VALDOSTA, Ga. - The University of West Alabama men's basketball team defeated Valdosta State in dominant fashion, 77-62, inside the Complex on Thursday night.
The first five minutes of the contest were not heavy in scoring, with West Alabama holding a slim 9-6 lead with 14:49 to go thanks to a Thaddeus Williams three.
UWA stretched their lead out to six points with a Caleb McGill triple with 13 to go in the first stanza, giving the Tigers a 14-8 advantage.
Lee Flenor pulled VSU back within three points, 19-16, with a layup at the 9:38 mark of the first half.
McGill picked up right where he left off with his last shot attempt, nailing a three pointer to stretch the Tiger lead back to six with nine minutes left in the first.
With just over five minutes left in the half, Jay Rucker capped off a 6-0 Blazer run to pull the home team within one, 24-23.
The Valdosta run was met with a monumental answer from UWA as Tyler Talley and Jaylen Lemons hit back-to-back threes to cap off a 8-0 run with less than three to play.
The Blazers hit only one field goal in the final three minutes of the first half, allowing the Tigers to finish the stanza on 6-3 run, taking a 37-26 lead into the break.
Braxton Williams broke the long Valdosta scoring silence with a layup just seven seconds into the restart, cutting the West Alabama lead to nine.
T. Williams stretched the lead back out to nine 42-33, after a Valdosta run to keep the home team at bay with 16:36 to play.
B. Williams pulled VSU within five with four straight points to cut the visitor lead to five with 15 to go.
McGill answered the call yet again for the Tigers with just under 11 to play, hitting a sweet jumper to extend the West Alabama lead back out to seven.
T. Williams set the court on fire before the under-8 media, knocking down two-straight triples to stretch the West Alabama lead out to 14, 64-50, the highest of the contest to date.
The Tigers held control for the remainder of the contest, never surrendering less than a 12-point deficit.
Thaddeus Williams led the way for the visitors with 24 points on 8-for-15 shooting and ten rebounds, recording a double-double.
Caleb McGill dropped a career-high 18 points on 8-for-14 shooting in his fourth start of the year.
Terry Durham added 18 points on 6-for-9 shooting and 11 rebounds, his second-straight double-double.
"We've played great in a road environment tonight. Caleb was huge tonight," said head coach Nick Woodruff.
West Alabama moves to 18-9 overall and 14-8 in Gulf South Conference play, while Valdosta State falls to 12-15 and 9-14.
The Tigers will need some help from Lee on Saturday to clinch a top four seed and host a GSC quarterfinal, with Christian Brothers currently holding the tiebreaker over West Alabama for fourth place.
West Alabama will play their final regular season contest against West Florida in Pensacola on Saturday. Tipoff is set for 4 p.m.
