following a missed three pointer, McGill struck again with a spinning layup to make it a one possession game. The Blazers retaliated with a quick 8-0 run on two quick threes capped off by a pair of free throws from Harraway as they led 67-56 with 12:35 remaining.
 
Valdosta State grew the lead to 14 as Carlos Hart got a strip and a score followed by a three ball on the right wing to make it 74-60 with ten minutes remaining. With just under nine minutes remaining, Hart drew a double team which setup a perfect dish to Drew Mills who took advantage with two points inside as the Blazers led the Tigers 76-62 going into the under eight timeout.
 
Senior Braxton Williams drilled a pair of free throws out of the break to give VSU their largest lead of the night at 16 with time dwindling away in Livingston. UWA took no time as Michael McIntosh drove left for an and-one where he completed the three point play on a free throw. Following another bucket for Thad Williams to cut it to 13, UWA head coach Nick Woodruff quickly called a timeout. Cobey Harraway hit a deep two-point jumper to break the West Alabama zone defense coming out of the timeout as he continued his strong play, finishing with a season-high ten points in 11 minutes of action. West Alabama was able to cut the Valdosta State lead to ten on an and-one from Rasean Fredrick with just over four minutes remaining. Heading into the final media timeout, VSU led UWA 84-74.
 
West Alabama was able to cut the game to single digits on yet another "and one". Following an empty possession from Valdosta State, UWA was able to get a second chance bucket from Ryan Frederick which forced VSU head coach Mike Helfer to call a timeout with an 86-79 lead and 2:21 left.
 
Coming out of the timeout, Drew Mills got another two to go inside on Carlos Hart's sixth assist of the night. MJ Jones followed Mills' bucket with his fourth steal of the night and resulted in a flagrant four which earned Jones two free throws to get the lead back to double digits. The Blazers would go-on to put the game in cruise control as they would earn their fourth-straight win with a 92-82 victory.
 
The Blazers will be back in action on Saturday, Dec. 7 at 5 p.m. ET as they will finish their road trip against No. 14 Alabama Huntsville in what should be a battle.