VALDOSTA –– The Valdosta State Blazers (13-3, 8-2 Gulf South Conference) knocked off Delta State (12-4, 7-3 GSC) 79-62 on Thursday night.

With the win, the Blazers now sit atop the conference standings and extended their winning streak to five games.

The Blazers’ top priority was slowing down DSU guard Devin Schmidt. Schmidt, who entered Thursday night coming off a career-high 47 points in his last game against Alabama-Huntsville.

Blazers coach Mike Helfer elected to put his top perimeter defender, senior point guard Josh Lemons on the job.

Lemons and others hounded Schmidt all game long, holding him to 15 points on 5-of-20 shooting and forcing seven turnovers.

“It’s rough,” Lemons said of guarding Schmidt. “He’s a great player. He’s a (6-foot-4) guard, he can move really well and can get his shot off easily. I’ve guarded him for two years so I try to study his every move. It took a lot of effort and it took a lot of help from my teammates too.”

The Blazers took their largest lead of the game on a 3-pointer by sophomore Beau Justice, which put the Blazers up 72-54 and all but sealed the win.

Four Blazers scored in double figures led by Justice’s 16-point outing. Lemons poured in 13 points and dished six assists. Jeremiah Hill had 12 points, 10 of which coming in the second half. Justin Simon notched a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds.

“We were just locked in from the jump,” Lemons said. “When we came in from shootaround, I knew were going to be a tough team to beat tonight. We were so focused on their plays, the scouting reports, everything. That’s one thing I love about this team. When we lock in, it’s really hard to beat us.”

The Blazers led 36-31 at halftime despite the Statesmen closing the first 20 minutes on a 13-4 run.

“We just talked about at halftime coming out with some energy and some enthusiasm,” Helfer said. “You can’t let halftime turn the tables. We just wanted to come out with intensity in the second half and not let (DSU) get going and make plays. I thought we did that coming out of the locker room.”

The Blazers held the Statesmen to 40 percent shooting in the first half, while shooting 45.2 percent on the offensive end. Beau Justice led the Blazers with eight points on 3-of-5 shooting, making 2-of-3 from beyond the arc.

The Blazers led by as many as 14 points in the first half when Justice connected on a 3-pointer off a dribble hand-off from Jimmy Kodet with 6:05 to go before intermission.

Schmidt, the defending GSC Player of the Year, was held without a field goal until a 3-pointer with 2:34 left in the first half. Schmidt shot 1-of-8 in the opening frame while being guarded by a triumvirate of Lemons, Damian Young and Jeremiah Hill.

The win also marked the 400th for Helfer in his career. Helfer has spent 12 years on the VSU sideline after a successful run at Southern Poly.

“First thing is, I’ve never scored a point,” Helfer said of the milestone. “It’s 400 wins but it’s really about the players that you’ve had. The players that have went through the conditioning and the practices, the ups and the downs. I think the wins are important, but it’s about building relationships in life. Hopefully, those relationships will last beyond the basketball floor.”

Ravion Henry scored a game-high 17 points for the Statesmen, who saw their five-game winning streak snapped. 

The Blazers move on to host the Choctaws of Mississippi College on Saturday. 

“(Mississippi College) is disciplined, well-coached and talented,” Helfer said. “On any night, they’re going to be a handful. Our goal is to get to them tomorrow and start prepping. Hopefully we can get a crowd in here today because it was loud and it reminded me of some days five or six years ago.”

Tip-off is scheduled for 4 p.m.

VSU women 53

Delta State 50

The Valdosta State women (10-6, 7-3 GSC) escaped with a 53-50 win against Delta State (7-8, 4-6 GSC) Thursday night.

The Blazers led by as many as 13 points in the game before the Statesmen battled back to come within a point late in the fourth quarter.

The Statesmen nearly came back behind a strong game from sophomore guard Alondrea Rush. Rush scored 23 points in the game, shooting 9-of-17 from the floor and burying five of her 10 3-pointers in the game.

Rush’s fifth 3 of the game with 49 seconds left cut the Blazers lead to 49-48 and forced VSU coach Carley Kuhns to call for time.

On the ensuing possession, Kenya Samone’ Dixon missed a 3-pointer and the Statesmen assumed possession. The Statesmen went inside to post player Aspriona Gilbert, who missed a layup inside.

The Statesmen got another shot to take the lead when center Kaelin Kneeland got the offensive rebound but her put-back attempt went awry.

Sonya Franklin leaked out ahead of the play but was fouled to stop the clock.

Franklin’s two free throws with 18 seconds left put the Blazers up 51-48. A quick drive and score by Rush once again cut the lead to one before Aaliyah Cheatham provided the finishing touch at the stripe for the final margin.

On a night where the Blazers committed 21 turnovers and were outscored 19-9 in the fourth quarter, finding other ways to win was imperative for Kuhns and her club.

“Different people were able to step up,” Kuhns said. “We changed what we do. We don’t ever really play zone so being able to mix it up and throw them off a bit, I think that helps. We knew it was going to be a low scoring game and luckily we were able to get that big rebound and make free throws down the stretch.”

Franklin’s clutch free throws was only a fraction of her impact as the junior guard made several athletic plays to get to the basket for layups and make plays for others in the process.

“Sometimes I think she forgets how athletic she is,” Kuhns said of Franklin’s play. “There’s not many people that can stay in front of her. Luckily she was able to recognize that at certain times and score at the rim and made some awesome plays.”

The Blazers led 33-23 at halftime. After going up 16-9 after the first 10 minutes, the Lady Blazers looked to attack the basket in the second quarter and outscored DSU 17-14 before intermission.

Junior guard Sonya Franklin made a pair of athletic drives for layups to push the VSU lead to 13. DSU’s Alondrea Rush charged down the floor and leaned in for a contested 3-pointer to beat the halftime buzzer.

Rush had 11 points in the first half to lead all scorers.

VSU shot 44.4 percent in the first half, led by Dixon’s eight points. Dixon made 2-of-3 from beyond the arc and 3-of-6 from the floor in the first 20 minutes.

Madi Mitchell led the Blazers with 13 points and four rebounds. Dixon poured in 11 points and had three steals in the win.

In addition to Rush’s output, the Statesmen got eight points and eight rebounds from Ieysha Mays.

The Blazers take on Mississippi College on Saturday.

“They’re the hottest team in the conference right now,” Kuhns said. “They’ve won five in a row. They’re really athletic and get the ball up the floor really fast. In this conference, there’s no easy games, no nights off. If you take a night off, you’re going to pay for it. Now, we’re in a position where we can control our own destiny and if we take care of business, we’re going to set ourselves up to be in a good spot.”