MONTEVALLO, Ala. – The No. 18 Valdosta State Blazers won their eighth straight game overall and third straight on the road against the third place Montevallo Falcons on Thursday night. Valdosta State improved to 14-2 overall and 9-1 in GSC play while Montevallo dropped to 11-5 overall and 7-3 in the GSC play.
 
The Valdosta State defense held Montevallo to 4-21 (.190) from beyond the arc and 21 miscues. Those 21 turnovers turned into 24 fast break points as the full-court pressure was getting to the Falcons all night. The Blazers were able to get 41 points from their bench compared to 13 from the Falcons, as anyone who checked into the game had a chance to do something special.
 
Individually, Carlos Hart led VSU in scoring with 20 points on 5-7 from the field, 1-1 from deep, and 9-11 from the free throw line while hauling in five rebounds and poking away at three steals. Graduate student JC Clausi stayed hot from the second half of the Christian Brothers game this past Saturday, as the former Union Bulldog scored 17 first half points on 6-7 from the field and 5-6 from distance.
 
Seniors Cobey Harraway and Carlos Hart started things out with back to back rejections at the rim before Montevallo's Jaylen Curry sprayed home a three to give the Falcons a 3-0 lead. Junior Drew Mills was able to turn one loose in transition and flush one home with two hands to get the Blazers on the board. Following a technical from junior MJ Jones, UM's Brandon Fussell knocked home a pair to grow the lead to 5-2.  Following a mass substitution from head coach Mike Helfer, graduate student JC Clausi drilled back to back triples on the right side to give VSU an 11-9 lead heading into the first media timeout with 14:46 left in the first half.
 
Coming out of the break, Clausi drilled home his third straight three to grow the lead. After forcing a turnover, senior Carlos Hart finished a tough layup to grow the lead to 16-9 before an and-one from Montevallo brought the game back to four. After another forced turnover by Drew Mills, MJ Jones hit a tough floater in transition that sent them to the under 12 timeout as VSU led 22-16.
 
The Falcons came out of the media break hot with three straight jumpers to tie things up at 22. A made free throw from UM followed by a pair from VSU's Braxton Williams gave the Blazers the lead yet again. Coming out of the under eight timeout, Clausi drilled his fourth three of the game in five attempts to make it 29-25 with 6:33 remaining in the first half.
 
Montevallo was able to tie up yet again after another and one from the Falcons. UM retook the lead yet again after converting on the free throw. Coach Helfer brought in four new players, and they immediately made a difference as VSU blitzed out to a 10-2 run capped off by a layup from MJ Jones as the Blazers led 41-30 with 3:01 left in the first half. Montevallo's Camden Anderson drilled a pair of free throws just before break as VSU entered the locker room with a 45-36 lead.
 
There were four ties and seven lead changes in half number one as it was back and forth before the 10-0 VSU run. Clausi led all scorers with 17 points off the bench with five triples on six attempts. Carlos Hart was doing it all for VSU, as he tallied 11 points, three rebounds, three assists, and two steals. As a team, Valdosta State shot 16-39 (.410) from the field while Montevallo shot 12-19 (.414). The Blazers forced 15 turnovers that resulted in 15 fast break points.
 
The second half started sloppily, as both teams committed numerous turnovers until Curry was able to get a basket down low on a second chance opportunity. Jones committed two early second half fouled to put him at four, as Helfer had to go to his bench early. Junior Maalik Leitch answered the bell quickly, as quick ball movement led to a clean look on the left win. Montevallo and Valdosta State would each trade back to back threes as VSU led 53-43 with 17 minutes left in the game.
 
Montevallo was able to cut the deficit to eight with just under 15 minutes to play as they wouldn't go away. Junior Tony Green Jr. got into the scoring column on a deep three pointer from the top of the key to grow the lead back to 11. The Blazers had committed six fouls early on heading into the under 12 timeout as they led 62-52.
 
Following a pair of free throws from Curry, junior Peter McKey knocked home a left wing to grow the lead to 11. Lucas Brown Jr. slammed home a half-court alley oop leave the announcers in awe and grow the Blazer momentum. Carlos Hart was able to get a hoop and a harm to give Valdosta State their largest lead of the night at 15 with just over eight minutes to play. Montevallo would get two baskets down low to send us to the under eight timeout as Valdosta State hung onto a 77-66 lead.
 
Both teams went ice-cold, as no one could convert anything in favor of the Blazers as they hold onto a 78-68 lead with just over four minutes left as a VSU trap forced a timeout from UM. A steal from MJ Jones plus a pass ahead allowed Cobey Harraway to finish a nifty basket with the right hand to get the lead back to a dozen heading to the final media break.
 
After Braxton Williams got his shot blocked, he hustled back in transition and blocked the transition layup to keep any sort of Falcon run at bay. Braxton Williams all but sealed the Blazer victory as they were able to come out with a 90–76 win.
 
The Blazers will now travel to Montgomery, Ala. to take on Auburn Montgomery on Saturday, Jan. 18 at 5 p.m. ET to finish up the road trip before returning to Titletown for Hall of Fame Weekend.