JACKSON, Tenn. – Despite trailing 52-49 at halftime, the No. 9 Blazers opened the second half on a 25-5 run to sneak past the Union Bulldogs on the road on Saturday night. Valdosta State improved to 21-4 overall and 16-3 in GSC play while also improving to 10-1 on the road.
As a team, VSU shot 39-74 from the floor for .527 clip while UU was 38-68 for a .559 clip. After shooting 7-11 from deep in the first half, Union calmed down and finished 12-23 from distance for a .522 clip while Valdosta State was 9-27 for a .333 percentage. The Blazers won the turnover battle 16-7 while they turned those turnovers in 25 points while being dominant in transition with 32 points.
Union's C.J. Jackson scored a game high 30 points on 13-23 from the floor and 2-6 from deep as he was getting buckets left and right. It was
Carlos Hart leading the way for VSU, as he scored 29 points for a new season high while shooting 11-19 from the field, 1-3 from distance, and 6-8 from the line. It didn't stop with scoring as the Miami native also hauled in seven boards while dishing out four assists, blocking one shot, and poking away three steals.
Braxton Williams had a great bounce back performance after a tough stretch of games as the senior scored 20 points for the first time since Feb. 1 as he shot 7-12 from the field and 6-8 from the line while chipping in two steals. Off the bench, the backcourt duo of
Maalik Leitch and
Lucas Brown Jr. each scored 11 points as they were vital for head coach
Mike Helfer's squad.
Both teams were trading baskets as VSU held a slight 10-8 edge with 17:10 left in the first half until back to back three pointers from UU's Parker Applegate followed by a triple from Jackson gave the Bulldogs a 17-10 lead.
Ethan Pires would come back with a three of his own followed by a layup from Williams as Union led 17-15 with 15:10 left in the first half. Valdosta State hopped out to a 28-24 lead after a triple by Leitch and a layup from
JC Clausi put them up with 11:05 left. The hot shooting Bulldogs continued to pour it on as three pointers from CJ Jackson and Victor Isaiah regave them the lead at 34-32. The run continued as it finished on a 14-2 run as UU was up 43-34 with just under six minutes remaining. Three straight baskets from Hart cut the deficit to six before another jumper from Jackson brought it back to eight with three minutes remaining. The duo of Leitch and Brown Jr. took turns trading baskets as they cut the lead to one before a bucket from Jackson brought it up to five with a layup from
Carlos Hart with two seconds left sent the Blazers to the locker room trailing 52-49.
A layup inside from
Drew Mills was quickly negated by a three pointer from Parker Applegate followed by another jumper from Jackson that made it 57-54 with 18:09 left. The Blazers would then explode for 20 consecutive points over a 4:04 stretch that gave them a 74-57 lead with 14:05 left in the game. It was smooth sailing the rest of the way as Union couldn't get in any closer than five as VSU left UU excited about a 106-100 win.
The No. 9 Blazers return to Titletown for two more home games versus Auburn Montgomery on Thursday, Feb. 27 at 8 p.m. before hosting Montevallo for senior night on Saturday, Mar. 1 at 4 p.m.
