VALDOSTA, Ga. – Drew Mills came up with the block of his life in the final minute as Valdosta State battled back from as many as 11 points for a thrilling 93-91 victory over No. 8-ranked The University of Alabama at Huntsville Saturday afternoon at The Complex.
 
The Blazers improved to 5-2 on the year and 1-1 in Gulf South Conference play, while UAH fell to 6-2 overall and 1-1 in league play.  This marked another exciting chapter in the storied history of this rivalry as UAH won in an overtime heartbreaker last season, 97-95, in Valdosta as the Blazers snapped a six-game skid against UAH with the win Saturday.   
 
UAH's Quentin Toles had a look at a triple that went all the way down, but somehow came out and senior Peter McKey knotted the game at 91 with 46.5 seconds to play with a triple.  It was the fifth tie of the game and the first since 35-35 with 6:29 to play in the first half.  UAH had the ball with 38 seconds and shot with seven on the shot clock, but Wallace stood tall down low and gathered his fifth rebound of the game and was fouled with 16.2 seconds left.  He made one of the two shots giving VSU its first lead of the game since 35-32 with 7:18 remaining in the first half at 92-91.  
 
The Chargers in bounded the ball and called its last timeout with 11.3 seconds remaining. Mills' third rejection of the game, this time on Rayven Turner's attempt in the lane and foul on UAH with 1.6 seconds left, gave junior Blaise Wallace two shots at the line as he made the first shot before a timeout by VSU.  He missed the second shot but the heave from UAH went well wide at the buzzer for the huge league win for the red and black on the opening weekend of conference play.
 
For this chapter, the game had a combined 25 made 3-pointers between the two teams, as VSU shot 36 of 75 from the field for a 48.0 clip and went a season-high 12 of 29 from the 3-point line and was 9 of 15 from the stripe.  UAH held a commanding 47-36 lead in rebounding, but the Blazers forced 19 turnovers and held a 19-12 advantage in points off turnovers.  
 
Six Blazers were in double figures and four starters as Mills finished with 18 points and seven rebounds on 6 of 12 from the field, 1 of 3 from deep and 5 of 7 from the line.  McKey added 16 points and five rebounds off the bench on 6 of 13 from the field, while he was a team-best 3 of 8 from deep and 1 of 2 from the line.  
 
For the Chargers, UAH shot 32 of 71 from the field, while they were 13 of 32 from deep and 14 of 16 from the line.  Six Chargers also were in double figures led by 15 points from Turner.  
 
The game saw 11 lead changes and five ties with the most important lead change coming in the final seconds. 
 
Wallace scored the first five points and a turnover in the backcourt by the Chargers led to an easy bucket from junior Devon Rainey and a 7-4 VSU lead as UAH needed an early timeout with 18:06 left in the first half.   Mills extended the run to 7-0 with a put back following a steal and a 9-4 lead with 17:45 to play in the half.  Following a bucket from UAH, Mills buried a corner triple, but UAH answered with their own from Rayven Turner.  Wallace hit one from deep pushing the lead back to six at 15-9 through the first 4:47 of the game. 
 
A 3-pointer from UAH's Matthew Thurman gave the Chargers the lead at 18-17 with 12:46 remaining in the opening half, but a nice rebound from senior Michael Batchelor and a triple in the corner from senior Peter McKey gave VSU the lead back at 20-18 and then Batchelor buried a triple after UAH hit one for a 23-21 Blazer lead with 12:01 left in the opening half.  It marked the fifth lead change of the game.  
 
Senior MJ Jones broke a 30-30 score with a 3-pointer and the eighth of the game by the Blazers, with 7:40 to play.  Following a miss by UAH, Leitch scored inside for a 35-30 lead.  UAH's Knute Wood hit a triple for the fourth tie of the game at 35 and Graham Martin hit a long one for UAH for the tenth lead change at 38-35 with 6:09 to play in the half.  Jones hit a triple at the other end, pulling VSU within 40-38 after UAH had hit two free throws.   
 
Cooper scored his tenth point of the game for a 47-40 UAH lead with 2:59 to play in the first half, but junior Samarion Bond answered for the Blazers with his first 3-pointer pulling VSU within 47-43 with 2:12 to play in the half.  Turner pushed the lead back to seven for UAH at 50-43.  McKey scored two buckets, but Thurman was fouled and made a 3-pointer for a four-point play and a 54-47 lead with less than a minute remaining in the half.  Jones scored in transition and then picked off the inbounds play and scored for a 54-51 deficit at the break.
 
In a wild first half, the teams combined for 19 made 3-pointers, ten lead changes and four ties, VSU shot 19 of 42 from the field, 10 of 20 from deep and 3 of 4 from the line, while UAH shot 19 of 33 from the field, 9 of 17 from deep and 7 of 7 from the line.  UAH held a 21-17 lead in rebounding, while VSU held a 14-2 advantage in points off turnovers as the Blazers forced UAH into eight turnovers while it had just four miscues for the half.  Wallace had 11 points to lead VSU, while Jones had ten.  Turner had a team-high 12 points for UAH.
 
UAH opened the second half on a 9-3 run for a 63-54 lead with 16:56 remaining as Toles hit four free throws and a triple from Thurman highlighted the spurt.  A dunk from Preston Parker pushed the UAH lead to 11 at 65-56.  Two quick buckets from VSU pulled the Blazers within seven at 67-60 with 15 minutes remaining.  
 
The Blazers cut the deficit to four with a bucket from Bond, but Turner drained his third triple of the game pushing the lead back to seven at 72-65 with 11:30 to play.  Following a miss from VSU Toles hit a triple pushing the lead back to ten.  
 
Just like on Thursday, VSU would get the score, but UAH had the answer at the other end as Leitch trimmed the deficit to seven, but Martin buried a deep one at the other end.  UAH held an 87-77 lead with 4:18 to play before Leitch scored inside cutting the deficit back to eight, but Toles hit a jumper off the glass at the other end.  McKey pulled the red and black within seven and then a backcourt turnover on the Chargers gave VSU a chance to cut further into the deficit with 3:01 to go and the Blazers turned up the pressure and continued to chip away at the deficit. 
 
VSU had a good look at a triple, but UAH came back with a bucket from Jordan Mabe, off his own offensive rebound, pushing the lead to nine with 2:11 to go at 91-82.  McKey made one free throw and Mills scored on the offensive rebound.  VSU intercepted the pass in the backcourt and Mills scored earning the "and one" pulling the Blazers within 91-88 with 1:58 to play.  
 
The Blazers host Baptist University of Florida on Monday at 7 p.m. at The Complex, before heading back on the road for three games before the Christmas Break.  The road trip begins Dec. 13 at 5 p.m. ET at West Florida, before heading to the Volunteer State for two games at Trevecca Nazarene (Dec. 18) and Lee (Dec. 20).  Following the break, VSU opens the 2026 portion of the schedule at home on Jan. 2 versus Mississippi College at 8 p.m.
 
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