VALDOSTA, Ga. – The Valdosta State Blazers lost in a closely contested matchup to the hands of number eight West Georgia in a packed Complex on Saturday afternoon by a score of 76-72. The Blazers dropped to 8-13 and 5-12 in conference play. As the Wolves stayed atop the conference, improving to 19-2 overall and 15-2 in GSC play.
 
Graduate student LaTrell Tate continued to dominate, as he put up a stat line of 19 points, two steals, and a block on 8-12 from the floor and 3-4 from beyond the arc. Fellow graduate student Jay Rucker was flying around the court, hauling in nine rebounds, swatting a shot, and poking away two loose balls. As a team, the Blazers shot .439 from the field, .412 from three, and .682 from the charity stripe.
 
For the Wolves, the extended their win streak to 10 games, as the backcourt duo of Camron Donatlan and Zawdie Jackson proved to be too much, putting up 22 points and four steals apiece. The UWG defense was suffocating the VSU offense, generating 13 steals and forced 18 Valdosta State turnovers, the most since the second game of the season back on Nov. 11 at Clark Atlanta.
 
The game started as any rivalry should, with both teams battling inside for position and crashing the glass. The Wolves started off on a 7-0 run thanks to timely rebounding and swift ball movement against the Blazers' zone defense, capping the run off with a three pointer from Cole Fisher. Valdosta State didn't waiver, as LaTrell Tate hit his signature pull up jumper to get the 2,618 Blazer faithful on their feet. Heading into the first media timeout, the Wolves narrowly led the Blazers, 9-8.
 
Coming out of the first break, graduate student JC Clausi hit a left wing three off a quick pass from Boser to give VSU a 13-11 lead with 14:18 left. Camron Donatlan came back on the other end with a layup to even the score at 13. Kolten Griffin got into the action for UWG, as he hit a corner three on the assist from Jackson to take a 16-15 lead. For the game, the Wolves shot 8-24 from downtown.
 
Both teams were battling down low, as seniors Lee Flenor and Mike Isler were punishing West Georgia in the paint, flying around any chance they got to swoop in for a bucket. Isler would finish with nine points and five rebounds, as Flenor had 11 points and six rebounds.
 
UWG started to mount a lead on a 10-0 run over a two-and-a-half-minute stretch to take a 26-17 lead with 8:51 remaining in the half. VSU battled back, as they responded with a 10-3 run to cut the deficit to two off a three pointer from Tate and junior Cade Boser to make it a 29-27 West Georgia lead with 5:42 left.
 
The Wolves started to pick apart the Blazer zone, getting great three point looks and being aggressive on the offensive glass, as they finished with 10 offensive rebounds. Kolten Griffin hit his second three of the game to make it a 12-point lead with 4:00 remaining in half number one. Back-to-back layups from Boser kept UWG at bay, but the Wolves stayed on the hunt, as they came right back with a dunk in transition to finish the first half in style, leading 45-33.
 
Valdosta State was determined to fight back in the second half, as Jay Rucker kicked things off with a layup inside on Boser's fourth dime of the night to cut it to 10 as things got rolling again at The Complex. Both teams went cold after the initial three possessions of the half, as both squads went two and a half minutes without a field goal until UWG's Cole Fisher knocked home a three to increase their lead to 15 with 16:46 left in the matchup. LaTrell Tate got the Blazers warmed up with a right corner three pointer on a beautiful swing pass from Mike Isler to get The Complex on their feet. Both teams were playing physical as getting to the line, as there was a total of 35 fouls called, and it resulted in both teams getting plenty of shots at the charity stripe. Heading into the under 12 timeout, the Wolves led 61-49.
 
LaTrell Tate was able to get his 13^th and 14^th points of the night on yet another pull-up jumper. Cutting into the Wolves lead little by little, trialing 63-52. Zawdie Jackson lived at the line, knocking in 10 of 14 attempts to try and fend off any Valdosta State run. Junior Braxton Williams went on his own mini run, scoring five straight points finished off by a three pointer to make it an eight-point deficit with 6:55 left on the clock. A missed pull up jumper from Jackson got the Blazers in transition, as Williams hit LaTrell Tate in rhythm for a clean look from three to make it a five-point game, trailing 67-62. Both teams went quiet for the next two minutes, as they couldn't get the lid off the basket until Jackson knocked in another free throw, increasing the lead to six with 4:14 left.
 
A pair of timely layups on both ends kept the game within striking distance for the Blazers as an aggressive and-one from Jay Rucker brought it to a one possession game with just under two minutes remaining. A missed layup on the other end gave VSU the ball down three with a chance to tie it, and Rucker got fouled and went to the line with a chance to make it close. He knocked down one of two as West Georgia led 72-70 with 1:27 on the clock. A costly turnover and clutch shooting from the Wolves made it a four-point game with 24 seconds left. Tate was able to get a quick score and the Blazers fouled quickly. Zawdie Jackson continued his strong night, knocking both down and then a steal from Camron Donatlan sealed the West Georgia's berth in the GSC tournament, defeating Valdosta State by a score of 76-72.
 
The Blazers will be back in action on Thursday, Feb. 8 at 8 p.m. before wrapping up the homestand with Union on Saturday, Feb. 10 at 4 p.m.