VALDOSTA, Ga. – Deontaye Ewing sank the game winning layup on a fast break in the final three seconds following a defensive stand by West Alabama to lift the Tigers to an 80-78 overtime victory over Valdosta State in Gulf South Conference Men's Basketball action Monday.  

West Alabama improves to 9-7 overall and 5-5 in the GSC. Valdosta State drops its fourth overtime loss of the season as it falls to 10-5 and 6-4.

With 26 seconds left to play, VSU set up its final possession with the score tied at 78-78. Josh Lemmons missed on his layup with nine seconds left to play and with an Acie Vance rebound the Tigers took the lead with three second left. Out of timeouts, the Blazers set up one last heave with a Chris Bilbo 3-point attempt, but the shot rolled around and out of the net to leave the Tigers victorious.

"This was a gutsy effort from our guys to stay in it," said UWA head coach Allen Sharpe. "We could have gone down in the second half, but we found our stride and stuck with it. We were even one free-throw away from winning this thing in regulation."

Ewing was one of five Tigers to post double-digit scoring marks, as he finished with 16 points, hitting seven of his 14 field goal attempts. Jahmal Lane and Simeon Dennis both came off the bench to post 15 points and 12 points respectively. Jake Jobling followed with 11 points and Dakari Mayo with 10. Of the 12 Tigers that saw action, all but two contributed points.

Four Blazers finished in double-digits, led by Chris Bilbo with 18, shooting 6-of-9 from the field and 3-of-4 from the 3-point line. Saadiq Muhammad, who led the team with 10 points in the first half, finished with 17. Blake Justice and Josh Lemons followed with 16 and 15 points respectively.

The Tigers finished shooting 31-of-60 from the field (51 percent), 5-of-17 (29 percent) from behind the 3-points line and 13-of-23 (56 percent) from the free-throw line. Valdosta State went 26-of-54 (48 percent) field goal shooting, 9-of-22 (40 percent) from behind the arc and 17-of-26 (65 percent) at the charity stripe.

Five lead changes defined the second half, all coming in the final seven minutes. With the scored tied five times in the half, both teams had a chance to take one last lead in the final minute of regulation with the score tied at 70-70.

The UWA defense forced a shot clock violation by VSU to get a chance to win the game with a final possession and 24 seconds left on the clock. With Acie Vance's missed jumper and a missed last second heave by the Blazers as time expired, both teams remained tied at 70.  

UWA led for 15 of the first half minutes, but a nine point run in the final three minutes lifted the Blazers to a 36-31 lead at the break.

Foul trouble forced the Tigers to stretch beyond their usual rotation, with 12 guys seeing action in the first half; nine of whom tallied points. West Alabama led the personal foul count 15-10.

Both teams opened the game hitting half of their shots from the field, but the Blazers held the advantage at the free-throw, hitting 10-of-15. The Tigers sank four of its seven free-throw attempts in the first half.

West Alabama men's hoops remain on the road to take on West Georgia in the third of a five game road swing on Saturday. Tip-off is set for 3 p.m. (C.S.T.) in Valdosta, Ga.