Men’s Hoops Preview – at UWG, VSU

Thursday, Feb. 20 at West Georgia, 6:30 p.m. CST
Saturday, Feb. 22 at #12/#11 Valdosta State, 3 p.m. CST

WHERE
Thursday's contest against the University of West Georgia will take place in Carrollton, Georgia at The Coliseum. Saturday's matchup at Valdosta State University will take place in Valdosta, Georgia at The Complex.

LINKS VS UWG
Audio (ESPN 104.9) | Video | Stats

LINKS VS VSU
Video | Stats

WEST ALABAMA
The Tigers are 19-6 overall, 12-5 in the Gulf South Conference heading into the week and currently on a four game slide. The team defended home court well last week with a 71-69 win over Christian Brothers last Thursday night and a 76-59 victory over Union last Saturday. UWA is 5-3 away from Pruitt Hall this season.

WEST GEORGIA
The Wolves are 6-18 on the season, 4-12 in league competition and have lost four straight contests. Last Thursday, West Georgia fell on the road 84-78 to Lee. The team hosted Alabama Huntsville Saturday and suffered an 87-76 home loss. UWG is 1-10 at home this season.

VALDOSTA STATE
The Blazers enter the weekend 20-3 as the season winds down, 14-2 in the GSC and have won 13 straight games. As winning streaks need wins to stay alive, the team swept the Mississippi swing with a road win at Mississippi College last Thursday 79-63 and a Saturday victory against Delta State 72-67. VSU will host Montevallo this Thursday before the Tigers come to town and is 11-1 at home. The Blazers are ranked 12th in the NABC poll and 11th in the D2SIDA poll.

COACHES
Allen Sharpe is 101-69 (.594) in his sixth season at West Alabama, 377-166 (.694) in 18 seasons as a collegiate head coach. Dave Moore is 22-30 (.434) in his second season at West Georgia and as a collegiate head coach. Mike Helfer is 285-140 in 15 seasons at Valdosta State, 471-223 in 23 seasons as a head coach.

UWG STAT LEADERS
Scoring: Seth Brown-Carter, 16.5
               Kadeim Brown-Carter, 15.4
               Oronte' Anderson, 11.7
Rebounding: Michael Zabetakis, 5.4
Assists: Oronte' Anderson, 5.6
FG% (Min. 5 FGA pg): Seth Brown-Carter, .502 (144-287)
3FG% (Min 2 FGA pg): Seth Brown-Carter, .376 (50-133)
FT% (Min. 3 FTA pg): Kadeim Jones, .821 (78-95)

VSU STAT LEADERS
Scoring: Darrell Jones, 15.8
               Clay Guillozet, 15.5
               Bryce Smith, 15.1
               Imoras Agee, 11.9
               Burke Putnam, 10.3
Rebounding: Clay Guillozet, 8.6
Assists: Clay Guillozet, 3.7
FG% (Min. 5 FGA pg): Burke Putnam, .543 (82-151)
3FG% (Min 2 FGA pg): Cam Hamilton, .422 (38-90)
FT% (Min. 5 FTA pg): Darrell Jones, .811 (77-95)

UWA STAT LEADERS
Scoring: LaJuan Hardy, 14.3
              Darron Johnson, 13.0
              Ricky Dunnaway, 12.8
Rebounding: Mike Davis, 7.2
Assists: LaJuan Hardy, 5.5
FG% (Min. 5 FGA pg): Mike Davis, .579 (84-145)
3FG% (Min 2 FGA pg): LaJuan Hardy, .404 (57-141)
FT% (Min. 3 FTA pg): Ricky Dunnaway, .771 (54-70)

TIGER GSC HONORS THIS SEASON
LaJuan Hardy, GSC Co-Player of the Week, Dec. 3

IN THE RANKINGS
West Alabama is ranked sixth in the initial NCAA South Region Rankings. Valdosta State also appears in the rankings at fourth.
1          Florida Southern
2          Nova Southeastern
3          Lee
4          Valdosta State
5          Palm Beach Atlantic
6          West Alabama
7          Barry
8          Embry-Riddle (Florida)
9          Alabama Huntsville
10        Miles

NEW OPPONENT, WHO DIS?
For the first time this month, the Tigers are playing a new opponent when the team travels to West Georgia Thursday. Since Jan. 23, UWA played the exact same opponents in reverse order in terms of weekends on the schedule. West Alabama went 9-3 during the stretch of games.

DON'T BE FOOLED
While the season record doesn't look great for West Georgia, the team is filled with guys who can score well. Leading scorer Seth Brown-Carter has been especially hot lately as he's averaged 22.8 per game on 50.6 percent (40-of-79) during the stretch of games. Kadiem Jones and Kovi Tate (who hasn't played since Jan. 18) also average double figures for a team that scores 77.2 points a night.

THEY ALL GET BUCKETS
Every starter for Valdosta State averages double-digit points, three of which who average over 15 points a night in Darrell Jones (15.8), Clay Guillozet (15.5) and Bryce Smith (15.1). However, the starting five of Jones, Guillozet and Smith along with Imoras Agee and Burke Putnam have only one game where they all reached double digits in the same game which was a Feb. 8 win against West Georgia, 105-83.

GOING FOR HISTORY
The next win for UWA if it comes will be a historic one for the men's basketball program. It will mark the first time the team has won 20 games in back to back seasons. The team has already set a mark by winning at least 19 games for the third consecutive season. West Alabama has already won double-digit GSC games for third straight year which is also a new high mark.

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Players Mentioned

#23 Ricky Dunnaway: F; 6' 8"; Senior

#1 LaJuan Hardy: G; 5' 11"; Senior

#11 Darron Johnson: G; 6' 2"; Senior

#0 Mike Davis: F; 6' 7"; Senior

Players Mentioned

#23 Ricky Dunnaway
: 6' 8"; Senior
: F

#1 LaJuan Hardy
: 5' 11"; Senior
: G

#11 Darron Johnson
: 6' 2"; Senior
: G

#0 Mike Davis
: 6' 7"; Senior
: F