VALDOSTA –– The Valdosta State Blazers (14-3, 9-2 Gulf South Conference) put on a shooting clinic en route to a 103-79 win against Mississippi College (4-11, 1-10 GSC) on Saturday night.

The Blazers shot 75 percent from the floor (21-of-28) in the second half, 7-of-10 from 3-point range and led by as many as 39 points in the game.

Relentless defensive pressure set the Blazers’ offensive explosion in motion as they forced 17 turnovers for 22 points.

“Our offense is strictly because of our defense,” Hill said. “We focus on our rebounding and getting the ball out (quickly). We knew (the Choctaws) weren’t the best transition team so we wanted to get the ball out and get running and we were able to get easy looks.”

Blazers head coach Mike Helfer insists his team is improving defensively with each coming game and credits unselfishness as a main reason for the victory.

“The defensive pressure is where we’ve gotten better week in and week out,” Helfer said. “Highlight plays just happen because of unselfishness. That’s where this team has bought in. We believe in each other and believe in each other to make good plays and not selfish plays. That’s been a huge part for us.”

Jeremiah Hill fueled the Blazers with his versatility. The senior from Savannah scored a game-high 27 points, dished seven assists, grabbed six rebounds and came up with four steals in 27 minutes.

“He’s just getting better and better every game,” Helfer said. “He’s more confident—he makes great decisions and he’s hard to guard because he can shoot it and he can dribble-create. I’m proud of him but he’s the first guy that wouldn’t care if he scored two points, he would pass it to the next open guy. He just happened to get a lot of open looks tonight.”

The Blazers also got a lift from reserve forward Jimmy Kodet. Kodet tallied 15 points on 6-of-8 shooting, including a one-handed slam dunk on an inbounds pass that got The Complex crowd on its feet. Following an impressive stretch in recent games, Helfer believes the high-flying sharpshooter will become more of a weapon over the course of the season.

“We’re believing in his abilities as a team,” Helfer said. “It’s a weapon when you’re (6-foot-8) and can shoot the ball like that. He’s really been a contributing factor but not just shooting. He’s able to block shots and rebound with his length—he’s able to do a lot of things.”

The Blazers took an 88-49 lead on a 3-pointer by Beau Justice with 7:43 remaining in the game. The Choctaws managed to shoot 53 percent from the floor, 59 percent in the second half with the game out of reach.

The Blazers led 45-31 at halftime and went up by as many as 17 points in the first half. Defense was strong for the Blazers as they forced 10 turnovers at intermission. Hill had 13 points and five assists in the first 20 minutes for the Blazers, who shot 47.1 percent and outscored the Choctaws in the paint 18-8.

The balanced Choctaws made 45.8 percent of their field goals in the first half as seven of 10 players scored in the first frame. Stacey Mack scored 19 points for the Choctaws. Brandon Boston poured in 18 points and Davy Fisher scored 11 in the loss.

Josh Lemons had 17 points on 7-of-10 shooting for the Blazers, including a perfect 3-of-3 from beyond the arc. Lemons also handed out six assists. Justice chipped in with 11 points in the win.

The win is the Blazers’ sixth in a row and the third straight at home as West Florida visits The Complex on Monday.

“It’s going to be a war,” Hill said. “It was a battle up there. Their post players are good and we’ve just got to be ready to handle that.”

Tip-off is scheduled for 8 p.m.

MC women 65

VSU 63

The Valdosta State women (10-7, 7-4 GSC) went cold in the second half, falling to Mississippi College (9-6, 6-5 GSC) 65-63 on Saturday afternoon.

A lid fell over the basket in the second half as the Blazers missed 24 of their 33 field-goal attempts. Maddy Corazza’s layup with 2 seconds left in the third quarter would be the last field goal for the Blazers until Madi Mitchell’s layup with 4:21 remaining in the game.

The Choctaws went on a 9-0 run during the cold spell to take a 60-54 lead on a layup by forward Cortice Golden with 4:59 left in regulation.

“We went through a scoring drought for about 8 minutes there,” Blazers coach Carley Kuhns said. “We missed a lot of opportunities at the rim, we were 11-of-20 from the free-throw line so we had plenty of opportunities to win the game that we just didn’t capitalize on.”

Against the ropes, the Blazers used their defense to roll with the punches. Swarming, scrambling defense by the Blazers kept the game from spiraling out of control. Following a timeout, Blazers guard Aaliyah Cheatham nailed a 3-pointer on a hand-off from Mitchell to cut the Choctaws’ lead to 60-59 with 1:25 to go.

On the ensuing possession, Jazmyn McIntosh came away with a steal and glided in for a layup to give the Blazers a 61-60 lead with 1:11 to play. Two free throws by Ashley Minor opened up a 64-61 lead for the Choctaws. A layup by Sonya Franklin brought the Blazers within a point at 64-63 with 23 seconds left.

With a chance to take the lead, Cheatham drove looking for a cutter along the baseline but threw the ball away. After a free throw by the Choctaws’ Olivia Mabry, the Blazers had a final shot to win. Kenya Samone’ Dixon got open for a 3-pointer from the left wing but the shot missed short off the front rim at the buzzer. Dixon, a 43 percent long-range shooter on the season, had made three triples prior to her final miss.

“It felt good,” Dixon said of the final shot. “It just didn’t go in.”

The Blazers were outscored 32-20 in the paint and missed seven of their 13 free-throw attempts in the second half of the contest.

“(Mississippi College) averages about 40 points in the paint,” Kuhns said. “Our goal was to protect the paint and we didn’t do a great job of that and they made us pay. They capitalized on those post-ups and were able to get the ball inside.”

The Blazers got off to a fast start against the Choctaws, shooting 50 percent and leading 27-15 after the first quarter. Despite being outscored 18-10 in the second quarter, the Blazers took a 37-33 into halftime. Mitchell shot 6-of-10 from the floor and poured in 13 first-half points, while Kenya Samone Dixon scored eight points and pulled down seven rebounds. The Blazers shot just 4-of-15 from the floor in the second quarter, while the Choctaws went 7-of-11.

Kelley Allen scored a game-high 22 points for the Choctaws. Zariah Matthews had 13 points and Cortice Golden added 11 points and six rebounds.

For the Blazers, Mitchell finished with 17 points and six rebounds, Dixon and Franklin added 14 points apiece for the Blazers who host West Florida on Monday.

“All these games are going to be quick turnarounds,” Kuhns said. “We don’t have much time to dwell on the past. We’ll learn from the things we weren’t great at and prepare better for the next game.”

Tip-off for Monday’s game is scheduled for 6 p.m.