VALDOSTA, Ga. – The No. 12 Valdosta State men's basketball team had four starters in double figures and five players in double figures as it scored a season-high 66 points in the second half en route to a 105-74 win over Montevallo Thursday evening.
The Blazers won their 14th-straight game and improved to 21-3 overall and 15-2 in Gulf South Conference play, while Montevallo fell to 12-13 and 8-9 in league play. VSU shot a blistering 70.6 percent in the second half on 24 of 34 from the field, 6 of 10 from range and 12 of 14 from the line for the blowout victory.
Senior Darrell Jones had a game-high 19 points and nine rebounds on 7 of 10 from the field with one triple and 4 of 5 from the line, along with three assists and two steals. Junior Burke Putnam scored 18 points, including 8 of 9 from the line and seven assists, while senior Clay Guillozet added 17 points and eight rebounds and sophomore Imoras Agee chipped in 13 points.
VSU shot 53.6 percent for the game on 37 of 69, while going 9 of 20 from beyond the arc and 22 of 26 from the line. Montevallo shot 45.5 percent for the game and it also had a strong second half on 20 of 32 from the field. Free throw shooting was a big factor in the game as Montevallo was just 6 of 12 from the stripe, compared to the Blazers' 22 of 26. Wade Lowman had 15 points to lead the Falcons, while Romario Spence added 13 points and nine rebounds off the bench. Jonas Parker chipped in ten points.
The Blazers used an 8-0 run for a 16-6 lead with 12:07 left in the first half as Montevallo countered back pulling within one at 19-18 on a layup from Spence with 7:27 left. Agee answered at the other end with a trey, beginning an 11-0 run for a 30-18 lead with 3:55 left in the half. Montevallo's TJ Martin buried a trey, but VSU closed the half on a 7-3 run for a 39-24 lead at intermission.
Jones buried his lone trey for a 50-30 lead with 17:31 left in the second half during a 9-0 run. The Blazers built the lead to as many as 27 points though the first ten minutes of the second half and led 67-40 with 12:42 left.
Montevallo pulled within 72-53 with 9:39 left on a trey from Ivan Smith, but the Blazers stretched the lead back out, once again for a game-high 31 points on a steal and dunk from senior Tyler Edwards at 93-62 with 4:01 left.
The Blazers scored more than 100 points for the sixth time this season and the third time in the last five games with the 105-74 victory. VSU hosts West Alabama on Saturday for Senior Day at 4 p.m. at The Complex, as Edwards, Guillozet, Jones and Bryce Smith all will be honored prior to the game. This will be the seniors final regular season home game in a Blazer uniform.
