VALDOSTA, Ga. – Coming off a thrilling 103-100 overtime victory on Saturday versus rival West Florida, the Valdosta State men's basketball team continues at home this week hosting Lee University on Thursday at 8 p.m., and hosting Trevecca Nazarene on Saturday at 4 p.m.

The Blazers (12-8, 7-7 GSC) are looking for redemption in each of these two upcoming games as Lee won the first meeting 87-83 in Cleveland, Tenn., on Dec. 20, while Trevecca Nazarene won 107-71 on Dec. 18, in Nashville, Tenn. VSU has won six of eight dating back to the losses against TNU and Lee along with a loss to Mississippi College to open the 2026 portion of the schedule.

The games will be broadcast on FloCollege with Spencer Van Horn having the call, while the games also will be on the radio on 94.3 WJEM FM Fox Sports Valdosta with Mike Chason providing play-by-play coverage and online at www.foxsportsvaldosta.com.

TNU handed VSU its worse loss of the season with senior Drew Mills leading the way for the red and black with 14 points and nine rebounds as VSU shot just 40.3 percent for the game. The Trojans outscored VSU 66-43 in the second half and shot a staggering 63.6 percent from the field in the half, while they were 12 of 19 from distance for the half alone, while going 18 of 43 from deep for the game. Against Lee, the game saw 14 ties with 11 lead changes in a back-and-forth affair. VSU junior Devon Rainey tied the game with a triple with three minutes to go, but Lee regained the lead immediately and never relinquished it. Mills had a team-high 17 points leading four Blazers in double figures.

Lee holds a slim 12-11 lead in the series dating back to 2013. The Flames have won four of six, but the Blazers won on Dec. 21, 2024, in Valdosta and then won on Feb. 6, 2025, in Cleveland, Tenn., 75-64 to sweep the season series. VSU has won two of the first three meetings in the series with Trevecca. VSU swept the season-series in 2024-25 with a 90-84 win in Valdosta on Dec. 19, 2024, while winning 96-84 in Nashville, Tenn., on Feb. 8, 2025.

Looking at the league standings heading into the final month of the regular season, West Alabama sits atop the league with a 13-2 record, while Montevallo is second at 11-4. West Florida is third at 10-4, while UAH is fourth at 9-6 and Trevecca Nazarene is fifth at 8-6 and the Trojans are 13-7 overall. The Blazers sit one game back of TNU at 7-7 in league play, while Lee is seventh at 7-8 and 10-9 overall. Mississippi College rounds out the top eight at 6-8 in conference play.

This year the conference tournament will be played entirely on campuses. The top eight teams following the completion of the regular season qualify for the conference tournament. The "higher seed" will host throughout with the quarterfinals set for Mar. 2, followed by the semifinals on Mar. 5 and the championship will be Mar. 8. Click here for the GSC Men's Basketball Championship Central webpage.

Mills earned GSC Player of the Week honors for his efforts in the win over West Florida on Saturday. The Baltimore, Md., native, played 40 of 45 minutes in the game as he finished with a career-high 36 points on 15 of 24 from the field, while he was 2 of 3 from deep and 4 of 4 from the line. Mills pulled down eight rebounds and had one assist and one block. The 36 points marked the third time this season of scoring over 30 points and the third time in the last five games. His 15 of 24 from the field (.625) marked a career-best in both field goals made and attempted. The 15 made FG's ties the season-high in the GSC in 2025-26, while his 36 points are third-most in the league and his 24 field goal attempts are tied for second-most in the league this season. It also marked the first time he has played 40 or more minutes in a game in his career. He earned Gulf South Conference Player of the Week honors for the first time this season for his efforts as the win over UWF halted the Argos run of winning ten of their last 11, while the victory gave VSU a 12-8 record overall and a 7-7 mark in GSC play heading into the final month of the regular season.

