Box Score

VALDOSTA, Ga. – Valdosta State held off a second half surge by West Alabama to claim a 93-83 victory in Gulf South Conference basketball action Saturday at The Complex.

Valdosta State (8-1; 2-1 GSC) jumped on an early run, leading by 16 points in the opening 10 minutes. The Blazers maintained a 49-37 lead at the half.

West Alabama (5-5; 2-2) responded with an 18-3 point run in the opening five minutes of the second half. Both teams battled through four lead changes in the second half until VSU finished on a 15-7 point run to keep the Tigers winless on the road.    
 
"You cannot start the way we started and expect to win," UWA head coach Mark Downey said. "We just didn't come ready to play. We have to find a way to get our guys more motivated to play on the road. We also need to work on our maturity. There were many times we ruined our momentum with stupid penalties."

Four Blazers posted double figure scoring marks with Jalen Crawford leading with 25 points. David Murray followed with 12 points and 13 total boards. Larry Stone also finished with 12 points, shooting 8-of-8 from the free-throw line down the stretch.  

Desmond Raymond led the court with 28 points, finishing 5-of-9 from the three-point line in the second half. Lleon Tillman posted his second double-double in second straight start. Tillman ended with 19 points and 10 total rebounds.

Jarrell Byrd and Mychael Bester also tallied double-figure scoring. Byrd totaled 14 points and Bester with 10.

UWA finished with 50 percent shooting from the field, while VSU ended with 47.7 percent. The Blazers recorded 32 bench points and held the Tigers to eight.   

West Alabama will remain on the road to West Florida on Monday.  Tipoff is set for 2 p.m. at the UWF Field House.