Valdosta State Blows by Fort Valley State 89-61

VALDOSTA, Ga. – Valdosta State had three players tally double-doubles as the Blazers defeated Fort Valley State 89-61 in non-conference men’s basketball action at The Complex Tuesday afternoon.

Billy McShepard and Will Alston each recorded double-doubles with points and rebounds as McShepard finished with 14 points and 12 rebounds while Alston tallied 10 points and 10 rebounds. Meanwhile, Kevin Harris scored 16 points and dished out 11 assists.

Valdosta State (2-1) never trailed in the game as the Blazers scored the first 10 points of the contest. Josh Sparks opened the scoring as he connected on a fast break lay-up before Harris added a lay-in of his own. McShepard added a put-back dunk and added two free throws before closing out the run with a jumper with 16:37 to play in the first half.

Fort Valley State (0-3) cut its deficit to six points twice over the ensuing four minutes, only to have VSU use a 13-5 run to push its lead back to double-digits. Tristan Steele sparked the run as he connected on a pair of three-pointers. FVSU got no closer than eight the rest of the first half as the Blazers pushed their advantage to 43-25 at the halftime intermission.

The VSU lead rapidly grew during the opening minutes of the second half as the Blazers opened the second half on a 19-7 run to push their advantage to 62-32 less than six minutes into the frame. The half opened with an alley oop dunk by Sparks while Steele hit two threes.

The Wildcats closed to within 20 points over the span of the next five minutes, but got no closer as Valdosta State again pushed its lead to 30 points on a three by Christian Hunter with 2:50 remaining before going to its bench for the closing minutes.

The Blazers shot 61.4 percent from the floor in the game as they connected on 35-of-57 field goals, including 11-of-18 threes, a 61.1 percent success rate from beyond the three-point line. All of the success did not come outside as Valdosta State held a 42-18 advantage in points in the paint. The Blazers also owned a 46-29 advantage in rebounding, but turned the ball over 26 times, on 11 steals by FVSU.

Overall, six Blazers scored in double figures as Sparks finished with 14 while Steele connected on 8-of-11 field goals, including 6-of-9 threes, for 23 points and Hunter finished with 10.

Martavius Orr led Fort Valley State with 22 points, on 8-of-15 shooting, while Brandon Davey finished with 12 poitns and a team-high eight rebounds. The Wildcats were held to 31.0 percent from the floor as they hit 22-of-71 field goals.

Valdosta State returns to action Friday, November 19 when the Blazers host Southern Wesleyan in The Complex at 7:30 p.m.