VALDOSTA, Ga. – The No. 21 Valdosta State Blazers fought back from down by as many as 17, but came up just short in an 87-86 loss at The Complex against West Georgia, Thursday evening. VSU had four players in double figures, led by 20 points from senior Winston Morgan. UWG's Marquill Smith had a game-high 32 points and six triples.
Trailing by as many as nine early twice in the first ten minutes of the second half, the Blazers (13-4, 6-3 GSC) caught a spark and junior Clay Guillozet began an 8-1 run as he pulled VSU within 61-60 with 12:11 left. UWG (11-5, 6-2 GSC) kept the lead in front of a raucous crowd of 1,841, but back-to-back triples from Morgan gave VSU its first lead since the 16:30 mark of the first half for a 78-77 lead with 3:32 to play.
Smith answered quickly at the other end putting the Wolves back up 79-78 with 2:53 left. With 1:08 left, trailing by three, VSU had a good look at a drive to the bucket, but was called for an illegal screen as UWG stretched the lead back to five with a dunk from Tajah Fraley at the other end. Justice hit a triple to cut it to two at 85-83 with two seconds left and then pulled within one at the buzzer after a pair of made tosses from Aren Ulmer for the final 87-86 margin.
The Blazers shot 49.2 percent in the game on 29 of 59 from the field, while going 10 of 24 from beyond the arc and 18 of 24 from the line. VSU held a 39-32 lead in rebounding, but 17 turnovers proved costly as UWG held a 22-6 lead in points off turnovers. Morgan was 6 of 9 from the field with five triples, while junior Bryce Smith recorded a double-double with 13 points and 11 rebounds. Justice finished with 15 points and senior Desmond DeRamus added 11 points off the bench with a team-high seven assists.
Smith went 11 of 19 from the field for the Wolves and 6 of 9 from range, recording seven rebounds and six assists leading just two players in double figures. Ulmer added 15 points as UWG shot 50 percent for the game, while going 12 of 23 from beyond the arc. One of the best free throw shooting attempt teams in the country went 11 of 20 from the line, but was 0 of 3 in the first half. UWG had just nine miscues on the night and forced ten steals.
In the first half, the Blazers held the early lead, but a 15-5 run by the Wolves capped on a triple by Smith gave UWG a 23-13 lead with 11:46 left in the half. Smith then hit his fourth triple of the frame for a 47-30 advantage with 3:02 left.
The Blazers wouldn't go away quietly as Morgan hit back-to-back treys and senior Greg Zuppas made four free throws down the stretch to pull VSU within 47-40.
VSU will look to end its season-long two-game skid Saturday as it welcomes Shorter to The Complex for a 4 p.m. tip. Fans can access links to live stats, audio/video streaming, ticket information and more on vstateblazers.com on the men's basketball schedule page. The game also will be broadcast on 92.1 WDDQ with Mike Chason and Spencer Van Horn having the call.
