VALDOSTA, Ga. – A season-high 69 points in the first half and the third game of over 100 points this season, gave the Valdosta State men's basketball team a 131-87 victory over visiting Baptist University of Florida Monday evening.   The Blazers improved to 6-2 on the year.
 
VSU dominated the game from the early moments and had four starters in double figures with the fifth with eight points, while a season-high seven players scored in double figures led by 26 points from senior Drew Mills on 10 of 16 from the field, 4 of 6 from distance and 2 of 2 from the line, while he had seven rebounds, two assists and one steal.  Senior Michael Batchelor added 22 points off the bench on 7 of 11 from the floor, a season-best 6 of 10 from deep and 2 of 2 from the line.  Junior Blaise Wallace tallied his fifth double-double of the season with 14 points and 11 rebounds.  
 
As a team, VSU shot 49 of 100 from the field (.490), while it was 20 of 48 from distance (.417) and 13 of 15 from the line.  The 20 made 3-pointers were three shy of tying the school record of 23 set on Nov. 9, 2024, versus Clark Atlanta.  The 131 points were eight points short of the school-record of 139 set during the 2017-18 season versus Montevallo.  The Blazers had 55 rebounds in the game, including 25 on the offensive end Monday evening.  The 131 points are good for sixth-most in D2 this year, while the 20 made 3-pointers are tied for sixth in D2 this season and the 100 field goal attempts are second-most this season behind Lynn who had 102 attempts against Trinity (Fla.) on Nov. 19.  The 49 made field goals ties for tenth-most.  
 
The Blazers began the game with a hot hand going 8 of 13 from the field through the first four minutes and 3 of 7 from deep building a 19-9 lead on the Eagles.  Senior Michael Batchelor buried two triples early, while senior Drew Mills found easy sledding down low, going 2 of 4 and recording three rebounds.  Senior Peter McKey buried the fourth triple of the early moments for the red and black, extending the lead to 24-11, while a steal and hoop and harm for junior Joe Cuello pushed the lead to 27-11 with 14:32 to play.  Since the Eagles pulled within 11-9 with 17:03 to play in the half, VSU went on an 18-2 run.  
 
VSU continued to pressure the Eagles and junior Blaise Wallace came up with the ninth miscue by Baptist and buried a corner pocket triple for a 35-17 score with 11 minutes remaining in the half.  It marked the sixth made triple for the Blazers and Wallace's first of the game.  To that point, VSU had no turnovers and BUF had nine.  BUF drained its second 3-pointer of the game pulling within 44-26 with 8:48 remaining in the half.  To that point, VSU held a 12-3 advantage in turnovers and a 24-2 mark in points off turnovers.  Buckets from Wallace and senior Maalik Leitch forced Baptist into a timeout and a 57-30 VSU lead with 5:07 remaining in the first half.  
 
For the first half, VSU scored a season-high 69 points and held a 69-36 lead at the break as it shot 27 of 54 from the field for 50 percent, while it was 9 of 30 from distance and 6 of 6 from the line.  The Blazers forced BUF into 16 turnovers and held a 29-2 advantage in points off turnovers, while they held the Eagles to 15 of 41 from the field for 36.6 percent, while they were 2 of 15 from deep and 4 of 4 from the line.  
 
Batchelor went 4 of 8 from the field and 4 of 8 from distance along with two free throws for a team-high 14 points, while McKey was 4 of 9 in the half on the floor and 2 of 6 from distance for ten points.  Wallace had eight points and seven rebounds.  Jordan Isaac had 11 points for the Eagles.
 
The teams each scored 20 points through the first seven minutes and change of the second half as VSU held an 89-56 lead with 13:06 remaining.  With the large margin and the way head coach Mike Helfer subs, the Blazers played a lot of players and all got valuable experience.  BUF heated up making 11 of its first 15 shots in the second half, while VSU was 7 of 22 from the field to open the final stanza and led 92-62 with 11:58 to play. 
 
The Blazers return to the road this coming weekend at 5 p.m. ET at West Florida and then will play at Trevecca Nazarene and Lee next week, before the Christmas Holiday break.  Following the break, the Blazers open the 2026 portion of the schedule on Jan. 2, at The Complex versus Mississippi College at 8 p.m.  
 
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