LIVINGSTON, Ala. - Terry Durham's perfect night from the floor helped the University of West Alabama men's basketball team defeat Valdosta State University by a final score of 71-55 inside Pruitt Hall on Saturday afternoon.

In an all-around effort, UWA knocked down 47.5% (29-of-61) from the field and right at 50% (16-of-32) in the second half.

VSU's Jay Rucker opened the scoring with a layup inside the first 30 seconds of play.

West Alabama answered with a 9-0 run courtesy of Terry Durham and Jaylen Lemons.  

The Tigers held early control as Durham continued to work the paint on a fast break layup, followed by a pair of charity stripe hits by Maurice Dickson to give UWA the 13-4 lead with 15:56 remaining in the first stanza.  

Valdosta State came storming back as Mike Isler and Braxton Williams brought the visitors to within one possession, 23-20, with less than seven minutes to go in the first half.  

The Tigers gave the Blazers a taste of their own money as Thaddeus Williams hit two triples to give UWA the 31-23 advantage at the 2:56 mark.

Mike Isler closed the gap to six points with a beautiful turnaround jumper with 50 seconds remaining in the first half, but Terry Durham stretched the Tiger lead back to 33-25 at the half with a second chance layup before intermission.

Lemons opened the second half scoring with two hits from the free throw line to set the UWA up with a 35-25 advantage early in the period.

Williams brought the Blazers back within eight but would be answered by eight quick points from Kuran Garner, Williams and Lemons to put the Tigers up 45-31 with 15:02 to go.

Durham could not be stopped in the paint, as the senior forward scored a layup to put the home squad up by 14 with 13:38 remaining. From there, the Blazers went cold from the field for a nearly five-minute stretch, making only one of their five field goals until JC Clausi hit a jumper inside 12 minutes to go to make it 51-33.

Despite outscoring the Tigers 20-18 in the final 10 minutes of play, the Blazers could not close the gap as West Alabama held control with help from its early game dominance.  

Durham put the nail in the coffin with a resounding slam with under a minute remaining.

"The defense opened a lot of opportunities for us to get this back on track offensively, this was a huge win for us," said head coach Nick Woodruff postgame.

Terry Durham scored a season-high 21 points on a perfect 10-for-10 shooting performance and added eight rebounds. Jaylen Lemons added a season-best 24 points thanks to a 9-for-16 showing from the field along with six rebounds and four assists.

Latrell Tate led the Blazers in scoring tonight with 13 points. Lee Flenor added 11 boards.

Now halfway through the Gulf South Conference schedule, UWA sits in second place in the standings with a 9-3 record and 12-4 overall. The Tigers trail the Wolves of West Georgia, who are 10-2 by one game.

Valdosta State falls to 6-10 and 3-9.

West Alabama will head to Montevallo on Wednesday to take on the Falcons inside the UM Student Activity Center. Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m.