Against West Florida, it was a tale of two halves during regulation as VSU held the lead for much of the first half, while UWF built a 12-point lead with just over four minutes remaining in the second half. A bucket from Aric Demings put UWF up 81-69 with 4:39 to go, only to see VSU outscore the Argos 20-8 over the rest of regulation, including a clutch game-tying 3-pointer from senior MJ Jones with just over seven seconds left. In overtime, Mills earned the old fashion 3-point play with 1:02 remaining giving VSU a 102-100 lead moments after UWF regained the lead on a 3-pointer from Ryan Payne. Jones made 1 of two free throws for a 103-100 lead in the final seconds and UWF missed a triple from Demings just before the buzzer.

Blazer head coach Mike Helfer is in his 29th year overall of coaching and is 584-289, while he is in his 21st season at VSU and is 398-206 at the helm of the Blazers. This season, the Blazers are fourth nationally in scoring offense at 93.2 points per game to lead the league, while the Blazers are second nationally in fast break points at 20.57 per contest. VSU leads the GSC and is eighth nationally in offensive rebounds per game at a 15.43 clip, while the team is 17th nationally in steals per game at a 10.1 average and 18th in turnover margin at 4.0 per contest, while forcing 16.76 turnovers per game for 21st nationally to lead the league in each area. Overall rebounding, the Blazers are 24th nationally at a 40.24 clip to lead the GSC.

Junior Blaise Wallace is eight nationally and tops in the GSC in double-doubles with ten, while Mills is tops in the league in field goals made (146) for 23rd nationally and second in the league in field goals attempted (280). He is third in the league in field goal percentage at a 52.1 clip. Mills has scored 373 points for the season for second in the league, while Wallace is third in the league in total rebounds (185) and is fifth in rebounds per game at an 8.8 clip.

Lee enters after a 77-51 upset victory over No. 12 West Alabama on Saturday to move to 10-9 on the year and 7-8 in league play. Against UWA, Lee raced out to a 33-19 lead through the first 20 minutes and never looked back for the 26-point win handing the Tigers just their second league loss of the season. Lee shot 53 percent from the field and led the entire way, while holding UWA to just 31.6 percent shooting. This season, four players are in double figures for the Flames led by 13.6 points per

game from Zach Gray as he is 99 of 198 from the field (.500), while he is 33 of 74 from deep and 27 of 39 from the line. Tylon Chatman is second in scoring at 13.4 points per game on 92 of 206 from the field, while he and Willie Walton lead the team from distance each with 35 triples. Walton leads the team averaging 6.1 rebounds per game. Head coach Bubba Smith is 162-105 at Lee in ten seasons and is 354-260 overall in 23 seasons of coaching.

Nationally speaking, Lee is second in the GSC in field goal percentage at a 47.8 clip, while it is third in the league and ninth nationally in 3-point field goal percentage at a 39.5 average. Dayveun Anderson is 13th nationally and tops in the GSC in free throw percentage at a 90.9 clip.

The Trojans enter with a 13-7 record overall and an 8-6 mark in GSC play. Trevecca Nazarene knocked off UAH 78-77 on Saturday and will play at West Florida on Thursday, before heading to Valdosta State for Saturday's matchup. TNU's Jax Abernathy scored with 19 seconds remaining to put it up four at 78-74 and then UAH earned the "and one" at the buzzer. TNU's Da'Shon Fisher had 22 points off the bench in the win, while Jeremy Jackson, Jr., earned his sixth GSC Freshman of the Week honor.

Abernathy leads the team in scoring at 15.2 points per game, while he is 96 of 237 from the field and 29 of 112 from deep for second on the team in made 3-pointers. Abernathy is 82 of 108 from the line (.759). Fred Bailey is second in scoring at 12.7 points per game, while he is 81 of 107 from the line and is second in rebounding at 5.9 per game. Brett Wright leads the team with 58 made 3-pointers for the season, while Jackson, Jr., leads the team in rebounding at 6.6 per contest. Head coach Nate Moran is in his first year at the helm of the Trojans.

Nationally speaking, TNU leads the GSC in free throws attempted per game (23.9), while it is second in league behind VSU in turnovers forced per game at a 15.5 clip. The Trojans are third in the league and 27th nationally in 3-pointers per game at a 9.9 average.