VALDOSTA — The Valdosta State men’s basketball team opens play in the Gulf South Conference at home for the first time in the 2023-24 season this weekend at The Complex. The Blazers will first host Delta State on Friday, Dec. 1 at 8 p.m. before taking on Mississippi College on Sunday, Dec. 3 at 4 p.m.
Those who have purchased tickets to the Valdosta State versus Lenoir-Rhyne national semifinal football game can attend both doubleheaders for free.
The Blazers enter the weekend with a 4-2 record overall with a 1-1 mark in the GSC following a 78-62 road win at Shorter Monday night. In that game, the Blazers had four players in double-digit scoring led by graduate student JC Clausi, who had a career-high 18 points.
Valdosta State did an excellent job on the glass, out-rebounding the Hawks, 37-22, with senior Lee Flenor leading the contest in the category with 8 total rebounds. Valdosta State shot 58.2 percent for the game and went 7 of 19 from three-point range, while going 7 of 12 from the line. The Blazers held the Hawks to just 35.7% from the field on 20 of 56 while going 5 of 24 from distance and 17 of 23 from the charity stripe.
Last Saturday, the Blazers opened conference play at Lee as the Blazers trailed 42-28 at halftime but gave a hard-fought second half effort that fell just short as Lee secured the 87-73 victory.
Four Blazers were in double figures with Junior Caden Boser leading the offensive charge with 21 points while also tacking on a double-double with 10 rebounds. Turnovers proved to be a big factor in the matchup as VSU totaled 17 turnovers which Lee ended up scoring 26 points off.
For the season, Caden Boser leads the team averaging 15.2 points per game and is fourth on the team in rebounding at 5.8 per game. Boser is 30 of 55 from the field, a team-best 18 of 23 from the line and leads the team in three-point shooting, 13 of 30 (.433).
Flenor is second in scoring at 10.5 points per game and he is 25 of 43 from the field (.581). Senior Mike Isler leads the team averaging 7.8 rebounds per game, while he is second on the team from the free-throw line, going 14 of 23 from the stripe. Meanwhile, graduate student Jay Rucker averages 1.2 blocks a game and is third on the team in rebounding with 6.3 rebounds a game.
As a squad, the Blazers are shooting at a .488 clip on 183 of 373 from the field, while the team is 49 of 139 from deep (.353) and 91 of 145 from the line for a .628 clip. VSU is averaging 84 points per game and 43.8 rebounds per game this season.
Defensively, the team is holding teams to a .435 clip from the field on 173 of 398, while the opponents are 39 of 147 from deep (.265) and 82 of 119 from the line (.689). VSU is allowing just 32.7 rebounds per game and have an 11.1 advantage in rebounding margin. Head coach Mike Helfer is 353-177 in his 19th year at VSU.
Delta State enters with a 4-1 record overall and a 2-0 mark in GSC play after a major 86-66 victory on Monday versus Union. The Statesmen are under the direction of fifth-year head coach Mike Nienaber, who is 36-65 at DSU and 630-572 in 41 years of coaching. He is 0-6 against Valdosta State.
The Statesmen are led in scoring by Maalik Cartwright who leads the team averaging 22.6 points per game. He is 42 of 69 from the field (.609) and 2 of 7 from distance, while going 27 of 45 from the line. Keithean Brooks is second in scoring at 19.6 points per game and second in rebounding at 4.4 per contest. Brooks is 33 of 71 from the field (.465) and 12 of 32 from distance (.375).
Cartwright also leads the team in rebounds, averaging 9.4 rebounds per game this season. As a team, the Statesmen are shooting .464 from the field on 148 of 319, while the team is 48 of 136 from beyond the arc (.353) and 84 of 120 from the line. DSU is averaging 85.6 points per game and 31.2 rebounds per game.
VSU leads the all-time series with DSU 28-24, with the Blazers winning the last six contests in the series while going 7-3 in the last 10 matchups. VSU is 19-5 against the Statesmen in Valdosta and has not lost to Delta State at The Complex since Feb. 7, 2015.
Mississippi College enters the week with a 2-3 record overall and a 1-1 mark in GSC play. The Choctaws will play at West Florida on Friday evening, before heading over to Valdosta for Sunday’s matchup. MC lost in a close 66-60 contest to Christian Brothers on Monday, marking its third loss of the season.
This season, the Choctaws are shooting at a .435 clip on 114 of 262 from the field, while they are 30 of 88 from beyond the arc (.341) and 59 of 91 from the line (.648). MC is averaging 63.4 points per game and pulling down 24.8 rebounds per game.
The team is allowing 65.4 points per game as teams are shooting at a .474 clip on 119 of 251, while MC is holding the opposition to a .375 clip from distance on just 27 of 72 and 62 of 98 on free throw attempts (.633).
Individually, Rashad Bolden leads the team averaging 25.4 points per game on 41 of 94 from the field (.436) while also leading the team in three-point shooting on 11 of 24 from range (.458). Cam Brown is second in scoring at 10.4 points per game. Eric Fleming leads the team in rebounding, pulling down 5.4 rebounds per game while also leading the team in field goal percentage, shooting 16 of 23 from the floor (.696).
VSU leads the all-time series with MC 22-19 since 1983 and has lost two-straight in the series. The Blazers fell in both meetings last season but hold an 8-2 advantage over the last 10 matchups. The Blazers are 15-6 against the Choctaws when hosting them at the Complex.