MONTEVALLO, Ala. – In a game that had 11 lead changes and six ties, the Valdosta State Blazers battled in a hostile environment and to secure their third-straight victory in a win over the Montevallo Falcons on Thursday night, 76-73.
 
Senior Lee Flenor secured his fourth double-double of the season with 19 points, ten rebounds, and four steals on a perfect 6-6 from the floor and 7-8 from the free throw line. Three other Blazers scored in double figures on the evening, as junior Braxton Williams scored 13 points off the bench and tied a season high in steals with three. The duo of junior Caden Boser and graduate student Jay Rucker defended the paint, as each Blazer recorded three blocks in the victory.
 
As a team, Valdosta State shot .531 from the floor, .400 from three on eight makes, and .727 from the stripe. The Blazers committed 21 turnovers on the game, that resulted in 20 points for the Falcons. On the other end, VSU had 13 steals that resulted 19 fastbreak points.
 
Valdosta State improved to 11-14 (8-13 GSC), while Montevallo dropped to 10-15 overall (9-12 GSC). As it stands on Feb. 22, VSU is one game out of the eighth spot in the GSC, as four teams are battling for that last spot in the postseason tournament.
 
Montevallo got off to a quick 11-0 start over the first four minutes of the game, until junior Caden Boser halted the Falcons run with a three on the assist from junior Braxton Williams. Tyson Sexton started out hot, scoring seven points heading into the first media timeout, with UM leading VSU 16-5. The Falcons shot a blistering 7-12 from the floor, and the Blazers committed five turnovers in the first five minutes of action.
 
Out of the break, Braxton Williams splashed home a three to cut the deficit to single digits. A forced shot clock violation from VSU on the defensive end gave them a chance to cut into the lead, and graduate student Jay Rucker took advantage, driving to the left and laying it in for a hoop and the harm to cut it to five. Montevallo retaliated with a three from Jack Henderson to keep the Falcon lead at eight. Graduate student LaTrell Tate kept doing what he does best, as he knocked home a trey ball in the left corner. Heading into the second media break, UM lead 21-16.
 
Senior Lee Flenor came out of the timeout and poked the ball away and got fouled on the fast break and knocked down both to cut it to four. Tyson Sexton came back and drilled a left wing three to keep the Blazers away. Turnovers were the issue for Valdosta State, as they committed eight turnovers in the first 11 minutes of action as Montevallo led, 27-21. A fastbreak layup from Braxton Williams made it a one possession game with 8:00 left in the half. Caden Boser was heading to the line as they entered the under eight break, with UM leading 27-24.
 
Boser knocked down both at the line, as Valdosta State was close to completing the first half comeback after trailing 11-0. Montevallo retaliated with a bucket inside to get the lead back to three. Both teams went quiet, as neither team could get the lid off the basket for a few minutes until Patten Curington got fouled on the break and knocked home a free throw. Senior Mike Isler was able to get loose on the break and lay one in to make it a two-point game. After a quick stop, Braxton Williams muscled one home to tie it up at 30 with 3:07 left in the half.
 
An offensive putback from Lee Flenor gave the Blazers their first lead of the game with 2:40 left in the first half. LaTrell Tate came right back and fought hard inside for a bucket to grow the VSU lead to three. Yet another offensive rebound from Valdosta State led to a bucket from Flenor inside, as the Blazers headed into the locker room leading the Falcons 37-35.
 
For the first half, Valdosta State blocked five shots to Montevallo's zero. The Blazers shot better in the first half, but the Falcons had more attempts as VSU shot 13-26 and UM shot 13-35. Lee Flenor had 11 points, eight rebounds, and three steals in the first half. The Miami, Fla. native shot a perfect 4-4 from the floor and 3-4 from the stripe. For Montevallo, Tyson Sexton had 13 first half points on 4-6 from the floor, 2-3 from distance, and 3-4 from the line.
 
Out of the locker room, true freshman Brandon Fussell hit a tough bucket off the glass to tie the game up at 37. Fussell got another two quick buckets to go as a solo 6-0 had the Falcons up 41-40. Caden Boser silenced the run again, as the junior knocked home a three on the right wing to put Valdosta State on the board in half number two. A quick outlet pass got Lee Flenor out ahead of the pack, where he laid one in to make it a one-point game. A beautiful pass from Jack Henderson led to a layup inside, as UM led 45-42 heading into the break.
 
The Blazers tied the game up for the fourth time on a three from Braxton Williams, his second of the night. Tate gave VSU the lead with a circus shot in the paint. On the other end, Sexton came back with a three. A foul on Valdosta State sent Montevallo to the bonus with 12:03 left in the game. A missed one and one opportunity led to a pullup jumper from graduate student JC Clausi. Yet another steal from Flenor got Clausi wide open on the left wing, where the recent Union transfer splashed one home to force a UM timeout with 11:24 left, VSU leading, 57-53.
 
Montevallo's Cam Glover knocked down two and the Blazers' 19^th turnover gave Montevallo a chance to tie it, where Brandon Fussell hit yet another tough shot to tie the game up at 57 with just under ten minutes to go. Fussell would finish the game with 22 points. Caden Boser drilled a top of the arc three as he became the fourth Blazer to reach double-figures for the game. Great ball movement from the Falcons led to a wide-open look from three to take a 62-60 lead. An empty possession from Tate led to another Fussell bucket, forcing head coach Mike Helfer to take a timeout, with his squad trailing 64-60 and 7:05 left on the clock.
 
A quick 6-0 Blazer run had that was capped off by a layup from Lee Flenor layup had them leading 66-64 with 5:30 left. The Falcons came right back, as Fussell hit a corner three to take a 67-66 lead with 4:20 left on the clock. Isler was fouled on the other end and was sent to the line for a one and one, where he left it short. A defensive stop gave VSU another chance to take the lead, where they fed the ball to big man Caden Boser who got one to go with his right hand. A Falcon turnover from Aidan Gardiner sent us into the final media timeout, with Valdosta State leading 68-67. A drawn-up alley-oop that got swatted away led to VSU's 21^st turnover of the game. Graduate student Jay Rucker ripped the ball away on the defensive end, and LaTrell Tate got to his signature shot at the elbow and gave VSU a three-point lead. Montevallo inbounded quickly and as a result, got a wide-open look from distance to tie it up at 70 with 1:36 left. Tate was able to draw a foul and knocked down two clutch free throws yet again to regain the lead. A deep three from Fussell was left just short and gave VSU a chance to ice the game. Rucker got a great look at a dunk, where he was fouled and was sent to the line up two with 32 ticks left. Jay Rucker knocked home to give the Blazers a four-point lead. Montevallo's Aidan Gardiner tried to get one to go inside but was stuffed by Rucker and corralled by Fleenor for his tenth rebound of the game, securing his fourth double-double of the season and sending him to the line. Fleenor, a career 47.4% free throw shooter, knocked down both to ice the game, with Valdosta State winning a critical game over Montevallo, 76-73.
 
Every game is important here on out, as Valdosta State travels to Montgomery, Ala. to take on Auburn Montgomery on Saturday, Feb. 24 at 5 p.m. ET.