VALDOSTA, Ga. – With momentum on their side after an impressive Senior Day victory, the Valdosta State men's basketball team will hit the road for a pivotal Gulf South Conference road trip in Alabama to close out the regular season. The Blazers travel to face Auburn Montgomery on Wednesday, Feb. 25 at 8:30 p.m. ET, before wrapping up the regular season at Montevallo on Friday, Feb. 27 at 8:30 p.m. ET.

The games will be broadcast on 94.3 WJEM FM and www.foxsportsvaldosta.com with Jaylan Scott having the call of the games.  The livestream will be broadcast on FloCollege. 

Valdosta State (17-9, 12-8 GSC) is coming off one of its most complete performances of the season, a 93-79 victory over Union in the final home game of the year. The Blazers used a decisive 33-10 second-half run to pull away, finishing 16-of-39 from three-point range — the second-most made threes in a game this season — while placing four players in double figures.

Senior Drew Mills led the way with 21 points on 10-of-18 shooting, while senior Ethan Pires made his first career start and poured in 20 points on 7-of-9 shooting, including 6-of-8 from beyond the arc. Junior Blaise Wallace added 13 points, senior Lucas Brown Jr. chipped in 11, and senior Maalik Leitch controlled the glass with a career-high 14 rebounds. The Blazers shot 45.7 percent from the field overall and showcased balanced scoring and depth heading into the final week of conference play.

The first stop of the road trip brings VSU to Montgomery to take on Auburn Montgomery (5-21, 3-17 GSC). The Warhawks are coming off a 103-65 loss to West Alabama, the newly crowned GSC regular season champions and the No. 13 team in the latest NABC Division II national poll.

Despite the setback, Auburn Montgomery has shown individual scoring firepower. Elhadji Thiam erupted for a season-high 30 points in the loss, while Ti'Avian Scruggs added 13 points, six rebounds, two assists and a block. Jamarious Martin also contributed 12 points. The Warhawks scored 30 points in the paint in that contest but struggled to contain West Alabama's offensive surge.

For Valdosta State, defensive consistency and perimeter shooting will be key. The Blazers' ability to stretch the floor — as evidenced by their 16 made threes against Union — could prove critical against an AUM squad that has battled to slow opposing offenses throughout conference play.

The Blazers posted a 110-80 win over AUM on Jan. 17 in Valdosta in the first matchup between the two teams this season.  Mills scored 31 points and 11 rebounds leading five players in double figures as the Blazer bench outscored AUM 45-10.  VSU shot 56.1 percent for the game and held the Warhawks to just 40.9 percent.  Wallace narrowly missed a double-double with 19 points and nine rebounds. VSU is 17-2 all-time against AUM and has won four-straight in the series.  The Blazers are 8-1 against AUM in Montgomery, Ala., with the lone loss coming on Feb. 10, 2022, in a 72-59 setback. VSU has scored over 100 points in four of the last six meetings in the series and the last two. 

Nationally speaking, the Blazers are fourth nationally in scoring offense at 93.1 points per game, while they are tenth nationally in offensive rebounds per game (14.81), 14th in bench points per game (33.78), 19th in turnover margin (3.9), 30th in steals per game (9.2), 31st in turnovers forced per game at a 15.85 clip, 44th in free throws made per game (17.0) and 48th in assists per game (16.0), which all lead the GSC.  VSU is second in the league and 19th nationally in rebounds per game at a 40.07 clip, while the team is second in the league in free throw attempts per game (22.6). 

Individually, Mills is second in the league in scoring at 18.4 points per game, while he leads the league in total points with 496 for 39th nationally.  Mills is second in the GSC in field goals made (191), fourth in field goal percentage (.520) and third in field goals attempted (367).  He is 98 of 130 from the line for the season.  Wallace is second in the GSC in double-doubles with 13 for tenth nationally.  He is third in the GSC in total rebounds (249) for 17th nationally, while he is fourth in the league in rebounding at 9.2 per game for 23rd nationally. 

The regular season finale presents another tough road test as the Blazers travel to face Montevallo (19-7, 15-5 GSC), one of the league's top teams. The Falcons recently earned an 84-60 road victory over a tough UAH squad, shooting 47.6 percent from the field and an impressive 15-of-32 from three-point range. Montevallo opened the second half of that contest on a dominant 16-0 run and maintained a double-digit cushion the rest of the way.

Brandon Fussell led the Falcons with 19 points and eight assists, while Bryant James added 18 points — including 6-of-8 from deep — along with six rebounds. Jaylen Curry (15 points) and Derek Moore (13 points) also reached double figures. Montevallo has been efficient offensively, recording 18 assists against just nine turnovers in its latest outing.

The matchup will likely come down to perimeter play and rebounding. Montevallo has proven capable of heating up quickly from beyond the arc, while VSU has demonstrated similar long-range efficiency in recent games. Controlling tempo and limiting second-chance opportunities will be critical for the Blazers against one of the conference's top contenders.

VSU pulled off a huge win in the first meeting between the two teams in Valdosta with a thrilling 101-83 win on Jan. 15.  In that game, Mills also scored 31 points, while Brown, Jr., had 28 off the bench.  Mills went 14 of 19 from the field in the game.  VSU shot an even 50 percent for the contest and went 11 of 30 from distance, while going 20 of 23 from the line.  UM was led by 22 points from Derek Moore, while Jaylen Curry had a double-double with 19 points and 11 rebounds.  VSU held UM to 45.2 percent shooting, while the Falcons were 11 of 30 from deep and 16 of 21 from the line.  VSU had just eight miscues in the game and held a 22-5 advantage in points off turnovers forcing the Falcons into 16 miscues.  

VSU has won 13 of the last 19 in the series and the last two meetings.  VSU has won 6 of the last nine in Montevallo, Ala., and three-straight there dating back to a 79-73 UM win on Feb. 12, 2022. 

Heading into the final week, the Blazers currently are fifth in the league standings tied with Trevecca Nazarene each at 12-8.  Montevallo is second at 15-5, while AUM has been eliminated from postseason consideration at 3-17.  VSU and TNU sit 1.5 games behind UAH in the standings for the coveted fourth spot and two full games behind West Florida for third. The top four seeds will host the quarterfinal round of the Gulf South Conference Championship beginning Mar. 2 on campus sites.