VALDOSTA, Ga. – Behind a school-record 47 points and a Gulf South Conference record 12 made 3-pointers from Valdosta State senior Beau Justice, the Blazers pulled away from a pesky Fort Valley State squad for a 111-98 victory Monday evening for the ninth-straight win to begin the season.
Justice finished the game 16 of 28 from the field and 12 of 22 from beyond the arc, while going 3 of 5 from the line, with six assists, no turnovers and two steals in 35 minutes of play. His 47 points breaks the school-record held by Eddie Brown against Armstrong Atlantic State (1978-79) and John Neal against Troy State (1991-92). Justice's 47 points ties him for 10thall-time in the GSC for points in a game, while it ranks him tied for fifth in points scored in a game this season.
The 12 triples broke the GSC and school-record held by former Blazer Jeremiah Hill against West Alabama during the 2015-16 season. Along with Hill, three other players from the conference also had 11 triples.
VSU junior Darrell Jones had 15 points and eight rebounds, while senior Desmond DeRamus added a double-double with 10 points and a career-high 12 assists. Senior Clay Guillozet added 10 points and seven rebounds.
As a team, the Blazers shot 53.2 percent from the field on 42 of 79, while tying a season-high with 19 made triples in 45 attempts. VSU also had 19 made triples against Brewton-Parker (Nov. 19). Fort Valley State shot 58 percent for the game on 40 of 69, while going 10 of 15 from beyond the arc and 8 of 9 from the line. VSU capitalized on 20 miscues by the Wildcats for a 26-15 lead in points off turnovers, while leading 15-9 in second chance points.
The Wildcats were led by 32 points from Shawn Foxbrennen on 12 of 15 from the field, 4 of 4 from range and 4 of 4 from the line as he narrowly missed a double-double with nine rebounds. Jaylon McMillian added 26 points on 9 of 14 from the field, while going 6 of 8 from beyond the arc. D'Angelo Strickland added 18 points also on 9 of 14 from the field, while Thomas Hardy chipped in 11 points.
The Blazers sweep the season-series with the Wildcats as VSU won the first meeting 94-65 on Nov. 10, in Albany, Ga. The two teams split the season-series a year ago.
The Wildcats led for much of the first ten minutes of action as a triple from senior Keshawn Ingram put VSU up for good at 28-26 with 9:07 left. Prior to that, FVSU led by as many as six at 24-18. From the 12:04 mark to the 3:34 mark in the first half, VSU outscored FVSU 27-6 for a 45-30 lead on a layup from Justice.
Fort Valley State kept chipping away late as it cut the deficit to nine at 53-44 with a late triple from McMillian in the closing seconds.
For the half, VSU shot 21 of 45 for 46.7 percent, while going 8 of 27 from beyond the arc and just 3 of 6 from the line. Justice had 14 points at intermission with two triples and Guillozet added 10 points. FVSU went 18 of 34 from the field, while going 5 of 8 from range and 3 of 3 from the line. Foxbrennen had 14 points for the Wildcats in the opening half.
FVSU cut the deficit to five at 55-50 early in the second half on a bucket from Foxbrennen, but the Blazers stretched the lead back to double digits with a layup from Jones.
Later, three-straight triples by FVSU cut the deficit to seven at 72-65 with 12:12 left, but the ninth and tenth triples from Justice quickly pushed the lead back to double-digits at 78-65 with 11:15 left.
Justice hit his 11thtriple for a 99-77 lead with 6:39 left and buried the clincher with 57 second left for a 110-92 lead, while he broke the scoring record, making one of two technical foul shots for a 111-96 lead with 31 seconds left.
VSU returns to conference play as it travels to Lee and Alabama Huntsville, Saturday and Monday, respectively. Fans can access links to live stats, audio/video streaming and ticket information for the games at vstateblazers.com on the men's basketball schedule page.
Fans, please note due to the national championship game for football in McKinney, Texas, on Saturday on ESPNU at 4 p.m. ET, there will be no radio broadcast of either basketball game this weekend. Please check the VSU website for links to free audio/video from both Lee and Alabama Huntsville for each game.
VSU returns to action at The Complex after the Christmas Holiday on Dec. 30 at 4 p.m. versus Emmanuel College, beginning a three-game homestand.
