VALDOSTA, Ga. — Behind six players in double figures and a 60 percent shooting performance in the second half, the Valdosta State men's basketball team posted a 103-80 victory over visiting Delta State Saturday afternoon as VSU ran its winning streak to five games.
The Blazers had a game-high 21 points from senior Clay Guillozet as he was 8 of 13 from the field with one triple and pulled down seven rebounds, while going 4 of 7 from the line. Senior Bryce Smith chipped in 19 points and a team-high eight rebounds. He went 8 of 16 from the field with two treys. Junior DeMarcus Addie had his best outing as a Blazer with 17 points on 6 of 10 from the field and four triples for the game to lead the team from range. Junior Burke Putnam had another strong outing with 16 points on 6 of 10 shooting with three treys, while sophomore Imoras Agee added ten points and sophomore Cam Hamilton added ten off the bench.
As a team, the Blazers shot 52.5 percent for the game on 42 of 80 from the floor, while going 12 of 25 from beyond the arc and 7 of 10 from the line, improving to 12-3 on the year and 6-2 in Gulf South Conference play.
DSU (7-8, 3-4 GSC) shot 48.5 percent and was just 6 of 31 from range, while going 8 of 11 from the line. Four Statesmen were in double figures led by a double-double from Airen Brooks with 14 points and 11 rebounds. Anderson McCoy had a team-high 19 points on 7 of 10 from the field and two treys. VSU held an 18-5 lead in points off turnovers as the Blazers forced 16 miscues by the Statesmen.
The Blazers came out of the gates in the second half on fire as they quickly pushed the lead to 22 capped with the "hoop and harm" from junior Burke Putnam, who finished with 16 points on 6 of 10 shooting and thee treys, for a 61-38 lead with 15:42 left and a 13-2 run.
DSU cut into the deficit and pulled within 62-48 capped on a layup from Maalik Cartwright with 13:53 left and a 10-1 run. VSU pushed the lead back out to 18-20 points and the Statesmen cut it back to 14, once again, with a fast break layup from Brooks for a 76-62 score with 9:08 left.
From there, VSU turned on the burners and blew the game wide open with a 25-7 run over the next six minutes for a 101-69 lead with 2:27 left for the largest lead of the game.
The win gave VSU its 25th all-time victory versus DSU as it improved to 25-24 all-time. Prior to Saturday, DSU had won four of the last six and six of the last ten in the series.
The Blazers return to action at West Georgia and Shorter next week, before returning home to host Auburn Montgomery for the Hall of Fame Weekend on Jan. 25, 2020, at 4 p.m., in The Complex.
The Valdosta State women's basketball team led by as many as seven points in the third quarter, but was unable to hang on as Delta State posted a 66-59 victory Saturday afternoon at The Complex.
VSU fell to 12-4 and 4-4 in Gulf South Conference play, while DSU improved to 13-1 and 6-1 in league play as it won its ninth-straight game.
The Lady Blazers led by seven on multiple occasions in the game, and held a 42-35 lead capped with a triple from senior Cheray Saunders with 5:05 left in the third quarter. DSU responded with a 17-1 run over the next 7:51 of game time for a 52-43 lead with 8:34 left in the contest. A triple by junior Kayla Bonilla, who led the Lady Blazers with 16 points and four triples, ended the run.
VSU junior Delaney Bernard hit a big triple, pulling VSU within four at 63-59 with 1:29 left, but a layup from Zyaire Ewing on the ensuing possession pushed the lead to six. Ewing made a free throw late for the 66-59 margin as the bucket from Bernard was the last point for the Lady Blazers in the contest.
Bonilla was 6 of 15 from the field and 4 of 9 from range, while gathering six rebounds and dishing out three assists with one steal. Saunders finished with 14 points on 5 of 17 from the field, two triples and a team-high eight rebounds, while Bernard had 14 points off the bench, highlighted by four treys. VSU shot 40 percent for the game on 22 of 55, while going 10 of 23 from range and 5 of 9 from the line.
DSU was led by a game-high 23 points from Nia Johnson as she was 7 of 15 from the field and 9 of 11 from the line. Ewing scored 20 points and pulled down nine rebounds on 7 of 18 from the field and 6 of 8 from the line. Quantsha Patterson added 10 points and six rebounds. The Lady Statesmen shot 40.7 percent for the game on 24 of 59, while going 1 of 8 from beyond the arc -all in the first half and 17 of 22 from the line. The free throw shooting discrepancy proved to be a big difference in the game. DSU held a 39-33 lead in rebounding and a 14-9 lead on the offensive end.
The Lady Blazers got off to a great start in the game, erasing the bad memories of the tough shooting night on Thursday against Mississippi College. VSU went 8 of 15 from the field and 3 of 4 from range in the first quarter for a 26-16 lead, and led by four at halftime at 32-28. VSU shot 13 of 28 from the field for the half, while going 5 of 9 from beyond the arc and just 1 of 2 from the line.
The VSU "D" held the high-powered Lady Statesmen offense to 10 of 30 from beyond the arc, while DSU was 1 of 8 from range and 7 of 9 from the line. The Lady Blazers and DSU were tied in rebounding, each with 18 as DSU entered averaging nearly 50 rebounds per game.
In the third quarter, DSU used a 6-2 run to begin the frame, but Bernard had the answer with a trey beginning an 8-2 run by the Lady Blazers for the 42-35 lead. With 1:43 left in the quarter T'Kyra Hicks scored the "and one" for the first DSU lead since the early moments of the game at 44-43. Ewing hit two free throws moments later for a 46-43 lead as the Lady Statesmen closed the frame on an 11-1 run.
DSU built the lead to as many as nine midway through the fourth, but the Lady Blazers wouldn't go quietly as they mounted the comeback to cut it to four with Bernard's trey with 1:29 left.
The Lady Blazers return to action at West Georgia and Shorter next week, before returning home to host Auburn Montgomery for the Hall of Fame Weekend on Jan. 25, 2020, at 2 p.m., in The Complex.
