VALDOSTA, Ga. – Trailing by ten points at 82-72, 7:30 to play in regulation, the Valdosta State men's basketball team rallied for a 113-104 overtime victory over visiting Trevecca Nazarene Saturday afternoon at The Complex.  Valdosta State head coach Mike Helfer won his 400^th game at VSU with the victory.
 
In the overtime session, the Blazers came out with a renewed vigor as senior Lucas Brown Jr. drained a huge triple to open the scoring for the extra-session and a 99-96 lead.  A foul and two free throws from junior Blaise Wallace pushed the lead to 101-96 with 3:16 to play, before the Trojans got on the board with a bucket from Jax Abernathy for a 101-98 score.  Wallace went 1 of 2 at the line and then junior Samarion Bond buried a corner pocket triple for a 105-98 lead with 1:10 to go.  Senior Peter McKey went 4 of 4 at the line in the final minute and Bond scored an emphatic dunk to end the game as VSU outscored TNU 17-8 in the overtime for the win in front of a season-high 1,601 fans.  It was VSU's ninth game of scoring over 100 points this season.  
 
Abernathy hit two free throws for TNU for a 92-90 score with 2:28 to play and his 28^th point of the game.  Leitch, once again, tied the game at 92 out of a timeout.  Wallace scored on a layup with 33 seconds remaining tying the game at 96 and Abernathy missed a jumper at the buzzer sending for overtime.  It was VSU's second overtime game in the last three contests.  
 
The Trojans pushed the lead to as many as ten on a layup from Abernathy with 7:30 to play at 82-72, but the Blazers wouldn't quit, as Leitch scored Bond scored for an 82-76 deficit.  Two good layups Wallace pulled the Blazers within 88-86 with 3:36 to play and two free throws from junior Lucas Brown tied the game at 90 with 2:44 remaining, before the final heroics.  
 
Helfer, who is in his 21^st season at the helm of the Blazers, improved to 400-206 and became just the second coach at VSU to win 400 games in his career as former Blazer head coach James Dominey finished 436-343 in 29 seasons.  Helfer is 586-289 all-time in 29 seasons of coaching between VSU and Southern Poly Technical College.  
 
The Blazers improved to 14-8 overall and 9-7 in Gulf South Conference play winning its third-straight and avenging a disappointing loss at Trevecca Nazarene back in December in the first meeting this season between the two teams.
 
McKey scored a career-high 33 points on 10 of 17 from the field, 4 of 8 from deep and a perfect 9 of 9 from the line leading five players in double figures.  Bond finished with 21 points on 7 of 14 from the field, while he was 3 of 5 from deep and 4 of 5 from the line.  Senior Maalik Leitch scored 21 points off the bench on 8 of 14 from the field, while he was 1 of 6 from deep and 4 of 4 from the line.  Wallace finished with 19 points and a VSU career-high 15 rebounds, while Brown had 11 points and one made 3-pointer coming in the overtime session.  It was Wallace's team-leading tenth double-double of the season and the sixth in a row.   
 
The Blazers shot 48.1 percent for the game on 38 of 79, while they were 9 of 30 from deep and 28 of 33 from the line.  TNU shot 44.4 percent on 36 of 81 from the field, 9 of 25 from deep, but was 23 of 36 from the stripe as one of the key differences in the game.  VSU held a 22-5 advantage in points off turnovers which also was a key in the contest which saw a total of 15 ties and eight lead changes. 
 
TNU (14-8, 9-7 GSC) had a team-high 30 points from Abernathy on 10 of 20 from the field, 2 of 6 from deep and 8 of 12 from the line leading five players in double figures.  Fred Bailey and Jeremy Jackson, Jr., each had double-doubles.  
 
The Blazers played the final 16 minutes and change without leading scorer in senior Drew Mills who was saddled with foul trouble early and the was issued a technical foul for his fifth foul with 15:52 to play.  Mills played just nine minutes in the contest and scored five points, but credit the Blazers for digging deep as other players stepped up to secure the thrilling victory.
 
Early in the second half, TNU built the lead to as many as five at 58-53 with 15:52 to play, but a triple from McKey tied the game at 61 with 13:28 remaining in the second half.  TNU answered right back beginning a 21-11 run for the ten-point cushion with 7:30 to play.  
 
In the first half, Trevecca Nazarene broke a 15-15 score with an 11-5 run for a 26-20 lead with 9:40 remaining in the opening frame.  Senior Maalik Leitch pulled VSU within 26-25 with 8:55 remaining in the half on a 3-pointer for his ninth point of the early going.  The Trojans stretched the lead back to out as many as nine on a steal and layup from Fred Bailey with 3:40 to play in the half at 42-33.  VSU wouldn't sweat, however, as it clawed its way back finishing the half on an 11-3 run for a 45-44 deficit at the break.  
 
The Blazers return to the road as they travel to Mississippi for an 8:30 p.m. ET matchup at Delta State on Thursday, followed by a 5:30 p.m. ET Valentine's Day showdown at Mississippi College next Saturday.