LIVINGSTON, Ala. – The Valdosta State men’s basketball team dropped a 82-72 decision at No. 24 West Alabama Thursday evening. With the loss, the Blazers fell to 18-11 overall and 14-9 in Gulf South Conference play while West Alabama improved to 22-5 overall and 18-5 in conference play.
VSU was led by 13 points from junior Jay Rucker as he was 5 of 7 from the field, 1 of 3 from distance and 2 of 2 from the line, leading four total players in double figures. Senior Mohamed Fofana chipped in 12 points and a team-high seven rebounds while graduate student Ryan Black and redshirt senior Cam Hamilton tacked on 11 points each. Also of note, senior Jacolbey Owens tied the VSU record for assists in a season, having six in Thursday’s matchup, for a total of 183 equaling Herman Burge’s mark of 183 in 2006-07.
West Alabama was led in scoring by Thaddeus Williams with 24 points on 9 of 14 from the field, 4 of 5 from deep and 2 of 4 at the stripe. Three other Tigers were in double figures with Shardarrion Allen tacking on 22 points, Terry Durham chipping in 12 and Kuran Garner scoring 11. Terry also had a game-high in rebounds, pulling down 11. The Tigers held a slight rebounding advantage in the game, 36-32, and outscored the Blazers in points off of turnovers, 28-17.
The Tigers jumped out to an 8-2 lead to begin the game with 16:58 remaining in the half. The Blazers continued to fight back into the game behind a three-pointer and mid-range jumper from Rucker to bring the game within two, 12-10, with 14:11 remaining. UWA went on a 10-2 run to go up 22-12 at the 9:11 mark. Despite the Blazers fighting back again and again in the half, the Tigers continued to build on their lead and ended up outscoring the Blazers, 43-33 at the half.
UWA opened the second half on a 7-2 run to stretch the lead to 15 at 50-35 with 17:32 left to play. However, the Blazers kept fighting and brought the game back within three after a jumper from Owens made the score 50-47 with 13:34 left to play. The Tigers then used a 14-0 spurt for a 64-47 lead with 9:24 remaining in the half. VSU fought to try to get back in the game but came up short by the final buzzer, falling to the Tigers, 82-72.
Valdosta State continues its road trip on Saturday, Feb. 25 as the Blazers will face Alabama Huntsville at 5 p.m. ET to conclude the 2022-23 regular season.