Valdosta State University Athletics issued the following announcement on Jan. 15.
A 16-3 run to begin the second half sparked the Valdosta State men's basketball team to an 87-70 come-from-behind victory Saturday afternoon against Mississippi College. VSU trailed by as many as 13 early in the game and improved to 9-7 overall and 5-4 in Gulf South Conference play, while the Choctaws fell to 4-10 overall and 2-6 in league play.
VSU won its ninth-straight game in the series against MC as the Blazers finished 30 of 60 from the field and 11 of 21 from downtown, while going 16 of 23 from the line. Five Blazers finished in double figures as junior Jacolbey Owens had 12 points and 11 assists with five rebounds for his first double-double of the season and first of his VSU career. His 11 assists were good for a VSU career-high and the most by a Blazer individually this season. Junior Cam Hamilton had a team-high 18 points on 6 of 13 from the field and 4 of 7 from range, while going 2 of 2 from the line. He narrowly missed a double-double with nine rebounds. Junior Mike Cole finished with 16 points and eight rebounds, while junior Mohamed Fofana added 10 points and freshman Ricky Brown chipped in 11 points.
MC was led by 15 points from Lamont Berzat on 5 of 10 from the field and 2 of 6 from range, while he was 3 of 4 from the line. Galen Smith and Tradavis Thompson each had 13 points. Smith finished with a team-high eight rebounds as the Choctaws went 28 of 67 from the field (41.8%), 4 of 21 from deep and 10 of 13 from the line.
The Choctaws opened a 7-3 lead early and built the advantage to 13-5 through the first five minutes of the contest. Berzat extended the lead to 16-7 and then a steal and score in transition pushed the lead to 18-7 with 12 minutes left in the first half as VSU was cold from the field, beginning 2 of 9 from floor. Berzat buried a jumper for a 20-7 lead, but Blazer sophomore Jeremy Golson knocked down a trey for a 20-10 score.
Following a turnover by MC, junior Cam Hamilton buried a triple in transition for a 22-13 deficit with 10 minutes left in the half and then Mohamed Fofana drained one from downtown, pulling the Blazers within 22-16 with 9:44 left and a timeout by the Choctaws. After another turnover on the Choctaws, Hamilton scored on a layup for a 22-18 deficit as VSU extended the run to 8-0. Junior Mike Cole pulled VSU within a bucket at 22-20 with eight minutes left in the half on a nice move inside and a 10-0 run. MC's Galen Smith ended the run with a layup for a 24-20 score and 7:37 remaining in the half.
The Choctaws pushed the lead to eight at 30-22 and a timeout by the Blazers with 4:50 left on a jumper from Smith for his sixth point of the game. Junior Jacolbey Owens was fouled hard in transition and made two free throws for a 30-26 deficit and four minutes left in the first half. At the other end, Berzat nailed a triple, followed by a trey from freshman Ricky Brown at the other end. After a miss by MC, Brown drained his second triple for a 33-32 deficit and 2:35 remaining in the half. An offensive foul on the Choctaws gave VSU the ball back looking for its first lead of the contest.
Smith earned the "and one" with 1:04 left in the half for the Choctaws pushing the lead to 36-32. Owens buried a very contested trey to pull VSU within 36-35 late in the half. VSU got a steal and missed a potential put back at the buzzer.
VSU shot 12 of 33 from the field for 36.4 percent, while it was 7 of 14 from range and 4 of 7 from the line. Brown had a team-high nine points for the half – all from deep. The Choctaws were led by Smith with nine points also as MC was 16 of 33 from the field for 48.5 percent, while it was 3 of 11 from range and 1 of 1 from the line. Both teams had nine turnovers in the half, while VSU held a 22-18 lead in rebounding in a contrasting half as 21 points for the Blazers were from beyond the arc, while MC held a 22-6 lead in points in the paint.
Hamilton scored following an offensive rebound on the first possession of the second half, giving VSU its first lead of the game at 37-36 and Cole then scored on an assist from Owens, followed by a turnover on the Choctaws.
With VSU up 39-36, Brown scored off the glass for a 41-36 lead capitalizing on the miscue and a 6-0 run to start the half. Cole pushed the lead to six at 43-37 and then a steal and layup from sophomore DJ Mitchell gave VSU a 45-37 lead. A transition dunk from junior Maurice Gordon off an assist from Owens for a 47-37 lead with 16:59 left extending the run to 12-1 to begin the second half and a timeout by the Choctaws. MC began the half 0 of 3 from the field, while VSU was 6 of 7 from the floor.
Hamilton kept the hot start to the half going with a trey for his tenth point of the game and a 50-39 lead with just over 15 minutes left in regulation and a 15-3 run to start the half. It was the eighth trey of the game for the Blazers in 15 attempts, while MC was just 3 of 13 from deep to that point. Hamilton then drained a step back three for a 54-41 lead with 12:25 left and then Fofana scored in transition for a 56-41 lead with 12 minutes left, marking the largest lead of the game to that point.
The game remained between an 11-15-point advantage for the Blazers over the next six minutes change, before Hamilton drained his third triple of the game and a 70-56 lead with six minutes left. Mitchell capped the victory with a late trey and a game-high 85-66 lead with just over a minute left. It was the 11th trey of the game for the Blazers as they finished 11 of 21 from downtown. VSU settled for the 87-70 victory.
The Blazers return to the road this coming week at Christian Brothers on Thursday at 8 p.m. ET, followed by a matchup at Union on Saturday, Jan. 22 at 5 p.m. ET. Check back with vstateblazers.com for links to live stats, audio/video streaming and more. Spencer Van Horn will have the call of the games on 92.1 WDDQ FM and www.talk921.com.
Original source can be found here.
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