Box Score VALDOSTA, Ga. – The Delta State men's basketball team fell 81-61 to Valdosta State University in a Gulf South Conference game Thursday night at the Complex.
 
The Blazers improved their record to 7-4 and 1-0 in league play while the Statesmen fell to 4-6 and 0-1 in the GSC.
 
Jacquan Nobles and Tristan Steele each tallied 19 points for the Blazers as they combined to hit seven of the team's 10 three-point shots. Sidney Harris added 11 points and four assists while Josh Sparks filled the stat sheet with 10 points, eight rebounds and five blocked shots.
 
Terry Leake Jr., led the Statesmen with 17 points, with 13 of those coming in the second half. Sylvester Collins came off the bench to record 10 points on 5-of-6 shooting from the field. Aaron Cooper rounded out the double-digit scoring totals with 11 of his own. He also added five assists and grabbed five rebounds.
 
In the first half, VSU raced out to an 18-6 lead about five minutes into the game as Tristan Steele led the Blazers with seven of those points. The Statesmen would respond with a run of their own and pulled the game to within three (22-19) following a Caleb Miskelly shot from downtown.
 
That would be the closest the Statesmen got the rest of the way as the Blazers added a 23-11 run giving them a 45-30 halftime lead.
 
Valdosta State shot 50% from the field in the first half (17-of-34).
 
At the start of the second half, neither team scored a basket until the 16:03 mark when Blazers point guard Michael Panaggio drilled a three-pointer. Valdosta State would lead by as many as 27 points in the second half on its way to a conference-opening win.
 
Delta State finished the game shooting 42.9% (27-of-63) and 4-of-10 (40%) from three-point range. DSU turned the ball over 20 times, which proved costly as VSU turned those mishaps into 33 points.
 
The Blazers finished the game shooting 47.6% from the field (30-of-63) and 10-of-23 (43.5%) from three-point range.
 
The Statesmen will look to rebound on Saturday, Jan. 7 as they travel to Pensacola to take on the Argonauts of West Florida at 4 p.m. The game will be broadcasted on the Statesmen Sports Network.