VALDOSTA, Ga. – Behind 18 points and 19 rebounds from Valdosta State junior Blaise Wallace, the Blazers posted a season-opening 85-70 victory over visiting Edward Waters University Friday evening at The Complex. 

Wallace, who transferred to VSU from Albany State, finished going 6 of 12 from the field and 6 of 8 from the line, while he had a double-double in the first half.  Along with Wallace, senior Drew Mills added 15 points and eight rebounds, while junior Devon Rainey added 14 points and senior MJ Jones finished with 13 points.  As a team, VSU shot 42.5 percent from the field on 31 of 73, while it was 5 of 17 from deep and 18 of 23 from the line.  VSU held a 26-11 advantage in points off turnovers, forcing EWU into 20 miscues while VSU had 15 turnovers. 

The Tigers finished at 41.2 percent on 28 of 68 from the field, while they were just 2 of 18 from range and 12 of 14 from the line.  Keshawn Evans had 24 points and 17 rebounds on 8 of 10 from the field and 8 of 10 from the line, while Amari Floyd finished with 20 points on 10 of 18 from the field and eight rebounds.  Amayoa'ah Phillips had ten points off the bench for the Tigers.

VSU scored the first four points of the game, then the Tigers went on a 9-0 run and a timeout by VSU with 17:17 left in the first half.  The Tigers extended the run to 11-0, but Blazer senior Ethan Pires ended the run for an 11-6 deficit with 16:23 left in the half.  Junior Samarion Bond earned the "and one" pulling VSU within 11-9.  Senior Jose Cuello tied the game with a midrange jumper for an 11-11 score through the first 4:45 of the game.  The Blazers opened the game 5 of 12 from the field, while EWU was 5 of 8 from the floor.  

Mills scored for a 13-11 lead and then Pires had a steal and was hacked on the way to the bucket earning two tosses as he made both for a 15-11 score with 13:33 left in the half.  Out of the second media timeout, Rainey scored for a 19-13 lead.  Following a turnover on EWU, Jones scored for a 21-13 score with 11 minutes to play in the half as VSU stretched the run to 10-2 since tying the game at 11 at the 15:15 mark.   Senior Michael Batchelor buried a 3-pointer for a 24-15 lead with 9:45 remaining in the half.   VSU stretched the lead to 11 at 26-15 on two free throws from junior Blaise Wallace with 9:08 left in the half.  

Batchelor hit his second trey of the half in transition for a 29-17 lead and a timeout by the Tigers with 8:07 left in the half.  Jones drained a long one for a 32-17 lead with 7:19 left in the half as the game was at a quick pace at both ends of the court.  Jones scored on the outlet pass for a 34-17 lead with six minutes left in the half as the run was extended to 23-6 since the 11-11 tie.   A triple from EWU's Cameran Oates pulled the Tigers within nine at 36-27 with just over three minutes remaining in the half as EWU was in the midst of a 10-2 run.   VSU took a 44-31 lead into the locker room with a steal from senior Drew Mills and layup from Jones at the buzzer.  

For the half, the Blazers shot 41.5 percent from the field on 17 of 41, while they were 3 of 12 from deep and 7 of 10 from the line.  The Blazers had 25 rebounds in the half and Wallace paced the team with 12 points and 12 rebounds in the half for his first double-double in a Blazer uniform.  He was 4 of 6 from the field and 4 of 6 from the line.  

EWU shot 13 of 33 from the field, 2 of 10 from beyond the arc and 3 of 4 from the line.  Amari Floyd had a team-high ten points in the half on 5 of 10 from the field.  VSU held a 19-2 lead in points off turnovers for the half, as VSU forced the Tigers into 13 miscues, while the Blazers had just six turnovers.  

The Tigers opened the second half with two buckets trimming the VSU lead to single digits at 44-35 with 18:31 to play.  Mills ended the run with a floater in the lane and then a steal from Jones and bucket from Wallace pushed the lead to 13 at 48-35 with 17:55 to play.  Mills hit a big trey for a 57-43 lead with 14 minutes to play pushing him into double digits with 11 points.  Following a miss by EWU, the Blazers used the alley-oop from Cuello to Bond for a 59-43 lead with 13:29 to go and a timeout by the Tigers.  Bond earned the "and one" with a bucket for his seventh point and a 62-45 lead with 12:35 to play.  

EWU used a 6-0 run out of a media timeout to pull within 62-53 with 10:27 to play and a timeout by the Blazers.  The game remained between a nine and 11-point margin as the teams basically traded buckets over the next couple of minutes.  A steal and layup from Floyd trimmed the VSU lead to six at 68-62 with 6:55 to play.  

VSU had not made a field goal since the 12:36 mark before Mills hit a jumper for a 72-64 lead with 6:19 to play.  Jones scored on the lob pass for a 74-64 Blazer lead, but Floyd hit a long jumper for a 74-66 score with 5:18 to play and a timeout by the Tigers.   Rainey went coast-to-coast for a 76-66 lead with just over four minutes remaining.   Wallace scored off an assist from Mills for a 78-66 lead with 2:28 to play.  

The Blazers looked to milk some clock out of the final media timeout and Mills pushed the lead to 14 at 80-66 with Mills scoring his 15th point of the game with less than two minutes to play.  A turnover on the Tigers gave the ball back to VSU with 94 seconds remaining and senior Peter McKey drained a pocket triple for an 83-66 lead with just over a minute to play. 

The Blazers host Florida Tech on Sunday at 3 p.m. at The Complex.  Edward Waters faces Florida Tech at The Complex on Saturday 5 p.m.