MONTGOMERY, Ala. – The No. 18 Valdosta State Blazers grew their winning-streak to nine as they defeated the Auburn Montgomery Warhawks by a final of 97-87 on Saturday afternoon. Nine games is the longest streak since 2019-20, when the Blazers rattled off 19 in a row en-route to a GSC Championship appearance. VSU improved to 15-2 overall and 10-1 in GSC play while AUM dropped to 8-8 overall and 5-6 in the GSC.
 
The Blazers will now face their biggest test of the season, as they will host No. 5 Alabama Huntsville on Thursday, Jan. 23 at 8 p.m. at The Complex in a battle of the top two teams in the Gulf South Conference that will have major postseason implications.
 
It was a complete team effort on Saturday, as six Blazers scored in double figures with senior Cobey Harraway leading the way with a season high 17 points on 6-9 from the floor and four rebounds. Despite only scoring two points, junior MJ Jones was a problem for Warhawks, as the Pelham, Ala. native tallied a season high seven steals and five rebounds while also dishing out eight assists in 27 minutes of action at the point guard spot. Off the bench, guards JC Clausi and Lucas Brown Jr. combined for 25 points on 6-10 from distance and 5-6 from the charity stripe.
 
As a team, Valdosta State scored 90+ points in their sixth consecutive game as the top scoring team in the GSC continued to do damage to Gulf South Conference defenses. The Blazers outshot the Warhawks 33-73 (.452) to 34-77 (.442) in a close margin from the field. VSU made ten of their 29 three point attempts for a .345 clip while AUM struggled mightily, shooting 6-24 (.250) from beyond the arc. The Warhawks held the advantage on the boards, as they outrebounded the Blazers 56-34 with 24 of those coming on the offensive end for 28 second chance points. Valdosta State forced 26 Auburn Montgomery turnovers that turned into 29 points off those turnovers and 23 in transition.
 
Valdosta State jumped out to a quick 5-0 lead within the first minute of action on layups inside from Carlos Hart and Cobey Harraway on the and-one that quickly prompted a timeout from Auburn Montgomery. AUM got on the board on a layup from Jamir Williams at the 18:00 minute mark. Things were all square at five as Malachi Rhodes was able to get the hoop and the harm for the Warhawks as the Blazers went silent on offense. Fresh off the bench, junior Maalik Leitch laid one in on the left side to end the drought and regive VSU the lead. A step-back three pointer from junior Lucas Brown Jr. sent us into the first media timeout with a 10-7 Valdosta State lead.
 
Auburn Montgomery would tie things up at ten coming out of the break until Brown Jr. drilled a pair of free throws to give Valdosta State the lead yet again. Yet another fast paced game had the Blazers out in transition where they were attacking the paint and getting to the line as they were 5-8 from the line just over seven minutes into the contest. Junior Drew Mills drilled a free throw line jumper to grow the lead to three at 18-15 with 12 minutes left in the first half.
 
Graduate Student JC Clausi continued to be a spark plug off the bench for VSU, as he came in a drilled a three pointer in the right corner as things were all square at 21 after a technical was assessed to Clausi. Both teams went cold on offense as Auburn Montgomery held a 25-23 advantage heading to the under eight timeout.
 
The Blazers went nearly four minutes of action without scoring until Maalik Leitch was able to get ahead in transition for a layup to end the Blazer drought. Brown Jr. then drilled his second three of the half as junior Ethan Pires would then steal the inbound pass for a layup to give Valdosta State a 30-28 lead with 5:58 left in the first half. After a 30-second timeout from AUM, VSU forced a five second call to force the 12^th Warhawk turnover of the half. After a dunk on the other end, Pires drilled a three and then laid one in with his right hand to give VSU a 35-30 lead.
 
The Warhawks cut the Blazer lead to three with just under four minutes to play. Junior MJ Jones would quickly get into the scoring column on a floater inside to grow the lead back to five. Valdosta State was able to gain their largest lead of the first half at eight as junior Braxton Williams laid on in in transition.
 
Cobey Harraway took over down the stretch, as he scored eight-straight points three consecutive possessions on a triple, a dunk, and another triple to give VSU a 53-43 lead heading into the break. Harraway had already reached his season-high in points with 13 on 2-2 from distance.
 
The Blazer bench was on fire in the first half, as they combined for 24 points and outscored the Warhawks' bench 24-11. Valdosta State shot 20-39 (.513) from the floor as Auburn Montgomery was 17-43 (.395). AUM was winning the rebounding battle 30-18 but VSU had the edge in turnover differential, as they were +7 with a 14-7 advantage. The Blazers were keeping the paint clean, as they swatted six shots as a collective with Drew Mills leading the way with two.
 
Cobey Harraway continued his hot shooting into the second half. As he drilled his sixth shot in six attempts to bring his scoring total up to 15 early into half number two. Both teams were aggressive to open the second stanza, as both teams were trading baskets with VSU leading 57-49 with 18:19 left in the game. Following strong movement, Braxton Williams drilled his first three of the game to beat the zone defense to elevate the lead to 11. The Warhawks would quickly respond, as they would rattle off five points as the Blazers would lead 64-58 going into the first media timeout of the second half.
 
AUM would extend the run to 7-0 on a dunk from Rhodes as it was suddenly a four point game. Valdosta State would retaliate with an 8-0 run as Clausi would continue to do what he does best with a triple from the left corner to elevate the lead back to 12 for VSU with just under 13 minutes remaining. Clausi would hit his third three pointer in three attempts as the Blazers would extend the lead to 14 heading to the under 12 minute media break.
 
Valdosta State would continue to keep the paint clean, as Carlos Hart would swat two more shots to achieve a season high in blocks with three as VSU continued to cling onto a 14 point lead. AUM hit a three-pointer with 6:20 remaining to cut it to a 11 point lead which forced head coach Mike Helfer to use a timeout as Valdosta State held onto an 83-72 lead.
 
Following an empty possession from the Blazers, the Warhawks would extend the run to 7-0 as it was a nine point game with just over five minutes remaining. Just like he did earlier, Clausi drilled yet another retaliation three to end the AUM run as VSU led 86-74 with 4:41 left in the game. Following a poke away steal from Drew Mills, Braxton Williams got loose ahead of the pack and flushed one home with his right hand to keep AUM at bay with an 92-76 lead with time running out for the Warhawks. A pair of free throws from Clausi all but sealed the Blazer win, as they defeated the Warhawks 97-87 on Saturday afternoon in Montgomery.